Wink Martindale Plans To Stay With Ravens

Ravens defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale could draw interest as a head coaching candidate this offseason, but he doesn’t plan on leaving Baltimore. On Thursday, Martindale shrugged off the speculation and reiterated his desire to stay put (Twitter link). 

I don’t know anything more,” Martindale said. “It doesn’t really matter until you get a call, but we love this city, we love this organization here. It would have to be a dream-type job to take, where you know you can build a winning culture like we have here.”

Martindale, 56, entered the pro ranks back in 2004 when he became the linebackers coach of the Raiders. In 2009, he made a lateral move over to the Broncos before spending the 2010 season as Denver’s DC. After that, he hooked on with the Ravens as their LBs coach in 2012, before being bumped up to the DC title in 2018.

Martindale has lots of defensive knowhow, and an XLVII Super Bowl ring, but has zero head coaching experience. Right now, he says he’s not looking to move up a rung, unless he’s blown away by an offer.

We’ve heard similar talk from other playoff-bound coordinators in the past, only to see them accept head coaching positions elsewhere. If the 13-2 Ravens make a deep playoff run, you can expect to see lots of tempting opportunities come Martindale’s way.

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