When the New York Giants parted ways with defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and fired his two most trusted assistants, Drew and Kevin Wilkins, there was hope that media leaks would cease.
That has not been the case.
Although Martindale and the Wilkins brothers were clearly a non-fit with head coach Brian Daboll and the current regime, it would appear they weren’t alone.
Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, who revealed troubling details about Daboll’s relationship with coordinators and assistants earlier this week, said some staffers say the current environment has “toxicity.”
“This is about the Giants as a process, which is still broken and viewed as broken,” Leonard said on the latest Talkin’ Ball podcast. “There are still people in the building, and one staffer advised a coach calling about a vacancy and said not to come here because the environment has a toxicity to it.”
Despite the many negative reports, Daboll still has the support of Giants ownership and has not yet “taken a hit” for how things have been handled. However, if this continues, that is subject to change.
“This was nothing new. Daboll had eviscerated people last season, too,” Leonard said. “DeAndre Smith, the running backs coach last year who ended up leaving for the Indianapolis Colts … he was someone who caught Daboll’s fury.
“This has been going on since the first season started, but it’s gotten worse. And then a brighter light gets shined on it as the losing happens and things spiral.”
Getting rid of Martindale isn’t going to solve these problems for the Giants, especially given that the relationship between Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka is equally volatile if not more so.
“If there’s any consistent element of the dynamic that people did not like about this season, it wasn’t Daboll-Martindale, it was Daboll-Kafka,” Leonard said. “Numerous sources told me … that he has received the brunt of Daboll’s fury. One source says he is constantly second-guessed.”
Ultimately, Leonard said, two distinct sides are establishing themselves at 1925 Giants Drive: those who believe Daboll is the right man for the job and those who don’t.
For the Giants to succeed, Daboll will need to find a way to get everyone on the same page.
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