Michigan football lands Don 'Wink' Martindale as next defensive coordinator, per report
Michigan football has gone back to the NFL well to fill its lead defensive coaching position.
Don “Wink” Martindale, a defensive mind with more than a decade of NFL ties, will be named the next defensive coordinator on Friday afternoon, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, a U-M alum.
A handful of reports stated Martindale, 60, had traveled to Ann Arbor earlier this week to meet with Wolverines new head coach, Sherrone Moore, as his search for a replacement for Jesse Minter, who decided to join Jim Harbaugh in Los Angeles as DC of the Chargers, stretched into a second week.
Many believed the Baltimore-to-Ann Arbor pipeline may have dried up with Harbaugh leaving for the NFL, but this move showed it's not done just yet. Martindale was the Ravens' defensive coordinator under John Harbaugh (2018-21), a promotion that only came after he'd coached the linebackers for six years (2012-17), which included the tailend of the Hall of Fame careers of Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs.
Prior to that, Martindale coached the Oakland Raiders linebackers (2004-08), and the same position for the Denver Broncos (2009).
Martindale worked alongside Mike MacDonald, who coached the linebackers for three years (2018-20), and Minter (Defensive assistant in 2018, assistant defensive backs coach in 2019, defensive backs coach in 2020) before MacDonald left to take the DC position in Ann Arbor in 2021, while Minter took the same role at Vanderbilt.
MacDonald returned to Baltimore to take over for Martindale following the 2021 season, which is when Minter came to Ann Arbor (2022-23) and made his mark on the amoeba defense.
Martindale, who spent the past two years coordinating the New York Giants defense, and is more than familiar with and the ideas of multiple fronts: He helped design it during his tenure in Baltimore, which is not only expected to help with the transition, but the hope in U-M circles is that this will help keep the defense intact and not exploring transfer portal options.
To recap the coaching cycle of the past few weeks, Martindale will replace Minter (Chargers) at defensive coordinator, Justin Tress has replaced Ben Herbert (Chargers) as head of strength and conditioning, analyst J.B. Brown was promoted to take over Jay Harbaugh's role (Seahawks) as special teams coordinator, Kirk Campbell moved from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator, and Grant Newsome has been promoted from tight ends coach to offensive line coach.
Martindale is familiar with metro Detroit; shortly after he graduated from Defiance College, he took a job with his family's trucking company where he'd frequently drive the midwest routes, from Dayton to Detroit.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football to hire Don 'Wink' Martindale, report says
