There is plenty of dysfunction in the NFL. It is akin to what Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in 1964 said of his test for obscenity: “I know it when I see it.’’
What is going on with the Giants, Brian Daboll and Wink Martindale is not dysfunctional. You know that when you see it and this ain’t it. That does not mean it is all simpatico with the head coach and his defensive coordinator.
Nothing that has transpired this season between the most important and second-most important coach in the building means there will definitely be a parting of the ways once the Giants put the footballs away. Could it happen? Sure. Will it? Too soon to tell.
The winning the Giants experienced in Year 1 of the Daboll regime reinforced the desire to keep things together. The return of all three coordinators in 2023 was considered a boon to Daboll’s program.
The losing the Giants are doing in Year 2 could lead to changes in the upper-reaches of Daboll’s staff. Perhaps Daboll will feel pressure to act. Maybe offensive coordinator Mike Kafka is the collateral damage for the scoring ineptitude. Daboll might want to shake things up with longtime special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey. There is a chance ownership pushes for Daboll to make moves. There is certainly a chance Kafka and McGaughey return and Daboll concentrates more on the continued building of the roster.
And then there is Martindale. A Fox Sports report surfaced 11 games into the season stating the relationship between Daboll and Martindale is in a “bad place’’ and this could lead to Martindale leaving the team before the end of this season and more likely after this season.
Daboll made a few cracks and downplayed all of it. Martindale’s first chance to comment on this comes Friday, when the Giants coordinators meet with the media for the first time since before the bye week. What Martindale says should be quite revealing, as he is not known as someone who keeps his thoughts hidden. If he is strong in his rebuttal that anything is brewing with Daboll it will go a long way in putting this to bed, at least until the season ends. If Martindale leaves any wiggle room, the insinuation of unrest lingers as the Giants at 4-8 prepare for their Monday night meeting with the Packers at MetLife Stadium.
Was there tension? Is there tension? Much of this noise came to the surface after Daboll could be seen having an animated discussion with Martindale at halftime of the Week 10 game in Dallas. By the time the 49-17 rout by the Cowboys was over and done with, Martindale’s defense had allowed 640 total yards, the second-highest total in the 99-year history of the franchise. The Giants allowed two players to surpass 150 receiving yards in a game for the first time in franchise history. If you think this sort of abysmal performance does not engender tension between the head coach and the defensive coordinator you have not been around too many NFL coaching staffs.
That this stinker came in the first game after Martindale unloaded on safety Xavier McKinney for his comments after the 30-6 loss in Las Vegas was not lost on individuals inside the building. McKinney complained there was not enough communication between the leaders on defense and the coaches and, if true, that did not reflect kindly on Martindale. No other player picked up on that accusation and there was no real controversy brewing — until Martindale expressed how hurt he was by McKinney’s words. Daboll’s preference was for Martindale to keep all this inside the team; going public only created further distraction and the head coach is all about minimizing distraction.
Daboll saw fit to alert the players that there is nothing wrong with his relationship with Martindale.
“First time I heard it was when [Daboll] addressed it to us,’’ Dexter Lawrence told The Post. “I honestly don’t feel any tension, he says there’s no tension. He said the only thing they argue about is a slice of pizza.’’
You want dysfunction? Recall how Joe Judge and his offensive line coach, Marc Colombo, nearly came to blows in Judge’s office. You want dysfunction? Judge and the general manager, Dave Gettleman, basically ignored each other down the stretch of the 2021 season — a situation that ownership never should have tolerated.
Daboll, 48, is demanding and believes in direct communication. He does not let things fester. He is aggressive in his fact-finding missions. Thin-skinned individuals will not do well in his sphere of influence.
Despite a few hiccups, Martindale’s defense has far outperformed the mostly-feeble offense. He is 60 years old and has made no secret of his desire to be an NFL head coach. The Giants made the playoffs in his first year in the New York/New Jersey media market and Martindale received plenty of credit for the turnaround — but only one interview (Colts) for a head-coaching position. Time is not on his side, with the Giants destined to watch this season’s postseason action from home. That can breed tension, too.
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