People forget that before Brian Daboll became the head coach of the New York Giants — even before he was the offensive coordinator for Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills — he was the offensive coordinator for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
That was nearly a decade ago (2017), but in his one-year stint with the Tide, Daboll got hands-on experience with some of today’s NFL star quarterbacks. While part of the 13-1 national championship squad, he coached Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, and Mac Jones.
That’s quite the quarterback room for a college program — and while that group no doubt helped shape Daboll’s approach, it was head coach Nick Saban who really molded him into the offensive mind he is today.
Daboll’s rise with the Bills earned him the job with the G-Men, and it’s safe to say it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing since. After a playoff-bound 9-7-1 opening season, it's been a combined 9-25 the past two seasons. Fortunately, things are looking up — and no player embodies the hype and hope more than rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, who might just be the biggest benefactor of Daboll's relationship with Saban.
Brian Daboll channels his inner Nick Saban to get the most out of Giants QBs
When speaking to the media Tuesday after Day 1 of mandatory minicamp, Daboll fielded a handful of questions. One centered around his approach to developing young quarterbacks — specifically, how he delivers information to the QB room. His answer? It was covered in crimson red:
"There's a lot of information for the quarterbacks, I'd say in any system, but I think throwing it at them, bringing it back, breaking it down in smaller parts, and then throwing it back at them... a kind of whole-part-whole philosophy, I learned that from coach [Nick] Saban."
Brian Daboll describes his "whole-part-whole" philosophy for quarterbacks: pic.twitter.com/eYsNELB2th
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) June 17, 2025
Pretty cool to see Dabes open up like that to the media. You could see his eyes light up at the question — he even said, “That’s a good question.” No doubt the man loves football, and he’d much rather talk ball than anything off the field. We could probably chalk that up to his time spent with Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.
Still, the response was pretty eye-opening and gave fans a glimpse behind the curtain at how he plans to develop the rookie. For starters, if Dart’s abilities end up anywhere near those of Hurts or Tagovailoa, Big Blue Nation is in for a treat.
Following Saban's philosophy is probably a decent starting point. The guy only won 297 games and seven national championships. There are worse people to learn from. And for what it's worth, the method already appears to be working. Dart's already impressed throughout the offseason, but his Day 1 minicamp showing might have been the icing on the cake.
If this is what he looks like in June, imagine what he could look like by September. Daboll’s been in New York for a few years now — but if his Alabama-inspired methods help turn Dart into Big Blue's next franchise QB, that Saban stamp of approval will have never looked better.