The New York Giants went 6-11 this season, and so immediately after the season head coach Brian Daboll went about making changes, informing outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins and defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins that the brothers' services were no longer needed. Totally normal stuff. Except the fallout from that totally-normal decision has been anything but that.
According to the New York Post, when Daboll informed defensive coordinator Wink Martindale that the Wilkinses were no longer with the team, Martindale got up and stormed off to Florida.
From the Post:
Martindale, angered by this news, cursed out Daboll, said his piece, got up, slammed the door and walked out of the building.
He notified those close to him he planned to resign.
Both Wilkinses came to New York with Martindale from Baltimore. Drew is said to be Martindale's right-hand man, "helping Martindale with the personnel groupings and directing traffic for him."
The implication from the Post story is that Martindale felt the Wilkinses worked for him more than the team, and that Daboll did not have the authority to fire two coaches that Martindale himself brought on staff.
From the Post:
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.
Fanning the flames, the Giants' offense out-performed its defense in 2023. The Giants won three fewer games this fall than they did in 2022, Daboll and the new staff's debut season in which the club was a surprise playoff qualifier.
And so now, with Martindale reportedly spotted boarding a flight from Newark to Sarasota, Fla., the Giants are in a standoff with their own defensive coordinator.
Despite the comment he made to Daboll Monday, Martindale has not resigned. And the Giants have not moved to fire him.
If he resigns, Martindale would be out the $3 million he's owed for 2024 and could be barred from interviewing elsewhere.
If they fire him, the Giants would have to pay Martindale the $3 million he's owed to coach against them next season. The 60-year-old is regarded as one of the top defensive coordinators in the league and would undoubtedly find a job on the open market, perhaps even in Philadelphia or Washington.
Clearly, the Giants hope some time with his toes in the sand and a mai tai in hand will inspire Martindale to return to New Jersey with a cooler head, and perhaps that happens. But right now, the Giants are a thousand miles away from their defensive coordinator, literally and figuratively.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
Update: The team announced it has "mutually parted ways" with Wink.