As the Giants’ standoff with Wink Martindale unfolds, the reality remains: They’re going to have a new defensive coordinator in 2024.
Regardless of whether Martindale officially quits or is fired, he won’t be back — regardless of the Giants’ current posturing about supposedly wanting him back, amid this standoff.
It’s not happening. Martindale has already reportedly cursed out his boss — head coach Brian Daboll — and leaked his intentions to quit, before flying to Florida. There’s no going back now.
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So who will be Daboll’s defensive coordinator as he enters a hot seat Year 3?
One intriguing name to watch is Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. But as the Raiders seek a new head coach, they’re currently blocking Graham from defensive coordinator interviews, according to NFL Network. Which makes sense. Why just let him leave for the same job?
(The NFL Network report did not specify which defensive coordinator job the Raiders blocked Graham from interviewing for. But presumably, the block covers all such requests.)
The Raiders are going to let their new coach — which could very well be interim coach Antonio Pierce (a former Giants linebacker) — make the call on whether Graham stays in Las Vegas as defensive coordinator. And if Pierce gets the job, which seems entirely possible, it would be a stunner if he let Graham leave for another defensive coordinator job.
If Pierce isn’t retained in Las Vegas, both he and Graham become intriguing possible candidates for Daboll.
Remember, Daboll was on the verge of retaining Graham as the Giants’ defensive coordinator in 2022, before Graham decided to go work for Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas. Daboll wound up hiring Martindale. They had no previous working relationship. And now, they’re engaged in a contentious, drawn-out divorce. So maybe Daboll wants to hire someone he actually knows well this time.
Before taking the Las Vegas…
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