Shortly after New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll held a suspiciously early press conference on Monday morning, he sat down to meet with defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.
Daboll had told reporters the expectation was that Martindale would return in 2024 but that wasn’t a statement made with complete honesty.
At the time of those comments, Daboll was aware he was going to fire Martindale’s right-hand man, Drew Wilkins, setting off a chain reaction that would lead to Wink’s resignation.
Daboll gambled correctly and managed to avoid the media circus that would have followed by telling them a tall tale. He also calculated correctly as word of Wilkins’ firing sent Martindale into a rage.
Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reports that Martindale cursed out Daboll before leaving team facilities.
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.
Word of that potential resignation spread rapidly but as of Wednesday morning, no resignation has officially been filed. For all intents and purposes, Martindale is still the Giants’ defensive coordinator — although it’s not going to remain that way.
How this situation gets resolved is unclear as Martindale was seen boarding a flight to Sarasota where he has a home.
Sitting next to Wink Martindale
Head headed to Sarasota.. let the rumors begin pic.twitter.com/UIFg8bZQ4m
— Todd Saunders (@toddsaunders) January 9, 2024
If Martindale resigns, he will not only lose the $3 million he’s owed in 2024, but the Giants will maintain control of his rights and could prevent him from taking certain jobs. As a result, the Giants and Martindale are now engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with no clear end in sight.
Martindale knew his time with the Giants was ending after two tumultuous years with Daboll and he foreshadowed that during Sunday’s victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
But Martindale is not without blame in this situation. It takes two to tango, as the saying goes, and while Daboll repeatedly dressing down the 60-year-old Martindale caused its fair share of friction, so did Martindale’s Wild West style of coaching.
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.
Daboll is all about collaboration and this was not that.
Martindale, 60, was extremely popular with his players and his side of the ball, while hardly dominant, consistently performed better than the offense, which is Daboll’s bailiwick.
That caused friction, as well.
Both Daboll and Martindale were inherently dishonest about what was playing out inside team facilities in East Rutherford, allowing Jay Glazer to take the brunt of the criticism following his November report of a deteriorating relationship between the two. They attempted to sweep it under the rug even though the entire world saw it play out at times.
The Glazer report only added fuel to the fire. Daboll confronted Martindale about it on multiple occasions but no explanation was provided. That didn’t sit well with the head coach, while Daboll’s demands and endless F-bombs didn’t sit right with Martindale.
For two men who have had relationship and insubordination issues in the past, this was a powder keg that finally exploded on Monday. It was an inevitable end to a situation that was handled poorly by both men, reflecting negatively on not only them but the Giants organization as a whole.
Send in the clowns.
