A big reason why the Michigan football team was able to win a national championship is their defense. When former head coach Jim Harbaugh needed answers on that side of the ball, he went to his bother, John Harbaugh, who is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. The past two defensive coordinators for the Wolverines were previously Ravens assistants, and that Ravens-style defense worked wonders for them. Now, Wink Martindale is the DC, and he also used to coach in Baltimore.
Wink Martindale was the defensive coordinator for the Ravens from 2018-2021, and the past two Michigan football DCs, Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter, were both on his staff. Martindale is confident that he will be able to have success with the Wolverines using the same blue print that Macdonald and Minter used.
“I think the biggest thing is there's been some verbiage changes because of the up-tempo of college football,” Martindale said, according to an article from 247 Sports. “You have to make a lot of calls just one-word things. But they kept the foundation of what we all put in together back in 2018. And that’s fun to see it work. And it’s not just worked for those two; it’s worked for D'Anton Lynn, who’s at SC now, Zach Orr, who's the defensive coordinator at Baltimore. There’s a lot of guys that have come up through our tree, if you will, that they're having a lot of success with this system. It's like I told the players: In all humility, I'm the OG of the system, so we're gonna be just fine.”
Getting someone that knows the system was huge for Michigan. Like Martindale said, he's the OG. He knows it, and he's excited for this new chapter with the Wolverines.
“We're all excited about it,” Martindale said. “It's gonna be fun to see with the new crew that we have defensively on the coaching staff. I tell them every year it evolves to everybody on the staff of what we do with this system, so it's all of our system — starting with Sherrone. It's one of those things that I think you have the advantage being at the University of Michigan because of the offense, and how Sherrone runs the offense. I think that puts us in the right mindset to play great defense, because you better be physical if you're going to play at the University of Michigan. It starts with the the guys up front, the D-line, and we’ve got some players.”
Not only does Martindale have experience with this system, but he has a ton of coaching experience in general. He is bringing a lot of knowledge for the Michigan football team, and that is important.
“Experience itself is sometimes overlooked in today's age of football at all the different levels,” Martindale continued. “And I think that when you take the mindset of not only developing players but developing coaches, which we have for the last few years, I think you'll really like where you're at at the end of this thing. Sherrone is a stud and obviously it's a match made in heaven for he and I to come together, and I'm really excited about that. And if he has anything to say, ‘What have you guys done in the past?' I just have a bigger library than most because I've been doing this for 40 years.”
Wink Martindale is making a return to college football
Martindale has experience coaching at the college and NFL level. He was a college coach from 1986-2003, and he has been in the pros since then. Now, he is coming to Michigan and making a return to the college level.
“The excitement of coming back to my roots, like I initially said,” Martindale said. “And just to have the opportunity. I mean, this is a dream job, coming to the University of Michigan and being the defensive coordinator and having this opportunity. It's one of those things: I think our lives are full of bucket list things. And when you look back at at the end, it's going to be a bucket list thing that I did, or that we did — my wife and I. I'm just really excited about it. And I'm excited about getting back to the pageantry of college football. Because that's different, you know that, compared to the pro level. And, you know, I wish we had a little bit easier schedule than what we have. But I guess it's something I'm used to where I just came from.”
There are a lot of changes happening this offseason to the Michigan football team, and Wink Martindale joining the staff is one of those changes. The team and the coaching staff will look much different next year, and it's going to be tough to repeat the success that they had last season. However, Martindale seems confident that the defense isn't going to miss a beat.
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