Brian Daboll insists Giants have not set sights on Super Bowl, just want to ‘have a good practice’

Brian Daboll disputed Sterling Shepard’s claim that the Giants’ coach is talking about winning a Super Bowl daily behind the scenes.

“Who said that?” Daboll said. “I’d say Shep maybe confused that with ‘let’s go out and have a good practice.’”

Daboll’s clarification makes sense. The head coach constantly preaches a “day by day” mantra and closely manages his public message.

It appears Shepard misspoke when he said on Sunday: “We’ve got to work our way to get back to a playoff team, but that’s not ultimately the goal for us. Our ultimate goal is to put a banner up here … [Daboll] tells us that every day. Exactly what I just told you is what he tells us. That’s what our goal is. It’s not to make the playoffs. It’s to put a banner up here.”

Daboll said his message has been something much simpler.

“We are day-to-day,” he said. “We got a long way to go. This is a different year. I have said it a million times, and it is. It’s not cliché, it is. I have been a part of teams that had finished the way you wanted to finish, then didn’t finish the next year the way you want to finish. They are two different teams. You’ve got to really stay focused.”

Daboll said as a leader, a coach always has to evolve. So he’s worked on his own presentation and message for his group, as well, and he’s thought it all out.

“It really is a new year,” he said. “The focus has to be laser, and you have to continue to just block everything out and improve each day.”