Source: Giants DC cursed out Daboll over firings

Jordan Raanan, ESPN Staff WriterJan 10, 2024, 12:31 AM ET

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Jordan Raanan is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Raanan covers the New York Giants. You can follow him via Twitter @JordanRaanan.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Angered that the team was firing two of his closest lieutenants, New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale cursed out head coach Brian Daboll during a meeting on Monday, a source confirmed to ESPN.

The New York Post reported that Martindale “said his piece, got up, slammed the door and walked out of the building” after the Giants fired outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins and defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins. Both had come over with Martindale from Baltimore, and Drew Wilkins was considered Martindale’s right-hand man.

The rocky relationship between Daboll and Martindale is at the center of an impending split. It was reported back in November that the two were in a “bad place.”

A source said they expected Martindale to resign following Monday’s incident. The Giants had still not heard from Martindale as of Tuesday evening. He returned to his home in Sarasota, Florida, on Tuesday afternoon.

Martindale still has one year left on his current contract. The Post reported he’s owed $3 million.

The Giants could prevent Martindale from joining another team if he resigns. If that were the case, this could get even uglier.

Martindale, 60, is expected to have options if he becomes available. The Giants’ final two opponents — the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles — spoke glowingly about his scheme after their matchups. Both could be looking for a defensive coordinator at the conclusion of their respective seasons.

The situation unfolded Monday, after Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen met the media for a joint season-ending news conference. It was there that they said their “expectation” was for Martindale and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka to return.

They had already fired special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey and offensive line coach Bobby Johnson, but not the Wilkins brothers. And that was before they had even met with Martindale and Kafka to see if they wanted to return.

There had been rumblings both coordinators were unhappy throughout the season — Martindale because of his relationship with Daboll, and Kafka because of the way he was minimized when Daboll became more involved running the offense earlier in the season. Kafka, like Martindale, still has one year remaining on his contract.

The Post reported Daboll was adamant about getting rid of Drew Wilkins and, by association, Kevin Wilkins, 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.”

The Giants’ defense under Martindale had its ups and downs this season. It finished 27th overall but tied for first in the NFL in turnovers created and was easily the team’s best unit. ESPN Analytics had the New York defense ranked 17th overall. New York’s offense was 30th and special teams 25th during a disappointing six-win campaign that followed a playoff season.

The stress that the offense’s struggles put on the defense was a key factor in the fractured relationship between the head coach, whose specialty is offense, and the defensive coordinator. They also have very different approaches, with Daboll being an emotional firecracker and Martindale known for his composure.

But they did a good job of keeping the tension from the players. Several key defensive Giants players insisted they were not aware of it, and the team played hard down the stretch.

New York played perhaps its best game of the season in a 27-10 win over the Eagles in Week 18. The Giants’ defense was pitching a shutout until the final minutes of the third quarter.