Brian Daboll-Wink Martindale relationship a key storyline to watch after Giants return from bye
Giants head coach Brian Daboll talks to defensive coordinator Wink Martindale during training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, N.J., on Aug. 1, 2022. Credit: Brad Penner
When the Giants return from their bye week, the relationship between coach Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale bears watching.
Jay Glazer of Fox Sportssaid on Sunday’s pregame show that Daboll’s relationship with Martindale is in “a bad place.” He suggested that a parting of ways could happen during the season.
Given opportunities to do so Monday, neither Daboll nor general manager Joe Schoen said Martindale is safe through this season.
As the Giants enter their bye week, Schoen held a news conference Monday. Asked about the Glazer report, Schoen said he had not seen it.
He also said, “Listen, there is always going to be noise. There is a lot of noise in this market. It is what it is. I know what we think inside those four walls and that’s what matters. I’ve got a great relationship with Wink, I don’t know where some of this stuff comes from. I’ll yield to Dabs on what he said on that.”
Schoen added that in the last 22 months, the relationship between Daboll and Martindale “hasn’t changed.”
Schoen: I respect Saquon
Schoen addressed a range of topics, including briefly on the future of Saquon Barkley, who is playing on a one-year deal. “Like I said, the UFAs, we’ll talk about after the season. We tried long and hard to get something done with him, and we’ll see what happens in the offseason.” He added, “I respect Saquon a lot and the way he’s handled himself through this entire process, and I have a lot of respect for Saquon."
More expected from RT Neal
On injured right tackle Evan Neal, Schoen said: “We are looking forward to getting him back [on the field], but he knows there are some things he can do better and that’s what we expect from him.”
Staying on top of draft prospects
Asked how much work he has done on the quarterbacks who will be draft eligible, Schoen said, “I’ve done a lot of work on the entire draft. I’m further ahead this year than last year. Last year kind of being the first in-season as general manager, different schedule than what I’ve had in the past as an assistant GM or director of player personnel. So, I tweaked my process a little bit this year so I can stay up on all positions.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
