After two seasons, the Giants and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale have amicably agreed to part ways.
The team and the defensive coordinator have amicably decided to part ways, the club said on Wednesday.
This midweek announcement comes after a back-and-forth between the team and coordinator, starting with coach Brian Daboll saying he thought Martindale would return in 2024 until rumors started circulating that he wouldn’t. Martindale will leave his position as Giants DC, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport on Monday. However, New York held out hope that a deal might be struck with the seasoned coordinator to retain him on staff.
It’s official after two days: Martindale and the Giants were unable to come to an agreement, and the coach is free to go.
The New York Post’s Paul Schwartz offered some context for the dispute when he revealed that Martindale reportedly yelled out Daboll and stormed out of the building on Tuesday night following the Giants’ dismissal of defensive assistant on staff and outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins and his younger brother, Kevin.
Martindale, a coordinator with a track record of devising bold strategies and succeeding, seems to have reached a breaking point when it came to those staff decisions. The Giants’ aggressive play in 2023 resulted in a boom-or-bust defense as they tied for the league lead in takeaways with 31, but they also finished 27th in overall defense, 29th against the run, and 26th in scoring defense.
These figures shouldn’t be taken in isolation, especially considering that the squad had severe offensive difficulties and that the defense was mostly responsible for keeping them afloat. In the end, though, it seems Daboll, with whom Martindale disagreed for a significant portion of 2023, did not value the contributions made by Martindale’s employees.
The Giants will now look for a replacement as they part ways in one of the more unusual divorces in the yearly coaching carousel.
