Brian Daboll hopes Patrick Graham will return as Giants defensive coordinator
Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham speaks to the media before training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center on Aug. 17, 2021. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The only person hoping Patrick Graham does not return to the Giants as defensive coordinator may be Patrick Graham.
Brian Daboll potentially has filled one of the top spots on his coaching staff by retaining Graham, who has been with the Giants the past two seasons, but the move is conditional upon Graham not being hired for a head-coaching job elsewhere. He is a candidate for the spot in Minnesota and also interviewed for the Giants’ head-coaching job before it was given to Daboll.
"Certainly we hope that he has an opportunity to become a head coach," Daboll said Monday, "but selfishly, I would love him to be here. I think he’d be a great support piece for me and I’m hoping that works out."
Daboll and Graham worked together in New England and Daboll said they have a strong working relationship from that experience. There is a good chance a majority of the defensive staff will remain if Graham sticks around.
Graham’s defenses ranked 21st and 12th in yards allowed in the past two seasons, respectively, and 23rd and ninth in points allowed.
Head coach might call plays
On the other side of the ball, Daboll said he is still working through candidates for offensive coordinator and did not rule out the possibility of calling the offensive plays himself. General manager Joe Schoen said it is his preference to have the offensive coordinator handle that job so Daboll can focus on big-picture issues during games, but Daboll pointed out that both head coaches in the coming Super Bowl call their own plays.
"It’s a work in progress," Daboll said of the decision. "If the guy is the right fit, then he’s the right fit . . . If you can put together a good staff you can trust, that allows you to do your job better."
Assistant GM Abrams will stay
Schoen said he plans to keep current assistant general manager Kevin Abrams on his staff, although his title might change. Abrams has been the Giants’ main contract negotiator and salary cap analyst for many years, and Schoen will have to rely on his knowledge of the team’s dire situation against the cap to help him dig out of the issues facing the team . . . Co-owner John Mara did not put a time frame on this Giants fix. "I’m not looking at this as an overnight turnaround," he said. "This is going to be a process. And however long it takes is going to be up to them." . . . . Mara said he feels good about the future of the franchise both in the long and short term, though he conceded that the depths at which they currently reside offer few alternatives to hope. "We’re in last place," he said. "There is no place to go but up." . . . Mara said Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was a serious candidate for the job of head coach before he withdrew his name from consideration to remain in Dallas. Mara also said he did not reach out to former Saints coach and Giants assistant Sean Payton to gauge his interest in the job when he announced he was stepping down last week . . . Daboll said he neither sought nor received an explanation from ownership regarding none of his three immediate predecessors lasting more than two seasons on the job. "The NFL is an unstable world regardless of where you’re at, so your job is to do the best you can do, build relationships and try to build a good program," he said. "There’s no guarantees, but if you have people that are in lockstep that are working together toward a common goal, that are unselfish, that are humble, I think that’s the start of something."
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.
