Source – Giants DC Wink Martindale cursed out Brian Daboll over firings

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — Angered that the team fired two of its closest lieutenants, New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale insulted head coach Brian Daboll during a meeting Monday, a report confirmed. source at 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 shot outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins and defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins. Both had come with Martindale from Baltimore, and Drew Wilkins was considered Martindale's right-hand man.

Daboll and Martindale's rocky relationship is at the center of a looming breakup. It was reported in November that the two were in a “bad place.”

A source said she expected Martindale to resign after Monday's incident. The Giants still had not heard from Martindale as of Tuesday evening. He returned home to Sarasota, Florida, on Tuesday afternoon.

Martindale has one year remaining on his current contract. The Post reported that he was owed $3 million.

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

Martindale, 60, should have options if he becomes available. The Giants' last two opponents – the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles – spoke enthusiastically about his project after their matchups. Both could be looking for a defensive coordinator at the end of their respective seasons.

The situation came to light Monday, after Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen met with the media for a joint end-of-season news conference. That's where 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 even met with Martindale and Kafka to see if they wanted to come back.

There had been rumors that both coordinators were unhappy throughout the season – Martindale because of his relationship with Daboll, and Kafka because of the way he was downplayed when Daboll became more involved in the managing the offense earlier in the season. Kafka, like Martindale, has one year left on his contract.

The Post reported that 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, sometimes bypassing Daboll and believing they only had to answer to each other and, ultimately, become owners.”

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

The stress that the offense's struggles place on the defense has been 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 players tense. Several key Giants defensive players insisted they weren't 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 pitched a shutout until the final minutes of the third quarter.