Not this week.
The Giants are winning and Brian Daboll’s top assistants are attracting attention. The Colts have a vacancy at head coach and have asked permission to speak with defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and also offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.
But those interviews will not take place this week. The Giants, fresh off their 31-24 victory over the Vikings, have an NFC divisional playoff game Saturday night against the rival Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. There is no time to waste, and Kafka and Martindale will attend to their Giants business in the coming days.
Kafka, 35, could be busy in the near future. The Texans and Panthers previously expressed interest in bringing him in to interview for their head-coach openings.
“I’m not going to dive too deep into it,’’ Daboll said on Monday, referring to the interest in Kafka, before news of the Colts’ interest in Martindale surfaced. “He’s not going to do anything. Everything’s focused on Philadelphia, so this is going to be a normal week for him, for our offense. I know where his focus is. So, there won’t be any interviews leading up to this game.’’
Mike Kafka won’t interview for head coach positions before the Giants’ game against the Eagles. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
Wink Martindale has long desired to be a head coach. Bill Kostroun/New York PostMartindale, 59, has made no secret of his desire to be an NFL head coach. He interviewed for the Giants job three years ago that went to Joe Judge.
It is expected that Kafka and Martindale will wait to embark on their interviews until Sunday, at the earliest, after the Giants face the Eagles and are either headed for the NFC Championship game or eliminated from the playoffs.
Daboll said two players forced out of the game in Minneapolis — OLB Azeez Ojulari (quad) and S Jason Pinnock (abdomen) — are not seriously injured and both have a chance to play in Philadelphia. “We’ll go day-to-day with all those guys,’’ Daboll said. … ILB Jarrad Davis, signed on Dec. 28, started and played 32 snaps (56 percent) on defense. He had two solo tackles, one quarterback hit and did not distinguish himself in coverage. “He’s played well the last couple weeks,’’ Daboll said. “He’s picked up our stuff, and we’ll see how it goes this week.’’
The roughing-the-passer penalty on Dexter Lawrence for tossing Kirk Cousins to the ground just after he released the ball on a fourth-quarter throw? It might have been a soft call. “I was pissed off after that,’’ Lawrence said. “I had to shake it off and keep playing the next play.’’
Remember when reaching 30 points was some faraway ideal and not at all associated with Giants reality? They went 43 consecutive games without scoring 30 points before they piled 38 on the Colts on New Year’s Day. With the 31 points they slapped on the Vikings, the Giants have now surpassed 30 points in two of their last three games — and the one they scored only 16 points was with their backups on the field in the regular-season finale.
