The New York Giants have been moving through head coaches at an unacceptable rate the past few seasons. After Pat Shurmur, Big Blue hired Joe Judge and his disciplinarian style to help correct the franchise and put them in the right direction. Unfortunately, he was fired after just two seasons, with the team showcasing embarrassing play during the 2021 campaign.
However, one of Judge’s staples was consequential practices and physically straining strategies. The Giants would normally run laps for making mistakes in practice, and while Judge indicated he didn’t want to be anything like Bill Belichick, his authoritarian style carried over.
There’s a difference between Belichick and Judge. One of them is arguably the best head coach in NFL history, and the other is a special-teams coordinator who hasn’t earned the respect of players. The Giants simply didn’t take well to his approach, so ownership brought in his exact opposite, Brian Daboll.
That is not to say that Daboll isn’t a disciplinary figure, but he respects the players’ learning methods and creates personal relationships with each individual face to help breed a more family-based culture. The Giants have an entirely different feel about them since Daboll, and general manager Joe Schoen took over.
However, the players are still showing signs of fear after two seasons of Judge’s consequences.
“You can just kind of tell people get a little scared when they mess up,” Jon Feliciano said, per Giants Wire. “No one likes messing up. But, like, it’s OK.
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The New York Giants are going with a more player-friendly approach:
During Judge’s tenure, the Giants ran laps and underwent strict physical requirements for making mistakes in practice. Now, the mentality is more of a learning culture rather than the fear of consequences.
“Dabes wants you to take chances. If something happens, it’s all right. It’s not all right, but this is the time for it to happen.”
Practice is a strategy that creates growth and learning from mistakes, not being punished for them. Every player learns how to execute differently, whether that be visual or physically executing.
It is interesting to see that players are still feeling the repercussions of an authoritarian head coach, especially with Daboll being the exact opposite. Hopefully, they will adjust to the new style and have a more positive experience moving forward.