The New York Giants hired Brian Daboll as their head coach earlier this offseason.
Had they not, would Daboll been back with the Buffalo Bills as their offensive coordinator?
That’s a question we’ll never know the answer to, but Daboll and Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott suggested from the 2022 NFL combine that yes, he would have. Both denied any allegations of a growing rift between them.
“Look, when you go through a season, there’s 17 games plus preseason. We’ve won a lot of games and through that there’s conversations that take place that get hard,” McDermott said via the Rochester D&C. “Not every conversation on good teams and thriving teams, like we’ve been, are going to be easy. But no, I had no issue with Brian and I’m super happy for him.”
Some pointed toward McDermott’s comments last season, at times, as a sign of a growing divide between the two. He was sometimes critical of the way the offense would run the ball.
The most damming piece came after the season.
Now an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores brought a lawsuit against the NFL.
It involved alleged racist hiring tactics from teams in the league, specifically the Giants.
While Daboll did land his job there, the lawsuit included a section that suggested Daboll and McDermott had a growing angst and he might want to leave the Bills… even if he was not hired as a head coach in New York.
Even with that, we had McDermott’s denial at the combine… and Daboll provided his own as well.
“Great four years at Buffalo with Sean, Brandon (Beane) and the support staff, the players, a very special place to me,” Daboll said. “Obviously I grew up there and I’m very grateful for the opportunity that those guys gave me.”
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