Did the Chicago Bears make a mistake by not hiring Brian Daboll?
By Todd Welter
The Chicago Bears did not have a lot of success during Matt Eberflus’ first season as head coach. The Bears finished with the league’s worst record. Although, the fault does not completely lie with Eberflus.
General manager Ryan Poles gutted the roster last offseason. He then traded away Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith before the trade deadline. After those deals were completed, Don Shula probably would not do much better with the roster Eberflus had to work with.
Then again, there was a coach who possibly could have gotten a few more wins–Brian Daboll.
Look no more for proof after he just guided the New York Giants to a 9-7-1 record. Daboll just won his first playoff game and will take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round.
The Giants hired Brian Daboll last offseason. The Chicago Bears did have him in for an interview.
Ryan Poles got the general manager job shortly after Daboll was interviewed and Poles decided to go with Eberflus.
Daboll got the Giants job two days later after he developed Josh Allen into a franchise quarterback in Buffalo. He also had a prior working relationship with the Giants’ new general manager Joe Schoen.
Daboll inherited a team with a salary cap mess worse than the Chicago Bears. The Giants bottomed out at 4-13 in 2021. He took over a team that came off having the league’s second-worst offense in yards and scoring.
The Giants’ offense jumped to 15th in scoring and 18th in yards gained this year. The Giants quarterback has thrived under Daboll.
Quarterback Daniel Jones went from not getting his fifth-year option picked up to be in line for a nice payday this offseason.
Jones completed 67.2% of his passes as he threw for 3205 yards, 15 touchdowns, and just five interceptions this year. Last year, Jones threw for 2428 yards, ten touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 11 games because of injuries.
Jones showed a ton of growth this year under Daboll’s tutelage and in his offense. Still, even his improvement should not mean the Giants are a playoff team.
It is not like the Giants made a lot of offseason moves to dramatically turn the roster into a playoff-winning team. They dealt with some injuries at wide receiver.
New York’s success has come from running back Saquon Barkley getting back to playing at a high level, solid play from Jones, and a defense that could complement the offense. It is not like the offense is high-powered.
They are getting it done on the ground as they are in the top ten in the league in rushing yards and attempts.
The Giants have a familiar feel. They entered the season with a young quarterback who could run, but it was unknown if he could develop into at least a solid throwing quarterback.
A team with a young quarterback that likes to run the football and did not do a ton last offseason because of salary cap restraints sounds like a certain team that plays at Soldier Field. Yet, the Bears went 3-14 and will have the No. 1 draft pick while the Giants are a victory away from getting into the NFC Championship Game.