Wink Martindale and the Giants agree to part ways.
The team and the defensive coach are going to part ways, the organization said Wednesday. After two days, it became official: Martindale and the Giants failed to reach an agreement, leaving the head coach to pursue another job.
The coordinator and the team had been back and forth about the news all week. It started with boss Brian Daboll saying he thought Martindale would return in 2024, but then stories said that wasn’t true.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said on Monday that Martindale would be resigning as Giants DC. However, New York was still hopeful that they could find a way to keep the experienced coordinator on staff.
According to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, Martindale yelled at Daboll and walked out of the building on Tuesday night after the New York Giants fired outside linebackers instructor Drew Wilkins as well as Wilkins’ younger brother Kevin, who worked as a defensive assistant.
It looks like those staff decisions were the last straw for Martindale, who has a history of coming up with bold plans that work.
The Giants’ defense was either great or bad in 2023. They were 27th in overall defense, 29th on the run, and 26th in score defense because of their aggressive play. However, they tied for the league’s top spot with 31 takeaways.
You can’t just look at these numbers by themselves, especially for an ensemble that had a hard time scoring, putting a lot of pressure on the defense to maintain them in the game.
In the end, though, it looks like Daboll didn’t value the work of Martindale’s team; Martindale and Daboll had a lot of disagreements in 2023.
A source told ESPN that Martindale can sign with any other team he wants. The Giants will keep the $3 million he owed because that’s what they agreed to, the person said.
On Monday, a source told ESPN that Martindale was likely to quit his job. He made that choice after the team fired a pair of his closest aids, which made Martindale swear at coach Brian Daboll, according to an ESPN source.
Martindale “said his piece, got up, slammed the door, and walked out of the building” after the New York Post fired Drew Wilkins and Kevin Wilkins as defensive assistants and outside linebackers coach.
Both Drew Wilkins and Martindale came over from the Baltimore Ravens, and Martindale thought of Wilkins as his right-hand man.
Martindale and Daboll’s relationship faced significant challenges during the season, and rumors circulated in late November that they might not survive until the end.
Martindale told Daboll, along with general manager Joe Schoen, at the end of the season that he didn’t want to come back, but they left the door open.
Martindale, who is 60 years old, should have choices. The Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles, the Giants’ last two opponents, had great things to say about his plan after their games. At the end of their seasons, both teams might be looking for a defensive coordinator.
There was “a feeling in the building that Martindale as well as Drew Wilkins were creating their own fiefdom in the coaching staff, occasionally bypassing Daboll or believing they had to answer only to one another and, ultimately, ownership,” according to The Post. This meant that Daboll was determined to get rid of both Drew Wilkins and Kevin Wilkins.
This season, Martindale’s defense for the Giants had its good and bad times. It placed 27th overall, but tied for first within the NFL in mistakes made. It was also, by far, the best unit on the team.
ESPN Analytics named the Empire State’s defense as the 17th best in the country. New York had a poor six-win season after making the playoffs. Their offense was ranked 30th, and their special teams were ranked 25th.