The Michigan football team won the national championship last season, and the reason they were able to do that is because they were loaded with high-level players and coaches. However, now the 2024 team is going to look much different. That 2023 Michigan team was filled with the best of the best, and a lot of players and coaches left for the NFL. One coach that departed is Jesse Minter, who was the defensive coordinator for the Wolverines last year. Now, Wink Martindale is taking over those duties.

Wink Martindale has an impressive coaching track record, and Michigan football fans love that he spent times with the Baltimore Ravens. The past two Michigan DCs also spent time with the Ravens, and they both did a great job with the Wolverines.

Jesse Minter left for the pros, and Martindale is now the Michigan DC. When the transition was happening, Minter told Martindale some things about the program. Minter wanted him to know what Michigan was all about.

“Jesse [Minter] told me when I was coming up here, ‘hey, at Michigan, every day is Tuesday,'” Martindale said, according to a tweet from The Wolverine. “At first I was like, what are you talking about? He said, ‘It’s football 24/7.’ If you’re a football freak, you love it.”

So far, it sounds like Martindale is enjoying things at Michigan, and he should have one of the best defenses in 2024.

Wink Martindale is impressed with his Michigan football players

Blue Team head coach Wink Martindale watches a play during the spring game at Michigan Stadium
© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Wink Martindale has been impressed by what he has seen from this Michigan football team so far. These guys are hungry to win another national championship, and it is showing.

“These kids up here are unbelievable,” Martindale said during an appearance on GM Shuffle. “We were gone recruiting the whole month of May, you’re leaving the office and there’s a group of 10 to 12 guys down there at the Glick (Michigan football practice facility) working out, working on one-on-ones, working on technique.”

A lot of people are expecting Michigan football to take a step back after losing so much from their national championship team. It's a reasonable thought. This team and coaching staff is almost all brand new. However, it's clear that these players hear the doubters, and they are working hard to prove them wrong. There have been doubters in past years too, but everyone inside of that program is confident that they can repeat as national champions in 2024.