Feb 072022
 
Don "Wink" Martindale, Baltimore Ravens (January 6, 2019)

Don “Wink” Martindale – © USA TODAY Sports

SECOND INTERVIEWS FOR DON MARTINDALE AND STEVE WILKS…
According to multiple sources, the New York Giants have interviewed both Don “Wink” Martindale and Steve Wilks for a second time, with these interviews being in person. Martindale’s second interview was on Sunday and Wilks’ second interview was on Monday. Their first interviews were held virtually last week.

The 58-year old Martindale served as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens since 2018. On January 21, Martindale and Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh decided to mutually part ways. The Giants interviewed Martindale in early January 2020 for their head coaching vacancy before hiring Joe Judge.

The 52-year old Wilks is currently the defensive coordinator at the University of Missouri. He also has served as defensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers (2017) and Cleveland Browns (2019). The Giants interviewed him for their head coaching vacancy in January 2018. After the Giants hired Pat Shurmur as head coach, Wilks became head coach of the Arizona Cardinals that year.

The Giants have virtually interviewed at least three other candidates for the defensive coordinator position, including Sean Desai, Jim Schwartz, and Teryl Austin.

The 38-year old Desai served as the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears in 2021, after being promoted from safeties coach (2019-2020). He was not retained when the Bears fired Head Coach Matt Nagy.

The 55-year old Schwartz was the senior defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans in 2021. Before that, he was the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles from 2016-2020. The Giants requested permission to interview Schwartz for their head coaching vacancy in January 2018 before hiring Pat Shurmur.

The 56-year old Austin has served as the senior defensive assistant and secondary coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2019. However, Austin has decided to remain with the Steelers, who are now  now promoting him to defensive coordinator. The Giants interviewed Austin for their head coaching vacancy in January 2016 before hiring Ben McAdoo.

GIANTS SIGN DAVIS WEBB AND JAMIE GILLAN…
The Giants have officially signed quarterback Davis Webb and punter Jamie Gillan to reserve/future contracts.

Webb spent most of the 2021 season on the Practice Squad of the Buffalo Bills, serving as the team’s #3 quarterback behind Josh Allen and Mitchell Trubisky. The Giants drafted Webb in the 3rd round of the 2017 NFL Draft, but waived in early September 2018 before the season started. The 27-year old, 6’5”, 225-pound Webb has spent time with the Giants (2017-2018), New York Jets (2018), Bills (2019-2021). His only playing time in a regular-season game came in garbage time in one game in 2021.

The 24-year old, 6’1”, 207-pound Gillan is Scottish born. He was originally signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2019 NFL Draft. Gillan served as Cleveland’s punter for all of 2019 and 2020, as well as most of 2021. The Browns waived him in late December and he was then signed to the Practice Squad of the Buffalo Bills. In 44 regular-season games, Gillan has averaged 44.7 yards per punt (39.8 net yards per punt).

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Eric Kennedy

Eric Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of BigBlueInteractive.com, a publication of Big Blue Interactive, LLC. Follow @BigBlueInteract on Twitter.

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