Tag: Don Martindale

The Baltimore Ravens made a switch at defensive coordinator very early on in the 2022 offseason, parting ways with Don Martindale and hiring former University of Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald in his place. It’s a hire that many are excited about, especially the organization.

Macdonald had his introductory press conference with the media on Wednesday, and answered many different questions about both his time at Michigan, what it’s like to return to Baltimore and what he thinks his defense can become. He also shared his vision for what his defense with the Ravens could look like, talking about how the aggressiveness that the unit has shown over the years won’t go away.

“The aggressiveness – absolutely – is going to carry over, but I think you’ve got to look through the lens [of], ‘What does aggressiveness actually mean?’ It’s about keeping the offense off balance and where they’re not really believing what they’re seeing on a down-to-down basis. So, a lot of times, that will come with the schemed-up pressure – that’ll happen. A lot of times it could be a fake pressure, it could look like this coverage and play like another one. You’re changing the stress points of the zones and things like that and just trying to create doubt at all times. You want to be the one pushing the envelope, rather than the other way around. So, that aggressiveness, that was something that … That’s a principle of the Ravens organization – is aggressiveness.”

Macdonald also talked about how there will be things that are carried over from Martindale’s defensive schemes and principles.

“There’s a lot of carryover from ‘Wink’ [former Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale], because we were together – like how [head coach] John [Harbaugh] describes – when we tried to build it in 2018. So, we see a lot of things the same. One thing that’s definitely going to carry over that ‘Wink’ did that I learned that I used at Michigan was overcommunicating the situations with the players. It’s kind of like when you have a rookie in training camp – not that I ever did this – it’s like, ‘Hey man, you’ve got this coming up. You ready for this call?’ And what do you know, the guy executed it well. So, it’s the same thing in the game; if you can go over the situation with the guys, let them know what you’re going to call in certain situations, and they’re on the same page, you find the execution is better. So, just the overcommunication and the situational, playing the game before it happens, is something that will definitely carry over.”

Macdonald had plenty of success as a play caller at Michigan, and will look to translate that over to Baltimore. He will have plenty of talented playmakers to work with, and it seems like he will fit in just fine with what the Ravens expect out of their defense.

The Baltimore Ravens made plenty of headlines late on Thursday night when they announced that they are hiring now-former University of Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to be their new defensive coordinator. Macdonald had been tabbed as the favorite for the position on Wednesday, and the rumors quickly became true.

Macdonald spent the first seven years of his professional coaching career in Baltimore, working a multitude of roles. He established himself with the Ravens, and was then hired away by Jim Harbaugh and Michigan, where Macdonald had plenty of success. He was a key reason for the university’s turnaround, and earned rave reviews from his fellow coaches, players, and the Michigan media.

In coming back to the Ravens, Macdonald will now take over a defense that has a storied past, but admittedly struggled in many areas over the course of the 2021 season under then-defensive coordinator Don Martindale. Tackling, miscommunications, big plays, finishing, passing defense and more were key points of contention, and while the unit was a top rushing defense, Baltimore and Martindale decided to part ways after four seasons.

Macdonald showed during his one year at Michigan that he can make effective in-game adjustments. One of the things that some didn’t love about Martindale was his “live by the blitz, die by the blitz” mentality, which worked at times but backfired at others.

The new Ravens’ defensive coordinator is just 34 years old, so he brings fresh perspective and an innovative football mind to Baltimore’s defensive unit. While his hiring technically marks the first external defensive coordinator hire in franchise history, the fact that he spent so much time with the Ravens before his one year at Michigan should benefit him in multiple ways.

Macdonald also showed that he can shape a defense and be an effective play-caller using his own strategies. He grew outside of the organization, and now returns as a more polished and experienced coach. While the NFL and college football are two different games, the success that Macdonald had at a very big college program can’t be ignored.

All in all, the hiring of Macdonald is a great one for Baltimore. The Ravens interviewed a plethora of good candidates for their defensive coordinator position, but Macdonald feels like the right choice.

Grade: A

The Baltimore Ravens parted ways with now-former defensive coordinator Don Martindale in what was a somewhat surprising move. However, the team underachieved on defense in 2021, which had to do plenty with injuries, but also with execution and play calling.

Baltimore has been requesting to interviews and completing them over the course of the last few days, but a favorite has reportedly emerged. According to Pete Thamel of ESPN and many others, the Ravens are targeting current University of Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald for the same position in Baltimore.

Can confirm via sources that the Ravens are targeting Michigan DC Mike Macdonald to the the next DC there. A deal is expected to come together by the end of the week. Macdonald isn't on the road recruiting this week for Michigan.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 26, 2022

The Ravens and Macdonald are very familiar with each other, as the Michigan defensive coordinator spent seven seasons in Baltimore from 2014-2020. He worked in a multitude of roles, including defensive assistant, secondary coach and linebackers coach. He is very familiar with how the Ravens run things, and with his success away from the organization, he would be a great hire if he is indeed the person tabbed for Baltimore’s defensive coordinator position.