Thinks are looking bleak for the New York Giants this season. Is there a chance head coach Daboll and GM Schoen will get fired?
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NFLN: Giants Want Wink Martindale to Return Despite Report DC Cursed Out Brian Daboll
TYLER CONWAY
JANUARY 10, 2024
The relationship between New York Giants coach Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale may be fractured at the moment, but the team reportedly has no intention of firing Martindale.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported the Giants want Martindale to return and will retain him “unless and until he resigns.”
Martindale “cursed out” Daboll during a meeting Monday after the head coach fired outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins and defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN. Both were considered among Martindale’s closest confidantes on the Giants staff.
At the time of his dust-up with Daboll, Martindale exited Giants facilities and seemingly indicated he plans to resign. He is yet to turn in his resignation. Art Stapleton of The Record reported the Giants to not want to fire Martindale and give him the freedom to leave for another team without conditions.
Martindale has one year remaining on his contract with the Giants, which means the team could block him from taking another job for the 2024 season if he resigns. If New York fires Martindale, he would be free to take another job.
Daboll reportedly fired Kevin Wilkins and Drew Wilkins in what amounted to a power play because there “was a feeling in the building that Martindale and Drew Wilkins were creating their own fiefdom within the coaching staff, at times bypassing Daboll and believing they had to answer only to each other and, ultimately, ownership,” according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
Daboll won NFL Coach of the Year in 2022 after leading the Giants to a 9-7-1 record but things fell apart this season. New York floundered on both sides of the ball on its way to a 6-11 campaign that not only featured underperformance from players—most notably quarterback Daniel Jones—but also a breakdown in communication between coaches.
It seems unlikely at this point that Martindale will return in 2024, but the two sides appear determined to play chicken to see who will en
d the relationship.
