Giants want Wink Martindale to remain defensive coordinator, have not begun search for new DC

Wink Martindale is gone from New York, unless he isn’t.

Despite Monday reports that Martindale would resign as Giants defensive coordinator, that hasn’t officially happened yet. Instead, New York appears to be hoping for a compromise to keep the DC.

NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo reported Wednesday that the Giants have not begun a search for a new defensive coordinator and don’t plan to do so as of right now, per sources informed of the situation.

New York wants Martindale to be their defensive coordinator unless and until he resigns, Garafolo added.

The Giants’ stance is somewhat surprising given the report from Paul Schwartz of the New York Post on Tuesday night that Martindale cursed out head coach Brian Daboll and stormed out of the building after the Giants fired his right-hand man, outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins, along with his younger brother Kevin, a defensive assistant.

The move to fire the Wilkins brothers led to the reports of Martindale’s resignation, but Big Blue hasn’t heard from the DC since.

So, we’ve hit a standoff.

Martindale is under contract next season for $3 million. A resignation would not only forfeit that money but also allow the Giants to restrict what other jobs Martindale could take — i.e., he couldn’t skip over to rival Philadelphia after their season ends.

New York seemingly doesn’t want to part ways with the coordinator, despite the discord between him and Daboll this season — the head coach said as much in his end-of-season presser — and isn’t planning to fire him, which would pay his deal for 2024 and make him free to join any club.  

Eventually, something will have to give. For now, we have a New York staredown.