Eli Manning compares Giants HC Brian Daboll, Tom Coughlin

For a piece published back in 2016, Ian O'Connor noted for ESPN how former New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin "had to ease up with the players and the news media" en route to guiding the club to a pair of Super Bowl championships.

Legendary Giants quarterback Eli Manning spoke with reporters at a Tuesday event and compared his experiences with Coughlin to current Big Blue head coach Brian Daboll. 

"With coach Coughlin, he understood, made some changes, I think it was because he knew he had great leadership in a lot of guys who had been around for a number of years, been used to his system and he could let us take over some of that leadership responsibilities with the team," Manning explained, per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. "Daboll, hey, you got to be yourself though, you got to coach the only way you know how to coach and I think he does a good job, and you can’t let one tough season impact the way you’re gonna be or the way you’re gonna coach."

While Daboll earned Coach of the Year honors for his first season with the Giants after the 2022 edition of the club won a road playoff game, stories about his alleged temper and in-game outbursts generated negative headlines amid a losing 2023 campaign going back to late November. 

Defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale "mutually" agreed to part ways with the Giants earlier this month, and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka could soon leave the organization even if he fails to land a head-coaching gig elsewhere. 

"Coming to New York, it’s a tough place and if you don’t do well they’re gonna want change and want to do everything," Manning said about Daboll firing multiple assistants following Week 18 and about what such decisions could mean for the coaching staff moving forward. "I think obviously last year was unbelievable and the turnaround, this year, hey, it wasn’t the best, they still had a number of games they could have won, the record could have been a lot better than what it was..." 

Specifically, Manning mentioned New York's 14-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 6, the Week 8 overtime defeat against the New York Jets and the Christmas Day 33-25 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles. 

"It’s always winning those close games, and they weren’t able to win a lot of those close games this year and that was the difference in making the playoffs and not making the playoffs," Manning added.

Despite having support from a beloved figure such as Manning, Daboll could find himself on the hot seat later this year, especially if Bill Belichick goes unsigned and ultimately spends a season away from coaching as some believe he could depending on how the Atlanta Falcons handle their business this winter.