New Giant Levine Toilolo knows the bond between players and coaches is key to success

Levine Toilolo has been to two Super Bowls with two different franchises. Both of those teams — the Falcons in 2016 and the 49ers last season — had something in common,

“Obviously every team in the league works hard and stuff like that,” Toilolo, who signed with the Giants as a free-agent tight end in March, said on a conference call on Wednesday. “For me, one of the biggest things I can point out among the two teams that were successful was the bond between the players and teammates and just how close everybody was in the building. Not just player-to-player, but even the players to the coaches. Everyone was pretty tight.”

That certainly was the narrative when each of those teams made it to the ultimate game in those seasons (though both times Toilolo’s squad was on the not-so-Super end of that outcome). The Falcons spent their entire run through the playoffs talking about their “brothership” under coach Dan Quinn, and the 49ers spoke a lot about how coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch kept the team together through some dismal early seasons in their tenure there.

“I think when you are able to build those relationships off the field and you can come together, you’re playing more than for just yourself,” Toilolo said. “You are playing for your brother next to you, for your coaches, stuff like that. That’s something that people may not really be able to see on the outside, the relationships that you have and are able to build and how that translates to on the field.”

Can the Giants build something like that? It’s certainly possible. And given what was said earlier in the week by Nate Ebner, the former Patriot who signed with the Giants in free agency and likely has more insight into Joe Judge than anyone else in the organization, It might even be probable.

“At the end of the day, he cares a lot about his guys,” Ebner said. “I can’t say that about a lot of coaches. I think that’s special and I think that’s hopefully going to want to make a lot of players play for him.”

The biggest obstacle to all of that won’t be personalities but proximities. Because of the limits imposed on the offseason structure by attempts to curb the spread of COVID-19, the Giants are dispersed throughout the country. Toilolo said he is hunkered down in the San Diego area, trying to stay in shape.

“It’s definitely been a different process this offseason,” he said. “Not being able to meet up with the guys and start building that relationship is definitely going to be different. Hopefully everyone is staying safe, we’re hoping everyone will be healthy and this will all be over soon. All you can do is try to stay in shape and try to stay ready for when you get the call.”

And that’s when he and the rest of the Giants can truly see if they have the same qualities that Toilolo’s former Super Bowl teams shared.

“Any time you go to a new team, it’s definitely going to be different,” Toilolo said. “That’s with any aspect in life. Whenever there is change,  it’s going to be a little uncomfortable . . .  I already know some of the guys with the Giants, Stanford guys [such as fellow free-agent acquisitions Blake Martinez and Cam Fleming and tight end Kaden Smith], but not only that, I’m excited to meet some new teammates that I have and this new coaching staff. I’m excited for what’s to come.”

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.