Giants head coach  Brian Daboll  agreed to sign more players because of …

Wink Martindale was in the coaches’ meeting room at Giants headquarters interviewing for the defensive coordinator position in February when he was summoned to meet with general manager Joe Schoen.

Martindale left his cellphone on the meeting room table when he stepped out. It rang, and Giants defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson couldn’t help but notice the caller ID featuring the name of a head coach from another team in the market for a defensive coordinator.

A few minutes passed and another call came from the head coach, who presumably had gotten wind Martindale was interviewing with the Giants and wanted to make his pitch before anything was finalized. When Giants head coach Brian Daboll returned to the room, Henderson made him aware of the competition to hire Martindale, who had already made a strong impression.

“I see his phone is blowing up. I told Daboll,” Henderson said. “And then it’s ringing again, and I was like, ‘You better do something quick.’”

The Giants didn’t waste any time. Daboll made an offer, Martindale accepted and neither has looked back.

Martindale is now the headliner of the all-star staff Daboll assembled in his first head-coaching job following 25 years as an assistant. Rather than rely on old friends and former colleagues, Daboll instead oversaw an innovative interview process that grew as each assistant was hired.