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Jordan Raanan, ESPN Staff Writer
The New York Giants and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale have mutually agreed to part ways, the team announced Wednesday.
Martindale is free to sign elsewhere without restrictions, a source told ESPN. The Giants will keep the $3 million he was owed, according to the agreement by both parties, the source said.
A source had told ESPN on Monday that Martindale was expected to resign from his job. That decision came after the team fired two of his closest assistants, moves that prompted Martindale to curse out coach Brian Daboll, a source confirmed to 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 fired outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins and defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins. Both had come over with Martindale from the Baltimore Ravens, and Drew Wilkins was considered Martindale’s right-hand man.
The relationship between Martindale and Daboll was severely fractured during the season, and a report in late-November emerged that they might not last the season. It reached a point where Martindale did not want to return, even though Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen left the door open at their season-ending news conference.
Martindale, 60, is expected to have options. The Giants’ final two opponents — the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles — spoke glowingly about his scheme after their matchups. Both could be looking for a defensive coordinator at the conclusion of their respective seasons.
The Post reported 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, at times bypassing Daboll and believing they had to answer only to each other and, ultimately, ownership.”
The Giants’ defense under Martindale had its ups and downs this season. It finished 27th overall but tied for first in the NFL in turnovers created and was easily the team’s best unit. ESPN Analytics had the New York defense ranked 17th overall. New York’s offense was 30th and special teams 25th during a disappointing six-win campaign that followed a playoff season.
The stress that the offense’s struggles put on the defense was a key factor in the fractured relationship between the coach, whose specialty is offense, and the defensive coordinator.