After he was fired during the 2025 season, Brian Daboll found an enticing opportunity in Nashville to start the new year.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday for the first time since being hired as Titans offensive coordinator, Daboll candidly admitted he considered Tennessee as the best place for him because of the people who are there.
"I'd just say it felt like the right fit with the right people," Daboll explained. "Obviously have a relationship with (coach) Robert (Saleh) dating back to the New York days, but his vision on what he wants to do and how he wants to do it; (general manager) Mike (Borgonzi) and the vision that he has. And then, ultimately, (quarterback) Cam (Ward) was a big factor."
One doesn't need a doctorate in order to determine Ward's significance among said people. Much like Ben Johnson's decision to choose the Chicago Bears and quarterback Caleb Williams over other interested suitors a year earlier, an experienced play-caller like Daboll would be foolish to decline working with the top pick of the 2025 draft, especially after what transpired for both Daboll and Ward during the 2025 campaign.
Daboll had a taste of coaching a rookie with potential to become a franchise quarterback in 2025. After Daboll was thrust into a crowded QB room with the Giants, an 0-3 start prompted the coach to replace Russell Wilson with rookie Jaxson Dart, injecting 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 a track toward potential stability under center. Receiving another chance to do so -- and play an integral role in developing a top quarterback prospect -- 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 get asked about the pre-draft process last year, which was about this time. Had a lot of touch points with him; meetings, 30 visits, going down to Miami (for) dinner with him and his family. So, it was a good relationship built up leading up to the draft.
"I look forward to working with him. I know he's in the building rehabbing. April can't come soon enough to get going and the offensive installation part of it, but I have a lot of confidence in how he played both at Miami, Washington State. And then he had a whole year under his belt playing in the National Football League and getting accustomed to the speed of the game and the timing -- and that's not an easy thing for quarterbacks. It just felt like the right fit, and I look forward to being here."
While Daboll was desperately clinging to his job and hoping his preferred quarterback (Dart) could help keep him around, Ward was gradually finding his footing with the inexperienced Titans. He produced an assortment of highlight-worthy plays with a rebuilding Tennessee team that spent most of the season playing under an interim coach, and while his performances didn't produce many triumphs, he delivered enough evidence that suggests 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 when he was Bills OC, seems to be the perfect match for Ward. Just don't try to put the two on the same track, and don't expect it to happen overnight.
"I think every situation is unique," Daboll said. "Again, we've had some young quarterbacks previously with Josh and Jaxson at New York, but everybody's different. I don't want to just put him into a particular 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's seeing the game. That's hard to do right now when you're not, you know, able to sit down and talk a lot of football.
"I always like to see the game through the quarterback's eyes and, again, there's gonna be mistakes out there that I think he's made on tape previous and he may have a completely different answer. So, that communication is really important. I learned that dealing with Josh, dealing with Jaxson, but been around some veteran quarterbacks. It's a hard position to play. It's easy to sit back there and say, 'What the hell did you do that for?' But until I can get that communication with him and go through these plays with a fine-toothed comb, iron out the details of it, we're a little bit aways from that."
Fortunately for Daboll and the rest of the Titans offense -- a unit that needs offseason upgrades -- they have plenty of road ahead of them. Tennessee will aim to reinforce its roster via free agency in March before attacking the draft in April, a time frame that will also provide Daboll with his first opportunities to work with Ward.
In order to maximize this partnership's potential, they'll have to hit the ground running. As Daboll exuded Wednesday, they'll do so with the utmost urgency and excitement.
"We got a lot of work to do with everybody," Daboll said. "He's a young, athletic quarterback who has accuracy who can make plays on the move. He can do a great job of, you know, if a play doesn't look great and then all of the sudden it does look great because of his ability. He's smart. I look forward to communicating with him and building this thing together along with the other pieces we have in play and the pieces that we will go get. It will be a collective deal."
