The New York Giants fired Brian Daboll on Monday after leading the team to another 2-8 start despite adding talent to the roster in 2025. The obvious first reaction from Penn State fans was ‘What does this mean for us?”

Well, it might mean more than initially believed. There is no doubt Penn State Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft will do his due diligence on the now-unemployed coach. After all, Daboll’s daughter, Haven, currently attends the school, and his son, Christian, graduated from University Park after working with the football team for three years.

While it might seem like a coincidence that Daboll was seen for the first time after the firing in Penn State gear, we choose not to believe in those.

Another positive is Daboll’s reputation as a quarterback whisperer. During his time with Alabama, he helped develop Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa. During his time with the Bills, he is given credit for Josh Allen’s emergence as league MVP. And now, during his stint with the Giants, he was on record raving about Jayden Daniels and drafted Jaxson Dart.

One criticism James Franklin constantly got from the media and Nittany Lions fans was his inability to develop at the quarterback position. In the 2022 class, he finally brought in his guy, perfect five-star Drew Allar. Even this didn’t work as well as people were hoping, though.

Daboll may not have spent much time in college football, just one year in 2017, but that season ended well as he led the Crimson Tide offense to a National Championship. While he has little experience in the NCAA, even one year under Nick Saban prepares you more than most.

History

Daboll attended Saint Francis High School in Hamburg, New York, just a four-hour drive from Beaver Stadium. He then stayed in the area for college, playing safety at the University of Rochester and graduating with an economics degree.

Out of school, his first job was as a volunteer for William & Mary in 1997, before he worked with Michigan State as a grad assistant in 1988 and 1999. This was Daboll’s first time working under Saban.

In 2000, Daboll took his first job in the NFL as a defensive assistant with the Patriots for two seasons. He was promoted to a positional coach before the 2002 season and held the role until 2006. The Patriots won three Super Bowls during Daboll’s first stint in New England.

Daboll got his first look at working with quarterbacks as the positional coach with the New York Jets during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. In the 2007 season, he coached both Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens to starts. The 2008 season was Brett Favre’s only season with the Jets; he started all 16 games.

Daboll spent the next four seasons bouncing around as an offensive coordinator, working with the Browns, Dolphins, and Chiefs. His offenses struggled for the most part during this time. The Browns finished 32nd in total offense under him, the Dolphins 20th, and the Chiefs finished 2-14.

Without much success as a play caller, Daboll went back to coaching positions for the Patriots, this time as a tight ends coach from 2013-2016. The New York native was responsible for Martellus Bennett and Rob Gronkowski during this time. He won two more Super Bowls during the stint in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Dabol made a return to college in 2017 for one season as Alabama’s offensive coordinator. The Crimson Tide went 13-1 on their way to an overtime victory against Georgia in the national championship. They did not make the SEC championship game after losing to Auburn in the regular season.

Alabama was loaded with talent that season. Hurts, Tagovaioloa, Damien Harris, Calvin Ridley, and Bo Scarbrough helped Daboll lead one of the best offenses in the country. The season included 66 points against Ole Miss, 59 against Vanderbilt, 41 against Arkansas, and 56 against Mercer.

In 2018, he returned to the NFL to be the Bills’ offensive coordinator. Daboll is largely credited with the development of former Wyoming quarterback Allen, who was drafted by Buffalo as a project player. By his third season, the team won 13 games for the first time since 1991, thanks to an offense that put up 31.3 points per game.

Daboll won the Associated Press NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award for the 2020 season for his efforts.

In 2022, Daboll joined the New York Giants to be their 20th head coach. Despite his debut resulting in a win, the Giants would go 20–40–1 with a 1–1 playoff record under the New York head man. 2025 marked the third straight season his team started 2-8, and it was time for a change.

Is It Realistic?

Daboll to Penn State makes total sense. He is an East Coast man who has a proven offensive mind in both the NFL and at the college level. He has five Super Bowl rings and a national championship ring. And he can develop quarterbacks at an elite level.

The former Giants head coach also has deep ties to Happy Valley through his kids. Daboll has been seen plenty of times on campus and even at the fraternities during parents’ weekends. The move from New Jersey to central Pennsylvania would be easy.

Daboll also gives Penn State the luxury of time. Daboll can be hired the day the season ends; heck, he could be hired tomorrow if both sides agreed.

With that being said, there is an inherent risk with hiring someone who only has one year of college experience under his belt. Daboll must have a reason he has stayed away from college football all these years despite his success.

A lot of NFL guys say recruiting is too much of a hassle to leave the NFL, even for a higher-paying job. The two years following Daboll’s stint in Tuscaloosa, which would have been the players he recruited, the Crimson Tide brought in the No. 5 and No. 1 recruiting classes.

Still, Daboll won’t be able to bring his guys into the 2026 season. While we would all love Abdul Carter back, maybe Dart at quarterback, or Malik Nabers to fix our wide receiver struggles, the NCAA would not allow that.

Other coaches, such as Eli Drinkwitz or Brent Key, would bring transfers and recruits with them to help patch holes immediately.