In 2017, Brian Daboll was on the recruiting trail as Alabama’s offensive coordinator, and he traveled to California to pay a visit to Long Beach Polytechnic High School.
The quarterback there, Matt Corral, was a hot prospect, and Daboll met with the head coach at the school.
That head coach was Antonio Pierce, the former Giants’ Super Bowl-winning linebacker. Corral ended up going to Ole Miss.
“Got a lot of respect for A.P.,” Daboll said on Nov. 1. “I remember meeting with him down in his office, talking about Matt out in Cali and obviously know what he did here. I’ve built a friendship with him along the way the last few years.”
Lo and behold, there is a scenario that could work out that brings Daboll and Pierce together, and brings Pierce back to the team where he experienced his greatest NFL success.
Daboll needs a new defensive coordinator, with Wednesday’s official word that the team and Wink Martindale have “mutually agreed to part ways.”
The Giants will be sure to check out Pierce’s status.
Pierce is looking for a bigger job, as he is currently under consideration to become the Raiders’ full-time head coach.
Four days after Daboll spoke about Pierce earlier this past season, the Raiders whipped the Giants, 30-6, in Pierce’s first game as the interim head coach, replacing fired Josh McDaniels.
The Raiders were 3-5 at the time of the firing and 9-16 overall under McDaniels. After Pierce took over, the Raiders went 5-4, and he gained approval and endorsements among the players on the roster.
Pierce, 45, is an attractive option, and it will be difficult for Raiders owner Mark Davis to pass him up, unless he can land a bigger fish, such as Bill Belichick or Jim Harbaugh.
Pierce also could be a candidate for other head-coach openings around the NFL if he does not remain in Las Vegas.
He maintains a strong relationship with the Giants and is well-respected in their building. Pierce has never been a defensive coordinator in the NFL — the only time he held that position was in 2020 and 2021 at Arizona State.
Pierce played just five seasons for the Giants before retiring after the 2009 season because of a lingering neck injury. He was the brains that ran Steve Spagnuolo’s defense and an inspirational leader during the 2007 season, when the Giants became road warriors in the playoffs then upset the previously unbeaten Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.
Leslie Frazier, a respected defensive mind and the former Vikings head coach, also figures to receive consideration, based on Frazier and Daboll working together in Buffalo.
Frazier, 64, was out of football in 2023 but wants to get back in, preferably as a head coach. He will reportedly interview with the Chargers for their head-coach opening.
As of now, Mike Kafka will return to the Giants for a third season as their offensive coordinator. The Titans requested permission to interview him for the head-coaching position that opened up with the, after firing of Mike Vrabel.
A year ago, four teams met with Kafka for head jobs.
The Giants’ offense was far more effective in 2022, with Daniel Jones remaining healthy the entire season, than it was in 2023, with Jones playing in just six games before going down with a torn ACL, as.
Kafka also had to deal with an offensive line that allowed a franchise-record 85 sacks — far and away the most in the league and the second-most allowed in a season in NFL history.
Thomas McGaughey was fired as the special teams coordinator, but one of his mainstay players ended the season with an award.
Punter Jamie Gillan was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 46.5 yards on his five punts and putting four of them down inside the 20-yard line in the 27-10 victory over the Eagles.
LB Tomon Fox, who spent most of the season on the practice squad, signed a reserve/future contract.