Earlier this month, Giants defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale addressed the November 26 report from Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer suggesting that there is palpable tension between Martindale and head coach Brian Daboll. The report, which surfaced just two weeks after Martindale and Daboll engaged in a heated exchange during New York’s Week 10 loss to the Cowboys, was supported by Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News and even indicated that Martindale could be fired before the end of the season.
When speaking about his relationship with Daboll, Martindale said, “[w]e’re fine. It’s the same thing as it was last year. It was just different because we were winning more games” (via Leonard).
Indeed, the 5-8 Giants, who surprisingly advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs during the first season of the Daboll-Martindale partnership, have just a 4% chance of qualifying for the postseason this year (and that is despite the club’s current three-game win streak). Martindale’s unit ranks in or just outside the bottom-10 in total defense, points allowed per game, and defensive DVOA, which is largely why he was reported to be on the hot seat even before the Glazer report (though those rankings are not appreciably worse than they were in 2022, and by measure of DVOA, the Giants’ defense is actually performing better this season).
Losing obviously creates tension, and if the relationship was not in a great place even during a winning season, it stands to reason that it would deteriorate during a disappointing campaign. For what it’s worth, Martindale — who says that Daboll was the one to bring the Glazer report to his attention — indicated that he would like to be back with the Giants in 2024, though his remarks were not especially emphatic.
“Yeah,” Martindale said when asked if he wants to remain with the team. “Yeah.”
However, the 60-year-old coach also acknowledged that he could not say what would happen at the end of the season.
“As far as where I’m gonna be at, no one knows that,” Martindale said. “I say we, [my wife Laura] and myself, worked long enough and hard enough in this league that you hope you have all kinds of choices. I might be grabbing my golf clubs and go to play golf in Florida. … So you just don’t know what’s gonna happen. I can’t predict the future.”
Martindale interviewed for the Colts’ head coaching job last year and also interviewed for the Giants’ HC post back in 2020, but it seems unlikely that he will be on the head coaching interview circuit in 2024. He is under contract with New York for one more season, and given how popular he is in the locker room — and given how it would look for Daboll if he were to have to replace all three of his top coordinators in one offseason, which is a distinct possibility — Dan Duggan of The Athletic believes ownership will intervene and try to keep the relationship between Daboll and his DC in a tolerable place (subscription required).
Duggan does go on to say that such an intervention may not happen if the Daboll-Martindale rift is, as Glazer suggested, unable to be mended. And Duggan, who acknowledges that Glazer “doesn’t miss,” has heard nothing that would contradict the Fox personality’s report.
Therefore, Daboll could indeed be looking to replace Martindale, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka in short order. Like Martindale, Kafka’s job security was called into question in November, and Duggan suggests that Daboll could seek to more firmly take the reins of the offense as he enters his third season with the Giants, which would lead to a parting of the ways between Kafka and the team.
