Colts Interested in Mike Kafka, Wink Martindale

No surprise here, as the more the Giants play well on a national stage, the greater the interest in their assistant coaches.

The deeper the New York Giants hang around the postseason, the greater the interest seems to become for their coordinators from teams looking for head coaches.

The Indianapolis Colts are the latest team with a head coaching vacancy interested in speaking with Brian Daboll's staff members. The Colts have reportedly requested permission to speak with offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, who already has drawn interest from Carolina and Houston, and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale. 

Colts requested permission to interview Giants’ DC Wink Martindale for their HC job, per source. Martindale’s defense is fresh off Sunday’s wild-card win over Minnesota, when his unit shut down Vikings’ WR Justin Jefferson.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 16, 2023

This is the first known interest in Martindale, whose defensive unit held Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson to 47 yards on seven receptions in Sunday's 31-24 win in this coaching cycle, 

Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who spoke to the media Monday before reports of there being interest in Martindale in addition to Kafka, said that this would be a normal week in terms of preparation for the team, including the coaches, who need to gear up for a Saturday divisional showdown against the Eagles in Philly. As such, there won't be any head coaching interviews done by Kafka and, we're told, by Martindale this week.

According to NFL rules, teams cannot interview a head-coaching candidate employed by another NFL team still alive in the postseason until at least the third day after the conclusion of that team’s game. So in the case of the Giants, who played Sunday, Kafka and Martindale would have been eligible to interview Wednesday.

Both coordinators will likely look to schedule their respective interviews on Sunday, the day after the Giants' Divisional Playoff game at Philadelphia, as the Giants will either have an extra day to prepare for the NFC Championship game if they win or will have been eliminated from the playoffs and thus be free to interview at any time once the club grants permission to do so.

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