Brian Daboll Speaks Up About Saquon Barkley’s Exit
For former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, Brian Daboll had a message.
Head coach of the New York Giants, Brian Daboll, would continue to play as many players as possible until they were unable to do so.
However, this is no longer the true due to free agency, as relatively few players stick with the team they begin with for a variety of reasons, including money.
Still, that doesn’t make it easier for head coaches like Daboll, who spend much time building relationships with players. So when the Giants decided they couldn’t afford running back Saquon Barkley, who got the kind of deal he wanted from New York’s most hated rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, the transaction stung Daboll if just a bit.
“This is what it is every year in the NFL,” Daboll told NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero ahead of the league meetings in Orlando, Florida this week. “You meet great people, whether it’s coaches, players, staff members, and unfortunately, everybody doesn’t stick together the entire time; it’s not what it was 30, 40 years ago.”
Daboll, though, has never been one to spend time dwelling on what might have been. He’s the type of coach who is locked in and focused on coaching those players he has under the team’s East Rutherford headquarters. And he understands that it’s not fair to expect other players who come in to fill the roster holes on the depth chart to necessarily replicate the talents of players lost.
Daboll, who had a special relationship with Barkley, told Pelissero that nothing had changed regarding his feelings toward the player.
“I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for Saquon and all the players that went to other places,” he stated. “It’s a special group when you’re going through an NFL season, you’ve got to go through ups and downs.”
Daboll concluded his reflections with a well-known statement for his old teammate.
“Wish him all the best–except when he is playing the Giants,” stated Daboll.
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