After a successful Year 1 under Brian Daboll, the Giants entered the 2023 offseason looking to build on the promising foundation established by their popular head coach. But, as the hype surrounding New York continues to grow, team co-owner John Mara wants to make sure the lights don’t get too bright ahead of Daboll’s second season.
As is often the case with success, the most important thing is what happens as a follow-up, and for Daboll—the reigning NFL Coach of the Year—all eyes will be fixated on how his 2023 season plays out. With that in mind, Mara issued a firm yet amusing warning to the highly-admired Daboll during an interview earlier this week.
Mara jokingly compared Daboll’s notoriety around town as being on par with legendary singer and U2 frontman Bono, but quickly reminded him of how things could change if the team falters.
“We kid him, I mean, right now, he’s Bono walking around New York City,” Mara told SiriusXM NFL Radio. “But I’ve told him, I’ve said, ‘In this business, it doesn’t take long to go from Bono to Bozo. So don’t get your head too big right now.’ But he has been great.”
"We kid [Brian Daboll], right now he's Bono walking around New York City."
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) March 29, 2023
President John Mara discussed his HC Brian Daboll and how the future is bright for QB Daniel Jones. @Giants | #Giants | #TogetherBlue pic.twitter.com/q9vAoL5jf6
While Mara’s warning may already worry more than a few Giants fans, Daboll has, at least for now, done enough to warrant a fair level of excitement heading into the fall. And, with five new NFL head coaches poised to make their debuts, the Giants coach is certainly already standing out as a “Bono” among the rest considering several teams still haven’t found what they’ve been looking for.
Last season, the Giants, with an improved offense led by a resurgent Daniel Jones and a returning Saquon Barkley, went 9-7-1 and clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2016. Daboll, a longtime offensive assistant fresh off a four-year run as the Bills offensive coordinator, went on to win the NFL Coach of the Year award, becoming the fourth coach since 2017 to win the award in their first season.
After upsetting the Vikings in the wild-card round, New York’s 2022 campaign ended in a divisional round loss to the eventual NFC champion Eagles.
