New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll is taking his team to the postseason in his first year on the job. Many of his players will be playing in their first playoff game while he’s been a consistent presence postseason.
Daboll has won five Super Bowl championships as an assistant to Bill Belichick in New England and a national title on the collegiate level as a member of Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama.
Daboll has also been to the postseason the past three seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills. He was asked what he thought of the Giants’ team’s lack of playoff experience.
“Not much,” he told reporters on Monday. “Just got to go play a game, get ready for a game and play and coach well.”
On whether or not the lack of his team’s playoff experience can work to their advantage, Daboll was unsure.
“I don’t know. I’ve been in so many different situations. The first year that I was part of a Super Bowl, the quarterback didn’t have any playoff experience there at New England. Some of the guys did. Some didn’t,” he said. “We had some experience at Buffalo; we lost. I think really what you make out of it is the experience is probably overrated to be honest with you. It’s how you prepare, how you practice and ultimately how you play the game and coach the game on whatever day it is.
“I’ve been around a lot of different teams that have had varying levels of experience — some a lot, some a little, some not much. I know someone mentioned Malcolm Butler. I think really what matters is taking advantage of your opportunities when they come and playing a good football game and coaching a good football game. So, I don’t know if that answers your question. But I really think it’s an overrated thing.”
Either way, in Daboll’s first season, this experience has to be seen as a building block.
“I haven’t even thought about it,” he said. “We’re in the midst of our most important week of the season, just starting out. And I really don’t think about it at all to be honest with you. I just think you make more out of it than it really is. Experience, no experience — the most important thing is playing and coaching well.”
