Saquon Barkley Reveals He Received Unexpected Greeting from Former Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll

The former Giants' star revealed that he still has a good relationship with his old head coach.

Jul 26, 2023; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll pats running back Saquon Barkley (26) on the head on the first day of training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Facility. / Danielle Parhizkaran-Imagn Images

By all accounts, former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley is happy with the Philadelphia Eagles, his new team.

Barkley, the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 draft, spent six seasons in New York before leaving this past offseason and signing with the rival Eagles on a three year, $37.75 million deal. 

His departure broke a lot of hearts, both inside and outside of 1925 Giants Drive, but in the end general manager Joe Schoen knew he just couldn’t spend premium dollars on a 27-year-old running back when the team had so many other glaring needs requiring resources.

Meanwhile in his Eagles debut, Barkley, with the entire world watching, didn't disappoint. He had 26 touches for 132 total yards and three touchdowns, two rushing and one receiving in a win over the Packers. It was Barkley's third career three touchdown performance, his only one prior coming during his rookie season in 2018 against the Buccaneers.

Despite having moved on, Barkley still has an appreciation and fondness for those he left behind in East Rutherford, including head coach Brian Daboll, whom Barkley said reached out before the Eagles jetted off to Sao Paulo for their game against the Packers.  

“I’m thankful for the last six years that I had in New York. I wouldn’t be the man I am today without it, and I still got great relationships with all those guys," Barkley said according to Bleeding Green Nation.

"I even talked to Daboll today; he wished me luck. So, still having a great relationship with those guys, but I’m just happy to be here, happy to be with this organization, and I just look forward to the future.”

The Giants are going to have to accept watching more performances like this from Barkley. He's on a better roster and running behind the best offensive line he's had in his career thus far. It's a tough pill to swallow, for both the organization and fan base, but these are going to be common occurrences over the duration of Barkley's contract with the Eagles.

What can they do now to combat that? They need to focus on what they have inside their building. The Giants' deflating 28-6 loss to the Vikings in Week 1 is certainly not a great start, especially not being able to score a touchdown. 

The offense, led by quarterback Daniel Jones, still looked inept despite decent offensive line play and pass catchers getting open. It was a lackluster effort, one that has the fan base in a frenzy at the moment.

As for Barkley, he's likely happy that at least for now he’s on a more competitive team off to a 1-0 start.

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