Giants coach Brian Daboll fires back at report he’s beefing with

Before the New York Giants took on the New England Patriots in Week 12, a report surfaced indicating there was tension between Brian Daboll and Wink Martindale. Daboll shut those rumors down as soon as he could, showing there’s no bad blood amongst the Giants coaches.

The Giants came away with a 10-7 win over the Patriots. After the victory, Daboll praised Martindale’s work on the defensive side of the ball and denied any beef going on, via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News.

“The biggest argument Wink and I have had is who gets the last slice of pizza,” Daboll said. “I got a lot of respect for Wink. Glad he’s on the staff.

Daboll called Martindale’s gameplan against the Patriots, “fabulous.” He went on to credit the team’s ability to take the ball away and overall fight against New England.

The Giants managed to force three interceptions against the Patriots in Week 12. They forced another three fumbles, although the Pats recovered them all. Overall, New York held New England to 283 yards of offense and seven points. It was just the second time this season the Giants held their opponents under 10 points.

If the relationship between New York Giants coach Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is rocky, perhaps their second consecutive win put those feelings on hold.

In fact, Daboll rewarded Martindale with the game ball Sunday after the Giants’ defense held the Patriots to one touchdown and 283 total yards in their 10-7 win. It also forced three turnovers, all interceptions, against quarterbacks Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe

“I’m so damn proud of you, fellas. Good work, man,” Daboll said in a video posted on X by the Giants of his post-game speech. “That’s a great job. You never wavered regardless of how it went.

“Defensively, turnovers — keep them coming, man. There’s things we got to fix. So that’s two in a row. Hey, Wink, game ball, buddy.”

The Giants roared in celebration as Martindale received the ball and broke down the locker room with a “Giants on three” countdown.

Prior to Sunday’s game, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported that people with the Giants told him the “tension” between Daboll and Martindale was palpable and the two were in a “bad place,” to the point that he didn’t “see them actually continuing their relationship after this season — maybe not even during this season. There could be a mutual parting of ways.”

Daboll told reporters after the game that he’s “got a lot of respect for Wink” and that he’s “glad” he’s part of the staff.

Martindale was a key hire for Daboll’s staff heading into last season, Daboll’s first as a head coach. The Giants have eight takeaways in the last two games and have generally played better since giving up 524 yards in a 31-16 Week 5 loss to the Miami Dolphins.