FEBRUARY 9: Michigan is indeed set to hire Martindale for the DC post, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. He will take over a Wolverines defense which has helped Macdonald and Minter land NFL gigs as he looks to rebuild his pro coordinator stock following an unceremonious Giants departure.
FEBRUARY 7: Don Martindale interviewed for multiple defensive coordinator jobs during this year’s hiring period, but the final two teams in need at this position — the Cowboys and Seahawks — do not have the recent Giants coordinator on their respective radars.
As a result, Martindale looks to be considering coaching in college. After seeing DC Jesse Minter follow Jim Harbaugh to Los Angeles, Michigan is eyeing Martindale — per 247Sports.com’s Matt Zenitz — to run its defense. Martindale’s right-hand man with the Giants, Drew Wilkins, is also drawing consideration in the college ranks, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets, adding that Martindale is a serious candidate for the Michigan job.
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Martindale, 60, has not coached at the college level since being Western Kentucky’s DC in the early 2000s. The Broncos, Ravens and Giants subsequently employed Martindale as their DC since 2010. After a successful stint in Baltimore, Martindale did not prove a fit in New York. After helping Brian Daboll to a Coach of the Year campaign in 2022, Martindale feuded with the New York HC in Year 2. This came to a head when Daboll’s firing of Wilkins — a longtime Ravens assistant who followed Martindale to New York — set off the fiery DC, leading to a shouting match and Martindale resigning his post.
The Ravens hired Mike Macdonald to replace Martindale following the latter’s one-year run as the Wolverines’ DC (2021). This would make Martindale a logical fit, though his dispute with Daboll would certainly require an investigation by the team/school that hires him. Martindale and Wilkins worked as the Giants’ top assistants on defense, effectively running things on that side of the ball — sometimes without Daboll and GM Joe Schoen‘s say-so. Wilkins has worked with Martindale since 2012, when the latter arrived in Baltimore.
The Jaguars and Packers interviewed Martindale for their respective DC jobs, but each team went in a different direction. Jacksonville hired ex-Atlanta DC Ryan Nielsen, while Green Bay brought Boston College HC Jeff Hafley back to the pros. Considering the unstable college landscape, it is interesting Martindale is being connected to moving back to an NCAA gig after 20 years in the NFL.
Michigan is also considering Chiefs D-line coach Joe Cullen for its DC post, Zenitz adds. Unlike Martindale, Cullen is in consideration for one of the remaining NFL vacancies; the Seahawks have shown interest.
You are obsessed with running stories about Martindale. No one cares where this grumpy old man goes as long as it is not their team.
Sick photo of Wink right there.
Would be a poor choice for Michigan
Long out of touch with the changes in collage football
Must be a beauty of a photo
McDonald and minter both worked under martindale in Baltimore. Same system both run
Seems like this is missing some additional info, like age/experience/background of both Wilkins, as I think it’s almost a guarantee the Wilkins duo follows Martindale if he took the UM gig, or at least one. Drew has experience coaching at Maryland. Both are young and aggressive and seem like they wouldn’t struggle with a transition to college, and both would fit perfectly for roles left open by the Elston and (presumably) elder Minter departures.
Michigan is going to disappear from the ranks of national powerhouses faster than a toupee in a hurricane.
Wonder how long it will take Wink before he is trying to undermine the HC like he did with the Giants.
Doubt Wink will have any issues with Moore. Wink likes complete autonomy for defensive playcalling & personnel packages; the issues in NY started when the head coach started intervening in calls and adjusting sub packages. Considering Moore has 0 experience on the defensive side, and intends on continuing to focus on offense by nature, I’d think a huge reason Wink signed on w Michigan is that he has complete authority over his side of the ball. The bigger issue will come down to recruiting, and whether he is able to “work as a team” with recruiting support staff, assistant coaches and Sherrone Moore to get the blue chippers