Matt Johnson
The Michigan Wolverines coaching staff from the 2023 season was raided with Jim Harbaugh bringing many of his top assistants with him to the NFL. Now, first-year Michigan coach Sherrone Moore is adopting the same formula that made Harbaugh successful by poaching talent from the NFL.
Moore, promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach following Harbaugh’s departure, has made the first major addition to his new coaching staff. While the Wolverines are losing a significant amount of talent and excellent coaching to the NFL, Moore has found a way to do the same by landing one of the best defensive-minded coaches in football.
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According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Michigan is planning to hire Wink Martindale as its new defensive coordinator. Don “Wink” Martindale will be returning to college football for the first time since 2003.
Martindale, 61 in May, began his coaching career as a defensive coordinator with Defiance College (1986-’87). He worked his way up the coaching ladder, becoming an assistant at Notre Dame (1994-’95( followed by stints at Cincinnati (1996-’98), Western Illinois (1999) and Western Kentucky (2000-’03).
However, Martindale hasn’t coached college football since he left Western Kentucky in 2004 to become the Oakland Raiders linebackers coach. He first became an NFL defensive coordinator in 2010 with the Denver Broncos and has held that title since 2018 with the Baltimore Ravens (2018-’21) and New York Giants (2022-’23). Now, he’ll be on a coaching staff just outside his native Ohio.
Wink Martindale’s blitz-heavy defenses
| Team | Blitz Rate |
| 2019 (Ravens) | 54.9% (1st in NFL) |
| 2020 (Ravens) | 44.1% (1st in NFL) |
| 2021 (Ravens) | 31.1% (8th in NFL) |
| 2022 (Giants) | 39.7% (1st in NFL) |
| 2023 (Giants) | 45.4% (2nd in NFL) |
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Martindale was beloved by defensive players during his stints as a defensive coordinator in Baltimore and New York. He is an aggressively-minded coach who will rely heavily on putting his cornerbacks in man coverage and dialing up heavy pressures on opposing quarterbacks via the blitz.
Considering the success Harbaugh had in the past by hiring two NFL coaches to become his defensive coordinator (Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter), Moore’s decision to use that same plan could pay off nicely for the Wolverines. Martindale’s blitz-heavy defenses should fare particularly well against inexperienced college quarterbacks.
