Tag: Drew Wilkins

Rams hiring Drew Wilkins as new defensive pass rush coordinator

The Rams have made their first new hire of the offseason, bringing in Drew Wilkins as their defensive pass rush coordinator

When the Los Angeles Rams promoted Chris Shula to defensive coordinator in 2024, it left them without a position on the staff that he previously held: pass rush coordinator. They added that position back to Sean McVay and Shula’s group by bringing in their first new hire of 2025.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Rams are hiring Drew Wilkins as their defensive pass rush coordinator. Wilkins was the Patriots’ outside linebackers coach under Jerod Mayo last season after previously coaching the Giants’ outside linebackers for two years prior to that.

He also spent 12 years with the Ravens, most recently as their outside linebackers coach from 2018-2021.

The Rams’ pass rush was one of the best in the NFL last season, particularly toward the end of the year. In the playoffs, they sacked Sam Darnold nine times and Jalen Hurts seven times, ratcheting up the pressure and wreaking havoc in the backfield.

Wilkins will have the benefit of working with a young group led by Jared Verse, Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske and Byron Young this season.

Two defensive coaches, including legendary LB, not returning to Patriots

Dont’a Hightower and Drew Wilkins are both reportedly not returning to New England

New England Patriots inside linebackers coach Dont’a Hightower and outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins will not be returning to the coaching staff in 2025, according to Mass Live’s Mark Daniels on Monday.

Hightower took over as the outside linebackers coach last February. Wilkins was also hired last season as part of Jerod Mayo’s staff

Hightower was a decorated player for the Patriots organization. He played nine years with the team and recorded 569 combined tackles. He made the Pro Bowl twice and won three Super Bowl titles.

Vrabel has made a flurry of moves over the last couple of weeks in an effort to build a stronger and more experienced coaching staff. Position coaches on both sides of the ball are getting revamped.

We’ll see if it pays off when the team hits the field. The defense in particular had a down season in comparison to previous years. Getting that unit back on track should be one of the main goals for Vrabel in New England.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Patriots OLB coach makes major Dont’a Hightower prediction

Could Dont’a Hightower follow in Jerod Mayo’s footsteps?

New England Patriots outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins had high praise for inside linebackers coach Dont’a Hightower.

He already views Hightower as a rising “superstar” coach with a shot at following in coach Jerod Mayo’s footsteps.

Hightower joined the Patriots’ coaching staff in January. He played for the Patriots from 2012-2021 and was an integral part of the defense. Now, he is dipping his toes in the coaching ranks. It will be a fresh start for Hightower, who has never been a coach before.

Still, his football knowledge could help the Patriots’ organization immensely. Wilkins believes Hightower can use this position to take his coaching talents to another level.

Per the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan, he said Hightower will be a head coach someday.

Hightower could indeed rise up the coaching ranks in a similar way that Jerod Mayo did under former coach Bill Belichick. His coaching career should be a fun one to watch, as he begins where it all started for him as an NFL player.

Patriots hiring former Giants OLB coach Drew Wilkins

The New England Patriots are hiring former New York Giants OLB coach Drew Wilkins to the same position.

The New England Patriots are hiring former New York Giants outside linebacker coach Drew Wilkins, reports veteran NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

Wilkins will assume the same position he held the past two seasons with the Giants under coordinator Wink Martindale.

Wilkins and his brother Kevin, a defensive assistant with the Giants, were fired last month by head coach Brian Daboll in an effort to push Martindale out the door.

The tactic worked. Martindale left and the Giants hired a new defensive coordinator, Shane Bowen, to replace him. Martindale took the DC job at the University of Michigan this past week.

It had also been reported earlier last week that Wilkins had become a hot commodity on the coaching circuit, specifically at the college level.

[lawrence-related id=723946,723945,723938]

Ex-Giant Drew Wilkins requested for ‘high level’ college football interviews

Former New York Giants outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins has reportedly been requested for “high-level” college football interviews.

Former New York Giants outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins has apparently become a hot commodity at the college level.

Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports that Wilkins has been requested for “high-level college football interviews.”

Wilkins and his brother, Kevin, were fired by the Giants earlier this offseason in a move seemingly designed to push defensive coordinator Wink Martindale out.

The Wilkins brothers are long-time associates of Martindale and their termination yielded the results head coach Brian Daboll wanted. Just days later, Martindale and the Giants “parted ways” in an ugly divorce.

Before his time with the Giants, Wilkins spent 12 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.

If Martindale eventually lands the defensive coordinator job at Michigan, it would come as little surprise if both Drew and Kevin Wilkins join him on staff.

[lawrence-related id=723865,723861,723856]

Giants’ Mike Kafka unhappy, may want out of New York

Even if he doesn’t land a head coaching job, Giants OC Mike Kafka is reportedly unhappy and may want to exit New York stage left.

The New York Giants have a problem that’s beginning to boil over, and their attempts to control the narrative have failed.

After months of denying that tension exists inside 1925 Giants Drive, it’s now apparent that the environment, as some staffers have suggested, has become toxic.

On Black Monday, the Giants fired special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey.

Whether or not that termination was justified — and many believe it was — an end to that relationship was inevitably coming. Although he toed the company line publicly, McGaughey was unhappy behind the scenes, put off by head coach Brian Daboll’s routine eruptions.

“(McGaughey) was also not especially happy. He kind of wanted out,” ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reported on the latest Breaking Big Blue podcast.

Immediately following the termination of McGaughey, Daboll informed defensive assistants Drew and Kevin Wilkins, that they too were fired.

The belief was that Drew Wilkins, the right-hand man of defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, may have been the one leaking frustrations to the media.

Raanan isn’t so sure.

“I still have not found a single person who said a bad thing about Drew Wilkins,” Raanan said. “I know a lot of people think he’s the one out there — the Wilkins brothers — spilling all the beans to people. I really don’t think that’s true. I don’t think they talk to anybody.”

After the Wilkins brothers were fired, it set off a chain reaction inside the building. Martindale unloaded on Daboll in an expletive-filled rant and then stormed out.

Initially, it was reported that Martindale would resign, but he thought better of that. The Giants would control where he could work in 2024, so instead the two sides came to an agreement and “mutually parted ways.”

With two unhappy coordinators and two unhappy assistants gone, the problem was solved for the Giants, right?

Wrong.

Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, who has reportedly faced the brunt of Daboll’s eruptions, is also unhappy. And even if he doesn’t land any of the head coaching jobs he’s interviewed for, Raanan expects him to take his leave from East Rutherford as well.

“Mike Kafka, the more I hear, the less likely it is — and I know he’s still there now — even if he doesn’t get a head coaching job, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Giants let him out and he ends up somewhere else anyway,” Raanan said. “He’s unhappy.”

Kafka’s displeasure is nothing new. Word has filtered out over the last several weeks that he’s less than enthused by the situation in East Rutherford.

“I had heard this weeks ago,” Raanan said. “At that point, I had heard it from multiple people. At this point, I’m hearing it from five, six, seven people.

“I had heard on multiple occasions that Kafka’s deal was that Brian Daboll was super suffocating. He was overly involved in the offense if that was possible — even though it’s his offense. But really, just in a way, undercutting, completely undercutting Kafka, who is the offense coordinator.”

Raanan added that one assistant coach, who didn’t come with Daboll from Buffalo and had no personal ties to Martindale, said the head coach repeatedly makes things personal.

That is not the first time a similar accusation has been made.

“I know of at least a handful of people on the coaching staff who weren’t happy or completely disliked Brian Daboll this year,” Raanan said. “That’s just not healthy.”

Despite all of the dysfunction, Giants ownership remains supportive of Daboll and hasn’t blamed him for any of the fallout.

[lawrence-related id=723335,723340,723311]

Report: Giants’ Brian Daboll makes ‘brutal’ outbursts ‘personal’

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll reportedly makes his “brutal” outburst “personal” and is considered an unhinged “madman” on game day.

The New York Giants and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale parted ways this week after tensions between head coach Brian Daboll and him boiled over.

Martindale exploded on Daboll following the firing of his most trusted assistants, Drew and Kevin Wilkins, leading the veteran defensive coordinator to head home to Florida.

But the issues between Martindale and Daboll began long before that fiery exchange. In fact, they started to butt heads during their very first training camp together in 2022.

Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports that Daboll’s explosive temper rubbed not only Martindale the wrong way, but several other coaches and assistants throughout the organization.

One Giants team source told The Athletic that Daboll often turns his fits of rage unnecessarily personal.

“You could probably see it building a little bit,” the Giants source said. “Like the defense is getting installed and you might have 12 guys on the field and Dabes is losing it, and he’s calling out coaches, and he’s making it personal.”

Daboll has never shied away from his outbursts, owning them without shame over his first two seasons. And as bad as they’ve been behind the scenes, they’re even worse on game day.

“On game day, he’s a madman. It’s just brutal,” a team source said.

“It’s to the point where you’ve got to take your headsets off or take one ear off,” another team source added. “He’s just constantly screaming. It’s like, ‘Jeez, I can’t even think.'”

That kind of treatment — something often dubbed “The Patriot Way” — is not something Martindale took kindly to. And although Martindale managed to keep his cool in the public eye, he would reportedly needle Daboll in front of other staff members with the intent of making the head coach blow his stack — not that he needed much motivation.

“Wink would just walk in (to a coaches’ meeting) and say something like, ‘When such and such did this, I stayed calm. I just went onto the next play.’ He’d throw stuff out there and see if he could get (Daboll) riled up. Dabes knows it. Dabes isn’t stupid. It would just float on by in the meeting, and nobody would say anything,” another team source said.

Daboll was the loose cannon who made things personal. Martindale played the long game. It was oil and water for the Giants.

“(Martindale’s) personality kind of fits his style of defense — blitz zero, man coverage,” the source told The Athletic. “He’s not a loose cannon. He’s very calculated. But he just doesn’t give a (expletive).”

In the end, Daboll found something that sent Martindale over the edge: He sent the Wilkins brothers packing.

Daboll’s over-the-top outbursts are accepted by most of his players, but his actions wear thin with other members of the coaching staff. And in order for this thing to work, Daboll will have to channel his inner Tom Coughlin and calm his jets a bit.

If he can’t, the Giants may be looking for another head coach as early as 2025.

[lawrence-related id=723069,723043,723062]

Giants forced Wink Martindale out by firing his most trusted assistants

The New York Giants and Brian Daboll knew exactly what they were doing when they fired Wink Martindale’s two most-trusted assistants.

Hours after New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll said they expected their offensive and defensive coordinators back next season, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale walked away following a blow-up with Daboll.

Martindale and Daboll had been butting heads for a while and when it was announced that two of Martindale’s top assistants — brothers Drew and Kevin Wilkins — were fired by the club, Martindale decided to split for his home in Florida. Two days later, it was announced that he was out.

Many are seeing the moves as a backdoor way for Daboll to force Martindale out without publicly firing him, which would have cost Daboll a chunk of his credibility.

It would have also cost the Giants a chunk of money.

Either way, Martindale is out and now Daboll can hire a DC who doesn’t steal his thunder. Martindale isn’t expected to be unemployed for very long.

The Giants hope Martindale doesn’t land back in the NFC East where he’ll torment them twice per season for the foreseeable future.

[lawrence-related id=723045,723035,723037]

Follow the Giants Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Giants fire Drew, Kevin Wilkins as Wink Martindale resigns

New York Giants OLBs coach Drew Wilkins and defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins were fired Monday.

The New York Giants fired outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins and his brother defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins in the wake of defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s resignation on Monday.

The Giants have made some significant changes to the coaching staff including the firings of offensive line coach Bobby Johnson and special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey.

The Wilkins brothers joined Martindale when the Giants hired him as the defensive coordinator during the 2022 offseason.

Drew Wilkins spent roughly a decade with Martindale during the latter’s tenure with the Baltimore Ravens. His brother, Kevin, joined the Ravens staff in 2015 and has been with Martindale ever since.

Giants minicamp: Notes, videos and highlights from Day 1

News, notes, highlights and a few videos from Day 1 of the New York Giants’ 2023 mandatory minicamp.

After canceling their final two practices of organized team activities (OTAs) due to poor air quality, the New York Giants were back at it on Tuesday. This time for their mandatory two-day minicamp.

Running back Saquon Barkley, who has not yet signed his franchise tender, is not permitted to take part in team-related activities and was not in attendance per NFL rules. He will not be fined for his absence.

On the schedule were press conferences with the team’s defensive assistants, head coach Brian Daboll and assistant general manager Brandon Brown. Select players also spoke with members of the media following a two-hour practice.

Here’s a look at some notes, highlights and videos from Day 1.