Jon Feliciano, who was the New York Giants starting center last season, isn’t at all shocked by the breakup of his former head coach, Brian Daboll, and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.
“I think it was unfortunate how that Wink and Dabes thing ended up,” Feliciano told reporters this week, via the New York Post.
Feliciano will be the starting right guard for the San Francisco 49ers in this Sunday’s Super Bowl showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs. His time with the Giants was short but he forged bonds with both men.
“I love both of them as coaches. I mean, once you get to know Wink and once you get to know Dabes it could be magic or it could end up how it ended up,” he said.
How it ended up was the fodder of many a media post across the league. Martindale and Daboll had a final blowout after the Giants fired two of Martindale’s closest confidants and coaches — brothers Drew and Kevin Wilkens — prompting Martindale to storm out of the facility and eventually leave the Giants’ organization.
“I think they’re both strong personalities and as you’ve seen, Dabes can explode,” Feliciano added. “As a guy that knows him, I know what you’re gonna get, and it’s not like a personal thing, it’s not anything but Dabes wants to win real, real bad. Even in Buffalo, he has more weight on his shoulders now that he’s the head coach. What did he do wrong that’s messing up the moment? And Wink is a strong dude. That’s probably what happened.”
In retrospect, Feliciano — a Long Island native — looks back on his time with the Giants favorably. He was a huge part of the first Giants team to reach the postseason in six years.
“To go with them to a new spot where there’s no expectations, they haven’t played well in a number of years,” Feliciano said. “Going there and being a leader and helping them turn it around, get into the playoffs, we had a playoff win, and doing it in New York it meant a lot more.”
