4 possible Wink Martindale replacements if the NY Giants don't bring him back

Changes are coming for the NY Giants. Things have been a nightmare for the team this season and you already know that John Mara can't be happy with what he's seen out of the players, but also the coaching staff.

It seems unlikely the Giants will make a head coaching change, especially since each of New York's last three head coaches lasted two or fewer seasons. Mara will not axe another coach early, especially one who won the Coach of the Year award less than 12 months ago.

Joe Schoen has yet to put his full imprint on the team, as he has had to clean up many of Dave Gettleman's disasters. The longtime scout hasn't been a perfect general manager, but he deserves to get more time. With that said, rumors are flying both Mike Kafka AND Wink Martindale could be on their way out this offseason. If that's the case, here's a look at four potential defensive coordinators for Schoen and Brian Daboll to consider:

4. Andre Patterson

If Big Blue makes Martindale the fall man, they could opt to stay internal and promote defensive line coach Andre Patterson, one of the most respected defensive coaches in the NFL. Patterson came over to the Giants from Minnesota in 2022, serving as assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator, and defensive line coach under Mike Zimmer.

As soon as he arrived in New York in 2022, the Giants interior defenders began to bust out. Dexter Lawrence had many ups and downs during his first three seasons in New York, but broke out in 2022 and is now regarded as a consensus top-10 defensive player. Behind Lawrence, Patterson helped revitalize Leonard Williams, who the Giants were able to trade for a second and fifth-round pick, which is tremendous value.

Entering the season, ESPN's Mike Clay ranked the Giants d-line as the best in all football. That is all because of Patterson. After his Vikings defense struggled in his first year as co-defensive coordinator in 2020, he led a renaissance in 2021. The Vikings defense ranked 14th in football in 2021 and gave up under 100 rushing yards per game. Patterson was a defensive coordinator candidate around the league in 2022 and could be again this offseason. After all, the man has been coaching defensive football since 1982.

3. Bobby Babich

If the Giants replace Mike Kafka, ex-Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey may be the favorite. If Martindale gets replaced, it is very likely the Giants will raid the Buffalo defensive staff to find their new defensive coordinator, as they should, because Daboll knows them well, and there are many quality candidates.

Bobby Babich has been in Buffalo since 2017, serving in many roles, including assistant defensive backs coach and safeties coach, and is currently the linebackers coach. Buffalo does not currently employ a defensive coordinator as head coach Sean McDermott fills that role, but if they did, Babich would be the leading candidate.

Since arriving in Buffalo, Babich has worked with and helped develop the likes of Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano, Von Miller, Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, and Tre'Davious White. The Bills have dealt with a slew of linebacking injuries in 2023 but have been kept afloat thanks to the likes of youngsters Dorian Williams and Terrell Bernard and veteran AJ Klein. Bills fans have been clamoring for Babich to take the reigns of the defense, and after you look at his track record for development, as well as the way he talks about football, you can see why

2. Eric Washington

Another member of the Buffalo Bills, Eric Washington, the current defensive line coach and a senior defensive assistant, could be a candidate. Unlike his colleague, Babich, Washington has prior experience as a defensive coordinator.

Washington, who served as the Carolina Panthers defensive line coach during the height of the Cam Newton era, was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2018 and spent two seasons in the position before moving to Buffalo. His defenses had moderate success, and he wasn't given the fairest shake as he took over during the downturn of the Ron Rivera era.

Washington knows how to get the best out of pass rushers, which the Giants badly need. Despite a rash of injuries in Buffalo this season, the Bills rank second in sacks (33). Washington has revitalized Leonard Floyd's career (seven sacks) while tapping into AJ Epenesa's (6.5 sacks) and Greg Rousseau's (four sacks).

The Giants need everything they can get out of Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari and could certainly stand to develop a third pass rusher. Washington might be the guy to do that.

1. Leslie Frazier

If the Giants let Wink go, their first call should be to Leslie Frazier. Frazier is the former head doach of the Minnesota Vikings and one of the finalists for Big Blue's head coaching vacancy in 2022 that Daboll got.

Frazier's most recent NFL job was as the Bills defensive coordinator from 2017 through 2022. In those six seasons in Buffalo, his defenses progressively improved each season. In 2017, Buffalo had the 18th-ranked scoring defense, giving up 22.4 points a game. In 2018, the Bills ranked 18th (23.4), second in 2019 (16.2), 16th in 2020 (23.4), first in 2021 (17.0), and second in 2022 (17.9). With a similar roster throughout, it is clear Frazier was able to develop, improve, and get the best out of each member of that Buffalo defense.

The 64-year old coach helped take Buffalo out of the dark ages of decades of brutal football into the new-age Bills franchise, a perennial contender. That accession helped the Bills attract major talents on defense like Von Miller. The Giants need someone with a track record of taking a struggling franchise over the hump and one who has shown the ability to attract major talents to play for him.

We know that Daboll and McDermott ended on rough terms in Buffalo. With Frazier's recent departure and Ken Dorsey's firing early this week, it's possible that none of Daboll, Frazier, and Dorsey enjoyed working for McDermott. Those three could bond in their potential disdain and team up as the three lead coaches in the Big Apple in 2024. Frazier's track record and resume are unmatchable. If the Giants part ways with Wink, they need to line up the Brinks trucks to attract the ex-Minnesota head coach.