Daboll had a taste for coaching a rookie who could become a franchise quarterback in 2025. After Daboll was inserted into a crowded QB lineup with the Giants, an 0-3 start led the coach to replace Russell Wilson with rookie Jaxson Dart, who injected life into New York’s offense and excitement into the fan base.
Daboll didn’t last long enough to see the end of the season, but he put the Giants on the path to potential stability under center. Getting another chance to do that — and play a vital role in developing a top quarterback — was too good to pass up.
“I have a lot of confidence in this young man,” Daboll said of Ward. “I’m sure I’ll be asked about the draft last year, which was around this time. Had a lot of touchpoints with him; meetings, 30 visits, going down to Miami (to) dinner with him and his family. So it was a good relationship built leading up to the draft.
“I’m looking forward to working with him. I know he’s in the building to improve. April can’t come soon enough to get going and the offensive element of him, but I have a lot of confidence in the way he played both in Miami, Washington State. And then he had a full year under his belt playing in the National Football League and getting used to the speed of the game and the timing wasn’t easy, and it didn’t feel right, and it wasn’t the right timing. and I’m looking forward to being here.”
While Daboll was desperate for his job and hoping his preferred quarterback (Dart) could help keep him around, Ward was slowly finding his footing with the inexperienced Titans. He produced a selection of highlight-worthy games with a rebuilding Tennessee team that played most of the season under an interim coach, and while his performance didn’t produce many wins, it provided enough evidence that Ward is built for the job and has a bright future ahead of him.
Daboll, a coach who has overseen the development and blossoming of superstar Josh Allen, appears to be the perfect match for Ward. Just don’t try to get the two of them on the same track and don’t expect it to happen overnight.
“I think every situation is unique,” Daboll said. “Again, we’ve had young quarterbacks in the past with Josh and Jaxson in New York, but everybody’s different. I don’t want to just put him in a certain box. I think the most important thing is to first develop the relationship with the young man and then get a feel for how he sees the game. That’s hard to do now when you’re not, you know, able to sit down and talk a lot.
“I always like to see the game through the quarterback’s eyes and again, there’s going to be a mistake out there that I think he’s made on tape before and he might have a completely different answer. So this communication is very important. I learned to get along with Josh, get along with Jaxson, but was around some veteran quarterbacks. It’s hard to say that it’s easy to sit there and you had to sit back. for?’ But until I can get those interactions with him and go through those plays with a fine-toothed comb, iron out the details of it, we’re a little bit away from that.”
Fortunately for Daboll and the rest of the Titans offense — a unit in need of an offseason upgrade — they have plenty of options. Tennessee will look to bolster its roster through free agency in March before hitting the draft in April, a time frame that will also give Daboll his first opportunity to work with Ward.
In order to maximize the potential of this partnership, they must break through. As Daboll pointed out on Wednesday, they will do so with great vigilance and excitement.
“We have a lot to do with everybody,” Daboll said. “He’s a young, athletic quarterback who has accuracy who can play on the move. He can do a great job, you know, if a game doesn’t look good and then all of a sudden it looks great because of his ability. He’s smart. I’m looking forward to interacting with him and building that along with the other pieces that we have in the game and it’s going to be mutual.”