We recently looked at a handful of potential free agents who could be playing their final games with the New York Giants on Sunday.
Several coaches on Brian Daboll’s staff could also be in that situation. Let’s assess some of the potential changes.
Around midseason, Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reported that the relationship between Martindale and head coach Brian Daboll was in a “bad place” and that the defensive coordinator might not finish the season.
Well, Martindale has finished the season.
What happens now?
Asked if he expected to be back with the Giants next season, Martindale said “I don’t know why I wouldn’t.”
“I think the future is bright if you’re asking me how I look at my future.
I think that these are things that you talk about after the season is over with because he wants to beat Philly and I want to beat Philly, and I just think that those answers will come later on in the week as far as which way we go,”
Martindale said. “I know we’ve got the greatest fans in this league and we’ve got the greatest ownership in this league, and you want to have a winner, you deserve to have a winner, and so whenever you are not winning, how this league works, inevitably, you are going to have conversations, tough conversations.
How that works out is how that is going to work out.”
Losing Martindale would be a blow to the Giants. The veteran defensive coordinator has done a good job in his two seasons with the team. He is popular with the players.
He runs a system different than most teams around the league, and that opponents admit is difficult to prepare for and play against.
Losing him would mean starting over with a new system, and by extension having to revamp at least some of the personnel.
It would also likely mean a ripple effect of losing position coaches.
Outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins, for example, is a Martindale disciple from his days with the Baltimore Ravens.
Martindale said “Sure. Always can,” when asked if he and Daboll could have a healthy working relationship.
What, if anything needs to change?
“I think that it’s all football related. I think that – like I said, we’ll have those conversations,” Martindale said.
“You have those conversations after this last game and you sit back and you can reflect and you take the emotion out of it, the emotion, the grind, the stress of preparing every week and you sit back, and you talk things out.
Say here’s where we are at, so I think that’s natural on every team.”
