We thought all of the offseason drama between NY Giants head coach Brian Daboll and his former staff members were dead and buried. Apparently not. As most of you remember, the 2023 campaign was a mess for Big Blue both on and off the field.
Reports came in throughout the campaign regarding major issues between Daboll and his assistants, most notably former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale. However, the beef wasn't limited there, with other coaches who were either fired or took jobs elsewhere didn't like working for the Giants head man.
That much was made clear once again in a new report from ESPN's Jordan Raanan. The NY insider spoke to multiple sources, including former members of Daboll's staff, who didn't hold back in once again going after the third-year head coach.
Former Giants coaches continue to rip Brian Daboll for his leadership style
Per Raanan's sources, Martindale, Kafka and others did not like working under Daboll last season, with people growing impatient with him. Raanan added that former coaches felt like there was way too much 'finger pointing' going on and Daboll wasn't taking accountability for his failures. It was more of him trying to find someone to put the blame on.
"It was like, 'Are we on the same team?' It sure doesn't feel like it."A former NY coach told Jordan Raanan
"We were all trying to get out of there. "Another coach told Raanan
Martindale ended up cursing out Daboll in his office, per multiple reports, and he resigned from his position shortly after. The relationship between Wink and Daboll was beyond repair - Martindale has since taken over as DC at Michigan, while Daboll hired Shane Bowen to replace him.
Kafka is still in town, earning a promotion to assistant head coach. However, he had multiple head coach interviews and was even set to interview with the Seahawks to become their new OC, but the front office blocked that potential move. Kafka is also expected to take a back seat in terms of play-calling in 2024, with Daboll set to take over those duties.
This is a crucial year for Daboll, who fired offensive line coach Bobby Johnson and special teams coach Thomas McGaughey the day after the season ended. Carmen Bricillo and Mike Ghobrial were hired to take over those spots.
Daboll is hopeful that a new staff in place can get on the same page, but it's becoming more clear that wasn't the case in '23. It's a bad look that so many former coaches are ripping Daboll like this, but remember that there are always two sides to each story.