January 28th 2022 will go down as a historic day for the New York Football Giants. This was the day that the now, 2022 NFL Coach of the Year, Brian Daboll was hired to be the 20th Head Coach in Giants history. The overall feeling of Daboll’s hiring was one of great joy throughout the fanbase.
Little did Giants fans know how much positive change Daboll would bring about in his first year. The future is bright for New York for the first time in over a decade. The best is yet to come.
What led to Daboll’s Coach of the Year Award?
Daboll joined Giants GM Joe Schoen on a quest to turn a storied, historic NFL Franchise back into a storied, historic NFL Franchise. The task would not be easy. The path was not always clear. But you could sense a culture change right from the beginning.
Assembling a Steller Coaching Staff
Coach Daboll started off his Giants coaching career assembling a stellar coaching staff. One that saw, by the end of the season, both Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka and Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale in the running for Head Coaching jobs around the NFL.
Maneuvering through an Ugly Cap Situation
Daboll also had to work within the confines of an ugly cap situation. This ugly cap situation saw the release of two starters on defense. James Bradbury and Blake Martinez were penciled in as day one starters but both would need to be released for the Giants to operate within the cap for the 2022 NFL season.
The Giants would need to move into the 2022 NFL Season without these two defensive starters. The 2022 roster arguably had less talent than the 2021 roster. The Giants had the 30th worst roster turnover in the NFL. Roughly half of the 2021 roster was not part of the 2022 roster.
There were holes on the team at numerous positions. The Giants needed WR help due to the inability of Kenny Golladay to perform at a high level. The aforementioned releases of Bradbury and Martinez meant holes at CB and LB. The interior of the offensive line was revamped.
With all of these holes, the New York Giants would need to perform miracles to be competitive in 2022.
Making Miracles out of the 2022 Roster
Daniel Jones had his best year as a professional QB. Saquon Barkley was no longer the team mascot. He was back to the punishing RB this team spent a 2nd overall pick on in 2018. Coach Daboll and staff turned a bunch of practice squad WRs into a formidable trio. The Offensive Line finished the season ranked 31st. Somehow even with a lack of talent and struggling offensive line the New York Giants managed to finish the season 15th offensively.
The Giants certainly missed James Bradbury but the defense held together. Dexter Lawrence developed into one of the top interior defensive linemen in the NFL. Julian Love blossomed into a starting safety. By the end of the season Edge rushers Kayvon Thibodeaux, Azeez Ojulari, and Jihad Ward were pressuring QBs and winning battles. Though the Giants cycled through linebackers and never found a solution the defense managed to finish 19th in the NFL.
Putting the Giants back in the Post Season
Even with the 50% roster turnover rate. With the 15th ranked offense, 19th ranked defense, and 31st ranked offensive line Coach Daboll and company still managed to lead the Giants to a 9-7-1 win/loss record.
The Giants made the postseason for the first time since 2016. The Giants beat the Minnesota Vikings in the Wildcard round of the playoffs and were one of the final 8 teams searching for a spot in the Super Bowl before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional round.
Final Thoughts
The future is bright in New York. The NFL has taken notice of what is happening in the Meadowlands. This is only the beginning and it’s fun to be a Giants fan again. Its fun for the first time in over a decade. Hang on for the ride!
Congrats Coach Brian Daboll. You earned it. You deserve it.