Giants head coach Brian Daboll was fired because of…..
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants had been caught in a cycle of replacing their head coach every two years. They broke that trend Monday. This year, they have to replace everyone else instead.
That’s only a slight exaggeration after a tumultuous start to the offseason Monday. Head coach Brian Daboll will become the rare Giants coach to reach a third season after predecessors Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge were fired within two years. But Daboll will have to do a lot of heavy lifting at the start of Year 3.
Daboll must replace defensive coordinator Wink Martindale (resigned), special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey (fired), running backs coach Jeff Nixon (leaving to become Syracuse’s offensive coordinator), offensive line coach Bobby Johnson (fired), outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins (fired), defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins (fired) and strength coach Craig Fitzgerald (leaving to become Florida’s strength coach).
Of all those vacancies, Martindale’s departure is the most consequential. It was viewed as a coup when Daboll, as a first-time head coach, landed Martindale to run his defense two years ago.
But the relationship dissolved quickly. The Giants’ surprising success mostly masked the friction last year, but as the losses piled up this season, the tension grew.
Daboll made weak attempts to diffuse the spotlight on the issue, with jokes about fighting over pizza and a forced game ball reward for Martindale the same day a report from Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer brought attention to the fractured relationship. But, in reality, the relationship was contentious to the end.