The one thing new players notice about the culture of the New York Giants is the welcoming of player input by the coaching staff.
Tight end Darren Waller, a former Pro Bowler who the Giants obtained in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders this spring, mentioned that very fact to reporters last month.
“They value our opinions here. As a player, I feel like a lot of places I’ve gone, you’re told to do things a certain way, and you do those things,” Waller said. “But here, they ask a lot of questions. They want to know what you’re thinking, what do you like to do more. So, to offer input is a really cool thing because coach and players have got to be in partnership. We’re all together. We shouldn’t be clashing with each other. We’re all going the same direction.”
Head coach Brian Daboll was asked about how much he values player input during his media session Wednesday at the Giants’ minicamp.
“Players are the ones that win the games,” said Daboll. “So, I take all input from coaches, from players. Again, maybe there’s a route that that he ran, maybe it wasn’t last year, but maybe it was three years ago that he feels pretty comfortable with that we don’t have, and it’d be worth taking a look at. Those guys know themselves pretty well, particularly the good players that have done it for a while. So again, maybe that’s not everybody’s approach, but that’s certainly ours.”
So far, it’s working. The open-source attitude has turned the tide for this franchise, which posted its first winning record in six seasons in 2022.
