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Alaina Getzenberg, ESPN
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The narrative is that former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll was pivotal in Josh Allen’s development into a consistent MVP contender.
The quarterback doesn’t disagree with that.
“In terms of my path of my career and getting better, he was probably the most influential one,” Allen said this week of Daboll, who’s now the head coach of the New York Giants. “He’s a guy that I [would] talk to each and every day.”
But Daboll said Wednesday the impact was mutual, calling Allen an “unbelievable player, one of the best in the league” and that “he makes you better as a playcaller, too, so he’s one of a kind.”
The four years Daboll spent as the Bills’ coordinator (2018-21) were also the first four years of Allen’s NFL career. Over that time, Allen grew into one of the best quarterbacks in the league, especially during the 2020 season when he had arguably his best season yet as a passer, which career highs in yards (4,544) and touchdowns (37).
Daboll, now in his second season with the Giants, remains close to many Bills players, checking in with them via his signature FaceTime calls. Throughout the Bills locker room, players said they were looking forward to seeing Daboll again. A key member of that list is Allen.
“[Our relationship] started because of football, but … we have similar, I’d say personalities and we developed a strong relationship,” Daboll said. “That won’t change, wherever I’m at, whatever I’m doing, on my side of it, certainly talk to him, we don’t just talk about football because you, again, you get to be around someone for as long as you are for four years, you’re naturally gonna have a relationship. So, it’s, again, he’s a great friend, I’ll just say that.”
Allen and Daboll got through some tough times together, such as when Allen’s grandmother passed away before a game against the Seattle Seahawks in 2020 and then when Daboll’s grandmother passed away during the week ahead of a game in 2021.
Sunday night’s game between the Bills and the Giants (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC) will mark a homecoming for Daboll, who is a Western New York native, but it will also be his first opportunity to coach against Allen and the Bills. While it’s been 22 games since Daboll left the Bills, the hugs will be flowing on Sunday.
“Daboll, seeing him physically is really the beauty of all of this,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “A good dude, he’s one of us. Dabes is just Dabes. Hopefully he’ll have a cigar [on the field]. You never know.”
Allen estimated he talk with Daboll about every other week, checking in with a quick FaceTime call to see how things are going.
Getting consistent coaching over multiple years is not a luxury every young quarterback gets. But after Allen was drafted with the seventh overall pick in the 2018 draft, he was able to work with Daboll for a pivotal first four years of his career.
“I think [Daboll] did a good job,” coach Sean McDermott said. “… Even the process of leading up to the draft, I think there was good collaboration between Brian and myself and [general manager] Brandon [Beane] and [now Giants general manager] Joe Schoen as well. … That first year is always tough, right? And Josh had some high highs and he faced some adversity as well and then you come back in ’19 and we made a little bit more progress and then ’20 we really started to open it up a little bit.”
From 2018-19, Allen completed 56.3% of his passes, throwing 30 touchdowns to 21 interceptions. He also ran for 17 touchdowns and averaged just over seven rushing attempts per game. His numbers climbed in 2020-21, with Allen completing 66.1% of his passes, throwing 73 touchdowns to 25 interceptions, and rushing for 14 touchdowns and averaging 6.8 attempts per game.
Allen, 27 and in his sixth season, continues to make strides. He leads the league in completion percentage (73.1%) and has made adjustments to keep himself healthy as he gets older.
“You can put him in probably any offense and he’s going to produce,” Daboll said. “I missed him as a person — we are close — but as a player, he’s a heck of a player. Put on any tape, he’s exceptional at everything.”
That progress have been spurred by many people, including current offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.
But Daboll left a significant impact. Dawkins pointed to swagger as an area where Daboll helped Allen.
“[Allen’s] just free,” Dawkins told ESPN. “He’s able to just be himself in the building and outside of the building.”
Then there’s the competitiveness. Daboll said Thursday Allen was as competitive a person as you’re going to be around.
“Just that coming out to do whatever it takes to win a football game,” Dorsey said. “I think [Daboll] really instilled that in Josh and Josh takes that to heart. And that’s really who Josh is, just giving his heart and soul each and every play, each and every game. And a lot of that was Dabes’ personality as well.”
On Sunday, the Bills will need to make some adjustments to an offense Daboll helped build. Dorsey called the offense a “blend” of what Daboll did and what they have expanded upon. The Bills have changed some code words and made other tweaks so the Giants defense can’t have an advantage based on Daboll’s experience.
But it’s reuniting off the field that will make the Week 6 matchup special.
“Just dap him up, give him a big ol hug,” Allen said of getting together with Daboll again. “He’s meant so much to me in my football career and in my life for that matter. Excited to see him.”