When the New York Giants and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale “parted ways,” one thing they wanted to avoid was his return to the division.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll had fired Martindale’s assistants, Drew and Kevin Wilkins, hoping it would lead to a resignation. That would have allowed the Giants to control Martindale’s potential employment in 2024 and prevented him from an NFC East return.
Savvy to that line of thinking, Martindale stormed out of East Rutherford but stopped short of resigning. Instead, he and the team negotiated a divorce and officially went their separate ways, leaving Martindale free to take any job of his choice.
That could come back to haunt the Giants as Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports that the Philadelphia Eagles have reached out to Martindale regarding their now-vacant defensive coordinator position.
As expected, the Eagles fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai. (@RapSheet first)
Over the last week, both Howie Roseman & Nick Sirianni have been reaching out to available coordinators, including former Giants DC Wink Martindale and former Falcons DC Ryan Nielsen. There are more— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 22, 2024
Martindale has generated significant interest since becoming available and conducted a multi-day interview with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Many additional suitors are expected for the widely-respected veteran coach.
Although Martindale may prefer to coach closer to his home in Florida, the opportunity to play the Giants and head coach Brian Daboll twice a year could be too much to pass up.
During Martindale’s blow-up with Daboll, one thing he made sure to remind the coach was how his defense had dominated the offense in camp and during practice for two straight years. And given how things ended, Martindale would very much like to carry on that tradition.
The Giants, meanwhile, may take a look at Sean Desai, who was a finalist for their defensive coordinator position in 2022 before Martindale was hired.
