DETROIT – Tom Thibodeau took over a New York team mired in a lengthy playoff drought, and he helped the Knicks reach the postseason in his first season as their head coach in 2020-21.
Thibodeau fully appreciates the job Brian Daboll has pulled off in getting the Giants (9-7-1) back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 in his initial season as an NFL head coach.
“Yeah great. Terrific. I don’t know a whole lot other than I like to watch games. But I think he’s done a great job, fantastic,” Thibodeau said before the Knicks took on the Pistons in a Sunday matinee, a few hours before the Giants’ kickoff in Minnesota. “He’s well-prepared. I always like to look at the background of guys and people he’s been around.
Brian Daboll’s pedigree — and his quick Giants success — have earned him the admiration of Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.For the NY POST Photo/Robert Sabo“I think you’re really a byproduct of all those experiences and people that you’re around and he’s been around the best in the game. He’s had a terrific career. Some people may be surprised. I’m not surprised.”
Thibodeau, who won NBA Coach of the Year honors in his first season as Knicks head coach in 2021, said he and Daboll “crossed paths” once at a Rangers game. He has been impressed by the Giant coach’s rise and his impressive resume, which have included assistant coach and offensive coordinator jobs with New England and Buffalo.
Tom Thibodeau, the NBA’s 2021 Coach of the Year, knows good coaching when he sees it.Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post “Yeah, it wasn’t a gimmick,” Thibodeau said. “It was just like, ‘hey, let’s build our foundation and let’s work and do it day by day.’ And obviously, being with the Patriots and then the Bills, I think his foundation is terrific.”
