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Giants To Hire Brian Daboll As Head Coach

January 28th, 2022 at 5:20pm CST by Adam La Rose

The league’s third head coaching hire has reportedly been made. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets that the Giants are hiring Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll as their new HC. 

Daboll was thought to be the favorite for the job when he became the first candidate to receive a second interview in New York. That, along with the obvious connection to newly-hired GM Joe Shoen, had many speculating that the position was his to lose.

Of course, the Giants weren’t the only suitor for the 46-year-old’s services. He was named as one of three finalists for the Dolphins’ HC vacancy, and recently considered the favorite in Miami. Rapoport’s colleague, Tom Pelissero, tweets that the Saints also wanted to interview him.

Instead, he will be replacing Joe Judge in an attempt, along with Schoen, to reset the Giants on an organizational level. The two hires prove that the franchise’s stated goal of looking from outside New York to find its next HC and GM has been fulfilled.

Daboll will be tasked first and foremost with improving the Giants’ lackluster offense in what could very well be a make-or-break year for quarterback Daniel Jones. His job developing Josh Allen would certainly represent cause for optimism on that front.

Meanwhile, this news drops the number of remaining candidates set for second interviews with the Dolphins down to two: Mike McDaniel and Kellen Moore, the OCs for the 49ers and Cowboys, respectively.

Here’s a final look at the Giants’ coaching search:

Brian Daboll Favorite For Dolphins HC Job?

January 26th, 2022 at 8:38pm CST by Ben Levine

Brian Daboll is beginning to pull away from the pack in Miami. According to Adam H. Beasley of ProFootballNetwork.com, the Bills offensive coordinator “has emerged as a top target — and potentially the top target” for the Dolphins head coaching vacancy.

[RELATED: Giants To Conduct Second HC Interview With Brian Daboll]

While the Dolphins appear to be zeroing in on Daboll, the OC would still need to accept the job. That’s one of the “hurdles” that remains in the Dolphins’ search, per Beasley. Daboll is also a candidate for the Giants HC gig, a job that he’s interviewed for twice.

The potential hiring would reunite Daboll with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who played under Daboll when the two were at Alabama. A Daboll hiring would also be a bit of a homecoming for the coach after he served as Miami’s offensive coordinator in 2011. Dolphins GM Chris Grier worked alongside Daboll during the coach’s stint with the team.

Recently, Daboll has made a name for himself in Buffalo. Following an inconsistent first season in the role, the Bills offense has been among the top-10(ish) units over the past three years. That includes a passing offense that ranked second in points scored in 2020 and third in points scored in 2021.

Bills’ Leslie Frazier Books Second Giants HC Interview

January 25th, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Not long after Brian Daboll concluded his second interview with the Giants, the now-Joe Schoen-run team will meet with the Bills’ defensive coordinator a second time.

Leslie Frazier will meet with the Giants for the second time in less than a week, with Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reporting (via Twitter) this second interview will occur Friday. Frazier previously spoke virtually with the Giants late last week.

Frazier, 62, has previous HC experience, from his time leading the Vikings in the early 2010s, and has attracted interest from multiple other teams during this cycle. Frazier interviewed with the Bears and Dolphins. Despite his early connection to the Bears and history with the franchise as part of their storied 1985 squad, Frazier is not believed to be a finalist for the Chicago HC gig.

Frazier worked with Schoen since their respective Buffalo arrivals in 2017. Daboll arrived in 2018. The Giants have zeroed in on both Bills top coordinators and Brian Flores for their HC job, and New York’s search will continue through at least Friday. Buffalo’s issues containing Kansas City’s high-powered offense in the teams’ historic divisional-round shootout aside, Frazier’s unit ranked first in both points and yards allowed this season. The Bills also deployed a top-three defense in 2019.

Here is how the Giants’ HC search looks as of Tuesday night:

Falcons TE Lee Smith Retires

January 25th, 2022 at 8:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Lee Smith managed to play tight end in the NFL for 11 seasons, despite none of those including 100 receiving yards. The well-regarded blocker announced his retirement Tuesday.

Smith spent his NFL days with the Bills, Raiders and Falcons, playing in Atlanta for one season. He will walk away after 16 games with the Falcons, having assisted in Cordarrelle Patterson‘s late-career running back breakout.

“I couldn’t feel more blessed that I get to step away on my terms,” Smith said, via AtlantaFalcons.com’s Scott Bair. “It just doesn’t happen that way very often. Yet here I am, a stiff-as-hell fifth-round draft pick who found himself a niche-y role and figured out a way to stay around.”

A 2011 Patriots draftee out of Marshall, Smith landed with the Bills via waiver claim that September. He signed a three-year, $9MM deal with the Raiders in 2015. In Oakland, Smith worked alongside a three-Pro Bowler offensive line to help Latavius Murray to a 1,000-yard season. The Raiders re-signed him in 2018, but Smith rejoined the Bills a year later — on another three-year deal worth $9MM — and was part of the team’s resurgence.

Buffalo traded Smith to Atlanta during the 2021 offseason. Although the Falcons rostered Hayden Hurst and top-five pick Kyle Pitts, Smith played 311 offensive snaps this season. Smith finished his career with 73 catches for 523 yards and 11 touchdowns.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/24/22

January 24th, 2022 at 5:51pm CST by Ben Levine

Here are Monday’s reserve/futures deals:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Giants To Conduct Second HC Interview With Brian Daboll

January 24th, 2022 at 10:55am CST by Adam La Rose

The first finalist for the Giants’ head coach position has been revealed. As Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports (via Twitter), Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll will have a second interview with the team today.

Update (12:00pm CT): SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano tweets that Daboll’s interview will take place on Tuesday.

[Related: Giants’ HC Search Beginning With Brian Daboll, Leslie Frazier]

Daboll was the first candidate to take part in the initial round of interviews with New York. That certainly didn’t come as a surprise, between the HC interest he’s generated with the Dolphins and the Bills connection to newly-hired general manager Joe Schoen. Widely believed to be a target for the Giants once Schoen was brought in, the 46-year-old had finished his initial interview within a matter of hours of his former Bills colleague being hired.

That first interview was conducted via teleconference with Schoen and co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch. This time, the meeting will take place in person; the same is expected to be true of New York’s first interview with Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, to take place today. Quinn, one of the most sought-after candidates in this year’s hiring cycle, has already been linked to five other HC vacancies around the league.

Worth noting is the fact that Daboll cannot be hired right away, regardless of the outcome of today’s interview. As NJ.com’s Darryl Slater tweets, the Giants still need to conduct at least one in-person interview with a minority candidate to remain in compliance with the Rooney Rule. It must involve someone from outside the organization, so their upcoming meeting with current DC Patrick Graham doesn’t factor into that total. The likeliest way to meet the requirement would be a second interview with Bills DC Leslie Frazier, whose first meeting with the front office was conducted electronically, or an in-person sit down with Brian Flores.

Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order

January 24th, 2022 at 8:55am CST by Adam La Rose

The Divisional Round has come to end, and after each game was decided on the final play, the season has come to a bitter end for another four teams. That brings the total number of squads locked into their first round draft position to 28. Interestingly, the Rams and 49ers are still standing after they each parted ways with top draft picks this past offseason. San Francisco’s first choice is currently slated to be 61st overall, while the Rams aren’t projected to be on the board until the 101st pick. For Los Angeles in particular, the decision is certainly paying off so far.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.

Here is the updated order after this weekend’s results:

  1. Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
  2. Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
  3. Houston Texans: 4-13
  4. New York Jets: 4-13
  5. New York Giants: 4-13
  6. Carolina Panthers: 5-12
  7. New York Giants(via Bears)
  8. Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
  9. Denver Broncos: 7-10
  10. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
  11. Washington Football Team: 7-10
  12. Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
  13. Cleveland Browns: 8-9
  14. Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
  15. Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
  16. Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
  17. Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
  18. New Orleans Saints: 9-8
  19. Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8
  20. Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1
  21. New England Patriots: 10-7
  22. Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7
  23. Arizona Cardinals: 11-6
  24. Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
  25. Buffalo Bills: 11-6
  26. Tennessee Titans: 12-5
  27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4
  28. Green Bay Packers: 13-4
  29. Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7*
  30. Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)
  31. Detroit Lions (via Rams)
  32. Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5*

* = Remaining playoff teams

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/22/22

January 22nd, 2022 at 4:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Los Angeles Rams

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Giants’ HC Search Beginning With Brian Daboll, Leslie Frazier

January 21st, 2022 at 8:28pm CST by Adam La Rose

Newly-hired Giants general manager Joe Schoen is wasting no time in beginning the team’s search for a new head coach. He has already completed an interview with Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, and is expected to hold another one tomorrow with Buffalo’s defensive coordinator, Leslie Frazier. 

According to a team announcement, the Daboll interview has already been completed, just hours after the hiring of Schoen was officially announced. The 46-year-old met via teleconference with Schoen and co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch. It should come as a surprise to no one that Daboll, the Bills’ OC for the past four seasons, is the candidate with whom the search process is beginning. It was immediately reported that he would be one of the key targets for the Giants once Schoen landed the GM job.

Meanwhile, Frazier’s name is being linked to the HC vacancy for the first time. As Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reports (via Twitter), Frazier is expected to interview with the Giants on Saturday. Again, this is far from a surprise, given the Buffalo connection to Schoen. The 62-year-old has served in his current role for five years, overseeing the Bills’ defensive turnaround. He has already been interviewed by the Dolphins, and is also scheduled to meet with the Bears.

The other factor influencing the immediacy of these interviews, of course, is the fact that the Bills play on Sunday night. As Schwartz points out, any potential second interviews conducted prior to the Super Bowl could only take place if the first round was completed this weekend, something made easier by the fact that Schoen is still in Buffalo. The other two candidates linked to the Giants so far are ex-Dolphins HC Brian Flores and Cowboys DC Dan Quinn.

NFL Reserve/COVID-19 List Updates: 1/18/22

January 18th, 2022 at 9:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s reserve/COVID-19 list additions and subtractions:

Buffalo Bills

  • Placed on practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: DL Eli Ankou

Green Bay Packers

San Francisco 49ers

  • Activated from practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: FB Josh Hokit

 

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