Former New York Giants offensive coordinator and two-time Super Bowl champion, Kevin Gilbride, returned to the sidelines at MetLife Stadium this past weekend for the first time since his “resignation” in 2013.
This time around, Gilbride found himself serving as both the general manager and head coach of the New York Guardians, one of the eight new teams that belong to the returning XFL.
In his XFL debut, a forward-thinking Gilbride was successful, earning a 23-3 win over the favored Tampa Bay Vipers. And while the Guardians won with their swarming defense, it’s worthy of note that Gilbride surrendered play-calling duties for the first time in his career in fear that his style wouldn’t match the style of play that is successful in professional football today.
After the game, Guardians quarterback Matt McGloin presented Gilbride with the game ball.
First W.
Game ball goes to Coach Gilbride for getting us right đź’Ż #OnDuty | #ForTheLoveOfFootball pic.twitter.com/tXGDQN0BAt
— New York Guardians (@XFLGuardians) February 9, 2020
“Coach Gilbride, we appreciate you giving everyone in this room an opportunity to play this game we love, first of all,” said McGloin. “Welcome back.”
Former Giants running backs coach Jerald Ingram and linebackers coach Jim Herrmann are also members of Gilbride’s staff, to go along with several former Giants players on their roster.
“It was a game that I think, more than anything else, showed the character and resilience that we had,” Gilbride told reporters in his post-game press conference. “We certainly struggled to stop them offensively, but a tremendous credit to our defense. I thought they showed incredible character and courage, just keep battling all the way down and getting those turnovers that stopped them. They controlled the ball, controlled the time and got down close to the goal line. A lot of teams crumble under those circumstances. I thought our guys rose up, played their best football down there.
“Conversely, offensively, I thought we started off the game very well. We had a lot of big plays. It had some chances that we didn’t quite complete. In the second half, we just slowed down. We had a few other opportunities (that) were not nearly as well-played as we thought we could’ve played them. They were there to be had. Defensively, I thought they did a nice job — Tampa Bay — of things and it made the recognition and reaction of some of our players slow, slower than we would’ve liked and I thought the timing, as a result, affected in a negative type of way.
“But again, all things that are very correctable. In terms of effort, in terms of heart, in terms of character, I thought they were terrific. It’s always nice to coach from a ‘W’ and get better from there. So that’s what we’re looking forward to doing this week.”
In Week 2, Gilbride and the Guardians will travel to Audi Field in Washington, D.C. to take on the D.C. Defenders (1-0). That game will be aired on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. on ABC.
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