Former NFL head coach Eric Mangini likes what he sees from the New York Giants these days but warns that after such a long stretch of losing seasons, the team must now learn to live with their success.
The Giants finished at 9-7-1 last season after averaging just 4.4 victories over the previous five seasons, the worst skein in franchise history.
Mangini, speaking to co-hosts Michael Holley and Michael Smith on their Peacock TV streaming show Brother From Another, said Big Blue is likely to experience “hiccups” in head coach Brian Daboll’s second year despite qualifying for the postseason last year.
“It’s going to be a rough road,” said Mangini, who worked with Daboll in the early 2000s when both were assistants with the Patriots in New England.
“I made the playoffs the first year with the Jets and expectations weren’t very high and as much success as he’s had — and we had — you’re still building your program, you’re still putting your vision into place. And there can be a lot of hiccups in Year 2 and they haven’t added that many players.
“They had to pay some of the players that they had (Daniel Jones, Dexter Lawrence, and potentially Saquon Barkley) a lot more money than the previous season. Then when you look at their schedule, it’s brutal. There’s like three games in the first 11 days. There’s like seven out of 10 on the road. It’s like they made someone in the scheduling department angry with their success.”
Mangini believes Daboll has readied the Giants for rough waters but now he must teach them how to deal with success.
“And then there’s the part where you have to teach your team how to deal with success,” he said. “We always talk about dealing with adversity — and there’s a lot of research and time put into that — but people have to learn how to deal with success, too.”
Mangini summed things up by quoting legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas.
“Success is like a martini, it relaxes you. They have to do things better as they won’t be sneaking up on anybody. It’s a different formula they have to execute this season,” he said.
It’s certainly a lot of negatives to think about, that is for sure. If Brian Daboll continues to be deified by the football world, he has to show he can overcome all obstacles.
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