Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll strode to a podium under the media porch at Vanderbilt Health Football Center with every expectation that reporters were going to ask — again — about his time as the New York Giants coach.
The questions about Daboll’s upcoming reunion began in Week 2, well before the Titans (0-2) and Giants (1-1) game Sept. 27 (noon, CBS) at MetLife Stadium.
Daboll, who was fired by the Giants before last season’s end, took the high road ahead of what could wind up being an emotional meeting.
“Got a ton of respect for the people in that organization,” Daboll said before practice Sept. 24. “Very grateful for the opportunity the (Giants majority owners) Tisch family gave me. From top down to the bottom, there are
really good people in that building.”
Daboll kept it cordial again when asked about Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, who will miss most of the season with a knee injury he suffered against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 21.
“Prayers to him and his family. Great people,” Daboll said. “This is a competitive industry, but we're in a human industry, too.”
Daboll, 51, is saying the right things. Maybe he really isn't caught in the emotions lingering from his tenure.
But there were raw moments leading up to his exit, from media criticism about Dart’s designed runs, to a reported confrontation with his former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, to the Giants’ knack for losing close games.
Daboll was fired after a 2-8 start in 2025 during his fourth Giants season. A 24-20 fall-from-ahead loss to the Chicago Bears was the last straw — it was the team’s fourth blown double-digit lead.
Titans receiver Wan’Dale Robinson was with the Giants at that time before signing with Tennessee as an unrestricted free agent.
“I mean, at the end of the day you kind of know it's a production business,” Robinson told The Tennessean. “Those games that we had lost, we knew we shouldn’t have lost, we kind of knew it was bound to happen at some point. But we definitely never felt like it was all on him or his fault.”
After being named the Associated Press 2022 NFL Coach of the Year after making the playoffs and finishing 9-7-1 in his first season, Daboll’s record with the Giants slid to 20-40-1.
New York’s media market can be seething. The team and Daboll might've both been ready for a fresh start.
“I definitely think it takes a toll. I don't think ‘Dabes’ will admit it, but I definitely think that the media stuff started to get to him a little bit up there,” Robinson said. “It’s just part of it. It’s a very tough place to coach, a very tough place to play. You have to be strong-minded. At the end of the day as long as you’re winning, they won’t say too much. But if you’re not winning it’s going to be all hell breaking loose.”
Daboll had his share of support, too. Robinson said Daboll’s hire at Tennessee made it easier for him to sign a four-year, $78 million contract in free agency with the Titans. Former Giants staffers Carmen Bricillo (Titans offensive line), Cade Knox (Titans offensive assistant) and Shea Tierney (Titans quarterbacks coach) stuck with Daboll too.
The film studies this week have been interesting, with former Titans coach Brian Callahan (passing game coordinator) and Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson (DC) both with the Giants now.
“Certainly there’s talk (about player tendencies) when you’re watching tape or when we’ve had guys who have worked with coach Wilson in his system, and vice versa, there’s guys who were there in our system,” Daboll said. “There's a lot of ‘he said she said’ type of stuff.”
Tyler Palmateer covers the Tennessee Titans for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Titans OC Brian Daboll, former New York Giants coach, is approaching old team
