Brian Daboll needs to evolve after Giants coaching mess

If we have seen the best of Brian Daboll as an NFL head coach, then it is not good enough. And it could be that he needs to display a lighter touch with his staff. This is what is called evolving on the job — ask two time Super Bowl champion Tom Coughlin all about that — and you can bet Daboll will partake in the “self reflection’’ that someone in the Giants building believes will be the aftereffect of the ugliness that led to defensive coordinator Wink Martindale storming out the door.

Make no mistake, Daboll within the organization did not take a hit for how this all went down. Could Daboll in his second year as a head coach at any level tried to smooth things over more adroitly? Perhaps. But there is a feeling within the organization that Martindale’s quirks and what increasingly was viewed as his lack of being a team player grew into issues that had to be expunged, unless Martindale changed his ways.

Thus, the Giants do not see themselves as a damaged franchise because Martindale cursed out Daboll and abruptly left the premises after Daboll informed him that two Martindale loyalists, outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins and his younger brother, Kevin, a defensive assistant, were getting fired.

And the Giants know all about Daboll’s running hot persona , on the sideline, on the headset, on the practice field, and do not view him as a raving lunatic who needs to tone it down. Not that he is impervious to learning and growth. Daboll is going about his business of hiring staff replacements — he added on Tuesday a running backs coach and an executive director of player performance — and the Giants expect Mike Kafka, the offensive coordinator, will remain in his current position — unless he gets a head coaching gig (the Titans interviewed him and Seahawks will, as well ).

Kafka, 36, is regarded by the Giants as an excellent young coach and is valued as a team first assistant who does not make waves and always defers to Daboll in his public comments. There is not a fear inside the building that the Martindale affair will dissuade quality coaches from joining Daboll’s staff.

There remains a belief in the lure of the New York Giants. That, of course, remains to be seen. There is no rush to find a new defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator and the Giants will likely wait until after this weekend’s playoff games to expedite that process. There are idiosyncrasies that are tolerated when a team is winning and a certain side of the ball is dominating.

There was not enough winning overall and not much dominating from a unit that finished 27th in the league in team defense. It attracted attention that as almost the entire coaching staff ate together in the team cafeteria, Martindale, Drew and Kevin Wilkins often were in an office, behind closed doors.

That rubbed some the wrong way. There were also incidents that were perceived as undermining the chain of command. An example: During the week of practice leading into the Christmas Day game in Philadelphia, it was noticed that outside linebacker Tomon Fox was wearing jersey No. 94, instead of the No.

49 he wore as a member of the practice squad. Daboll did not know about the change. Nor did general manager Joe Schoen. The investigation led to the equipment room, where it was learned that Martindale requested the switch because he intended to have Fox on the active roster for the game. That was news to Schoen and Daboll.

Game day personnel decisions are the purview of the head coach and the general manager. It is true that Schoen for four games — victories over the Commanders, Patriots and Packers and a loss to the Saints — sensed there could be trouble brewing and donned a headset to monitor the communication amongst the coaches.

He did this on his own — neither Daboll or Martindale asked him to listen in. During the 31 19 victory in Washington , Jihad Ward (offsides) and Kayvon Thibodeaux (roughing the passer) were called for penalties and Daboll complained to Martindale about the lack of discipline from the outside linebackers — the position coached by Drew Wilkins — reminding Martindale about Thibodeaux’s costly offsides penalty in the 10 7 overtime loss to the Jets.

Daboll, though, did not blame Martindale for the loss to the Jets. There are no signs whatsoever that Daboll has a player problem. The locker room that aligned with him so cohesively during his 2022 NFL Coach of the Year debut season remained unified around him in the far less successful sequel of 2023, when the Giants lost eight of their first 10 games and mostly stumbled to a record of 6 11.

To be a head coach in the NFL is to be a survivalist. They don’t fire themselves. When things go bad, heads roll and it is the head coach — sometimes at the behest of the general manager or ownership — who swings the ax. The best and brightest wield this power wisely and without rancor. The rancor part was not avoided with the Martindale parting and Daboll needs to make sure that does not happen again..