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The Giants and new head coach Brian Daboll thought they did not have to go through a search process to locate their defensive coordinator, but that is not the case, and interviews are underway to find the successor to Patrick Graham.
Don “Wink’’ Martindale, high on Daboll’s list, has already been called in. Sean Desai, after one year running the Bears’ defense will also get an interview, according to NFL Network. Others will also get the chance to make a pitch for themselves.
Joe Schoen, the new general manager, made his first major hire on Saturday, selecting Brandon Brown to be the Giants’ assistant general manager. Brown had been the Eagles’ director of player personnel and had recently interviewed for the Vikings general manager job.
Brown, 33, had been with the Eagles for the past seven years. He was a defensive back at Fordham and has a law degree from Barry University Law School in Orlando. He received his NFL start in 2012 as a pro personnel intern with the Jets.
Kevin Abrams, who had been the assistant general manager, volunteered to give up that title if Schoen wanted to add someone to that role. Schoen has been complimentary about Abrams’ expertise in several areas and Abrams will remain as the salary cap analyst.
Daboll was introduced last Monday and said he had decided to retain Graham, with the caveat that Graham had a second interview with the Vikings for their head coach job. Knowing that was a possibility, Daboll did start preliminary work on prioritizing who he would want to investigate for his defensive coordinator role. Graham did not get the Vikings job but on Friday was hired by the Raiders, where he will be reunited in Las Vegas with newly-hired head coach Josh McDaniels — the two worked together on Bill Belichick’s staff in New England.
Martindale, 58, impressed Giants’ ownership two years ago when he interviewed for the head coach position that went to Joe Judge. His 10-year stay with the Ravens, the last four as the defensive coordinator, came to an end after the 2021 season, as head coach John Harbaugh opted to make a change.
Martindale’s Ravens defense finished in the top 10 his first three seasons before falling to 25th in 2021, leading to his ouster in Baltimore. Martindale would bring an aggressive style and personality to the Giants.
Desai, 38, last year became the first person of Indian descent to rise to the level of an NFL coordinator. He arrived in the NFL in 2013, hired by then-head coach Marc Trestman, and was retained in Chicago by John Fox and then Matt Nagy, until Nagy and his staff was terminated after this past season. Desai’s resume is a bit different from many coaches in that he has a master’s degree in higher education from Columbia and a doctorate in educational administration from Temple.
Other veteran options for Daboll to fill the defensive coordinator job are Vic Fangio (recently fired as head coach of the Broncos) and Mike Zimmer (recently fired as head coach of the Vikings).
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