Tag: Wink Martindale

This Saints coach candidate has big name in mind for his defensive coordinator

This New Orleans Saints coach candidate has a big name in mind for his defensive coordinator. Mike Kafka reportedly wants to bring Wink Martindale with him:

Now this is interesting. New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka is a candidate for the New Orleans Saints head coaching job, and he’s begun putting feelers out for his potential staff. ESPN’s Giants beat writer Jordan Raanan shares that former Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is widely expected to join Kafka in New Orleans with the same role in mind, should he get the job.

Martindale spent the last year on the Michigan Wolverines coaching up top-10 draft prospects like defensive tackle Mason Graham and cornerback Will Johnson. He’s got a lot of experience calling plays for the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens prior to his turn with the Giants, where a public fallout with head coach Brian Daboll led to his departure.

At a time when the Saints may be seen as a sinking ship, it’s refreshing that Kafka at least appears to genuinely want the job. He’s expressed that eagerness to Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy (he’ll be coaching the National Team this week).

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Report: Mike Kafka expected to bring in Wink Martindale if hired by Saints

If New York Giants OC Mike Kafka lands the Saints head coaching job, he is expected to bring in Wink Martindale as his defensive coordinator.

New York Giants assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka wrapped up his in-person interview with the New Orleans Saints on Saturday. He is considered a favorite to land their vacant head coaching job.

Kafka is “hopeful” he will get the call and has reportedly begun considering who he’d hire as his offensive and defensive coordinator.

In a strange twist, ESPN’s Jordan Raaran reports that Kafka is expected to bring in former Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale should he get the job.

Martindale worked side-by-side with Kafka during their two first seasons with the Giants under the regime of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll. However, things quickly deteriorated between Martindale and Daboll, leading to an ugly and public split.

After his “resignation” in East Rutherford, Martindale spent last season as the Michigan defensive coordinator, where he earned the largest coordinator salary in the country.

Martindale interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts during this coaching cycle and drew some interest from the Cincinnati Bengals.

Kafka, meanwhile, was retained after Martindale’s exit and promoted in an effort to prevent a lateral move — something he was reportedly open to. And although he’s said all the right things publicly, many reports suggest he’s less than pleased privately, especially after having his play-calling duties stripped.

Given that Martindale would be Kafka’s primary choice as defensive coordinator, one could suggest that it reflects poorly on Daboll and Kafka’s opinion of the Giants’ head coach.

Should Kafka and Martindale land in New Orleans, it won’t be long before they see the Giants and Daboll. The two are scheduled to play at the Caesars Superdome in 2025.

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Wink Martindale safe as Michigan football DC — for now

Well, this is good news. #GoBlue

For a decade, save for one year, Michigan football fans had to deal with yearly speculation as to whether former head coach Jim Harbaugh would depart his alma mater for the NFL — basically as quickly as Harbaugh had been hired to coach in Ann Arbor. After 10 seasons, the yearly speculation became reality when Harbaugh left the Wolverines, following a national championship, to lead the Los Angeles Chargers.

And yet again, fans are on the look out to see whether or not Michigan can keep a member of the coaching staff from bolting back to the pro ranks.

Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale was a longtime mainstay in the NFL but Sherrone Moore made a big splash bringing him back to the college game after decades away from it. It was a rocky start in many respects, as his defenses gave up big points to teams like Texas and Oregon, but Martindale settled in, holding Ohio State to just 10 points in Columbus and Alabama to 13 points at the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa.

It seemed safe to say that Martindale would return in 2025, but then the Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts requested interviews with him to fill their vacant DC positions. However, since, the Falcons announced Jeff Ulbrich as their new DC and on Monday, the Colts announced Lou Anarumo to fill their vacant position.

The NFL coaching carousel is still working itself out, however, with the New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New Orleans Saints still needing head coaches, and thus defensive coordinators. If any of them poach a DC from elsewhere, there will be even more vacancies.

So, for now, Michigan football fans can take a medium breath, knowing that the two teams that had obvious interest in Martindale have filled their jobs. But until we get deeper into the cycle — perhaps a month from now — we won’t know for sure whether or not Martindale is assuredly set to return to Ann Arbor for another year.

Ex-Giants coordinator Wink Martindale interviewing for NFL jobs

Former New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale could be on his way back to the NFL with several teams interested in him.

After just one season at Michigan, former New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale could be on his way back to the NFL.

On Tuesday, the 61-year-old Martindale met with the Atlanta Falcons and he will follow that up with a Thursday interview in Indianapolis.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the Cincinnati Bengals could also get into the mix for Martindale.

Martindale headed to the college ranks after an ugly divorce with the Giants last year. He and head coach Brian Daboll had a very public blow-up that led to a “resignation” shortly thereafter.

The rift between Daboll and Martindale had been brewing for months despite the team’s insistence that there were no issues and that all reporting to the contrary was erroneous.

In early November, Martindale, who is the highest-paid coordinator in college football, threw a little unprovoked shade at the Giants and Daboll, who were 2-7 at the time.

“I’m glad I’m here,” Martindale said. “I love the players that we have. Obviously, it’s a different game (in college), but it’s a lot better than being in some places that are 2-7.”

Although Michigan underwhelmed this season, Martindale’s defense did hold Ohio State to 10 points before limiting SEC powerhouse Alabama to just 13 points in the Reliaquest Bowl.

If Martindale were to land one of those three jobs, he would not see the Giants in 2025. None are currently scheduled to play New York until the Indianapolis Colts in 2026 and the Falcons in 2027.

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Bengals defensive coordinator idea shot down by report

So much for this NFL rumor involving the Bengals.

Early this week, the Cincinnati Bengals got brought up alongside the name Wink Martindale as they continue to search for their next defensive coordinator.

It was an incredibly strange bit of speculation/reporting because the Bengals and Martindale don’t exactly have the friendliest relationship in recent years.

Not long after that started making the rounds, another report has stated that Martindale was never part of Cincinnati’s search for a new coordinator.

The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. added this: “Considering the unfriendly history between the #Bengals and Wink Martindale, it’s kind of funny they somehow got caught up in the conversation about him for DC.”

So that settles that and the attention now turns to the few interviews the Bengals have already had, plus the big name involved as a possible candidate.

Barring something dramatic and unexpected, Martindale being mentioned as a candidate for anything related to the Bengals will go down as a funny “hey remember when?” and little more.

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NFL rumors say Bengals could have interest in surprise name for DC

A new name pops up for the Bengals on the NFL rumor mill.

Could the Cincinnati Bengals go after a familiar AFC North name as the team’s next defensive coordinator?

While the Bengals have had a few interviews with candidates already and a big name has entered the conversation, there could be a late, notable entry.

Wink Martindale.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, while reporting that Martindale will interview with the Falcons and Colts this week, added this: “The #Bengals also could have interest in Martindale, who is college football’s highest-paid coordinator at Michigan. One to watch.”

Bengals fans will recall that Martindale used to serve as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens — his choice words for Ja’Marr Chase and others, combined with the Bengals’ rise, ended his tenure there pretty quickly.

Since, Martindale worked for a few years with the New York Giants before becoming the coordinator at Michigan.

Given Martindale’s vast history and experience in the division, it only makes sense that the Bengals might do due diligence on this front.

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Wink Martindale reportedly interviewing for NFL job

Not great. #GoBlue

For 10 years, Michigan football fans had to hold on for dear life every single offseason as speculation ramped up about Jim Harbaugh returning to the NFL. However, Harbaugh didn’t consider the NFL an option — until he did.

Now, with another former NFL luminary on staff, the Wolverines apparently have to continue playing this game.

Michigan football got an NFL-caliber defensive coordinator in Wink Martindale, the architect of the Baltimore Ravens defense. It was Martindale’s system that was installed in Ann Arbor by Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter, and Martindale ended up succeeding his proteges with the Wolverines following their departures.

And now, Martindale is reportedly interviewing for the Atlanta Falcons open defensive coordinator position.

It took Michigan football fans nearly the whole 2024 season to warm up to Martindale and it would be a huge blow if Martindale was to move on after one season in Ann Arbor.

We’ll keep you updated as this story develops.

Update: Martindale will be interviewing for multiple jobs, it appears.

Wink Martindale on Ohio State: ‘We just physically outplayed them’

Tell ‘em, Wink! #GoBlue

TAMPA, Fla. — No one gave Michigan football a chance against the vaunted Ohio State team it faced to close out the regular season, but the Wolverines were plenty prepared for the Buckeyes.

The “OG” of the defensive system Michigan installed in 2021, Wink Martindale showed why he was once one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL. Despite Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter having better overall success, they never held the OSU offense to 10 points as Martindale had.

So what allowed the Wolverines to play so much better than expected?

“Well, we were really confident in the game plan,” Martindale said. “And, our whole message was all week, let’s take them to the deep end in the fourth quarter. And we knew then that we could take over the game defensively. So, I know there’s been a lot of speculations about this and that and this and that.

“But, all credit to the players. The game always has been, always will be about them. I come out with that on Twitter because that’s what it was. We just physically outplayed them. And, guys, when your best players are playing their best, that’s when you have a lot of success. And you saw that with Makari’s hit on the quarterback. Ernest’s hit on the quarterback that was sort of hidden that no one saw because it was on a read sweep play. He got it pretty good. And after that, he started getting a little nervous back there.

“So, the guys had a great rush plan. Lou had a great rush plan. And Kevin with the four upfront. LaMar and BJ did a great job with the coverage aspect of it. Just sticking to our game plan. And, you know, it was a lot of fun to watch.”

Did Ohio State do anything that surprised him? After all, as Ryan Day has said since he took over the head post in Columbus in 2019, “You’ve gotta work The Game every day.’ As Martindale tells it, there were no special plays, no surprises, nothing the Michigan football defense wasn’t ready for.

“No. No. I know it was going to be a great challenge, with the receivers that they had. And, our guys up front, they played really well against the run. And, it was a fun game. It was a fun game to be a part of.”

With the win, Michigan improved to 7-5 with four straight wins over the rival Buckeyes.

WATCH: Michigan DC Wink Martindale meets with the media at the ReliaQuest Bowl

The O.G. was in pure form on Saturday! #GoBlue

TAMPA, Fla. — Everyone was waiting for the ‘O.G.’ of the Michigan football defense to show up as he had in his previous roles, and as Wink Martindale tells it, things started to click for the Wolverines defensively in the second half of the Oregon game.

That led to closer-than-expected games against Indiana and Ohio State, with the latter being a surprise upset victory over the Buckeyes to close out the regular season.

On Saturday, Martindale met with the media for the first time since the win over Ohio State, and he discussed multiple aspects of the game plan and what happened. He also discussed the matchup against Alabama, what he’s seen on the other side of the ball with Bryce Underwood, and more.

Martindale will certainly have a different challenge on Tuesday with multiple of his star players out. But he also shared some who he intends to lean on against the Crimson Tide.

Here is the full video of his media availability.

 

Wink Martindale shares Michigan football defensive strategy vs. Ohio State

Ohio State enters The Game with a formidable offense, as always. Here’s what Wink Martindale is saying about Michigan’s strategy.

Not many are giving Michigan football a chance at Ohio State on Saturday and Wolverines defensive coordinator Wink Martindale can understand why.

As Martindale has shared his concerns about facing the Buckeyes, he also knows there’s a path to victory for the maize and blue. He told Jon Jansen on the Inside Michigan Football radio show that while the important thing for the defense is to go out there and play fast, with full knowledge of what they’re being tasked with, there’s a lot more on the table in terms of plays that can be called.

The way he sees it, just so long as the players execute what’s called, Michigan will be in good shape.

“Somebody asked me this the other day. A pro scout said, ‘How much of your package have you run since you’ve been here?'” Martindale said. “And it’s really about, honestly, about 25% of the package. So we have a big library to pull from. The kids do a fantastic job to adjust into anything different that we do.

“And I think, also, this is one of those games that you just line up and go play, too. So it’s going to be a great challenge for us. We know we’re the underdog going into it, and as long as we don’t play like the underdog, we’ll be all right.”

So, what does the defense have to do? While Martindale’s answer is somewhat all-encompassing, he does accurately assess the challenge that the Wolverines face.

“This is going to sound like a double-edged sword: you need to stop the run and not letting ball get over your head,” Martindale said. “And, to do that, you’re going to have to stop the run sometimes with a lighter box. And we’ve been pretty good at doing that. So that’s going to be the biggest challenge.

“I know Chip. I’ve gone against Chip before. He’s a very talented playcaller, and it’s going to be a great challenge.”

Since 2001, the team that’s run for more yards in The Game has won. Ohio State has become much more balanced in recent years and Chip Kelly has turned the Buckeye offense into a much more viable running team. But, Ryan Day wants to pass the ball, so limiting the deep shots will be paramount for the Michigan defense if it’s to have a chance.