Amid reports that Mike Kafka may now want out of New York (per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan) after defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s exit, some are wondering if it is a bad look for Brian Daboll as his coordinators step out the door.
Tiki emphatically defended the Giants head coach, declaring that the coordinators’ exits, or potentially pending exits could be more of Daboll necessarily putting his staff in place.
“I keep hearing these nonsense takes, ‘It’s an indictment on Brian Daboll that Mike Kafka might not be here,’” Tiki said. “Maybe Mike Kafka just wasn’t good here, and it was more of an indictment on Mike Kafka.
“Same thing with [special teams coordinator Thomas] McGaughey. I’d watch special teams for the Giants and be frustrated that those guys didn’t know what the hell they were doing. Is it on Daboll, or is it on Daboll to hold him accountable, which he did? Is it on Daboll to hold his offensive coordinator accountable? He did, sometimes taking the play calling away from him. That’s what a good head coach does.”
Tiki is riding with Daboll as he begins preparing for his third NFL season, and he doesn’t see reported rifts with coordinators being any reason to act otherwise.
“The narrative of ‘This sounds like trouble for the Giants because Daboll has problems with his coordinators,’ maybe the coordinators sucked in those moments!” Tiki said. “You should have a problem with them. I’m serious.”