“Original” or “old grandpa”?
Earlier this week on Michigan football’s “In The Trenches” podcast, new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale called himself “the OG” of the Wolverines’ defensive system. He implemented the system while heading up the Baltimore Ravens’ defense in 2018, with former Michigan coordinators Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter working under him. Macdonald brought the scheme to Ann Arbor in 2021 before Minter took the reins a year later, and now it’s back in the hands of the original architect.
On Friday, Martindale joked about “OG” representing “old grandpa” instead of “original.” Making his coaching debut in 1986, Martindale brings no shortage of experience to his new role at Michigan. Most notably, he knows the Wolverines’ system — one that piloted the top-ranked and national championship-winning defense last year — inside out. After all, he’s the OG creator.
So, Martindale won’t be installing any groundbreaking new system for this upcoming season. However, that doesn’t mean he’ll be calling his defense the exact same way that Macdonald or Minter did over the past few years. He’s still bringing his own personality and unique perspective.
“There’s a lot of guys that know football here, and that’s the good thing for me,” Martindale said Friday. “The advantage is it’s a system that we’ve all put together. You’ll see a different flux of it because there’s different coaches, different assistants. … I am more aggressive than Jesse.”
Alongside Martindale’s own vision — one that involves more aggressive play-calling — he’ll look to those “guys that know football” for their input as well. His original system in Baltimore went through some adjustments when it was introduced at Michigan, a product of varying coordinators at the helm and differences between the professional and collegiate landscapes — the latter of which Martindale hasn’t been part of since 2003.
While there are many parallels between the defensive coordinator position in the NFL and in college football, there are also a number of variations. Namely, college football necessitates a faster play-calling tempo. In adapting back to the college game and building the strongest possible defensive foundation, Martindale wants to integrate his players’ perspectives and ideas.
“Look, everybody has a voice in this defense,” Martindale said. “Everybody’s an individual stockholder, if you will. I think that the day that you stop wanting to learn, whatever it is, is the day you start dying. And I’m not ready to do that yet.”
Martindale has already noticed the level of football intelligence that some of the Wolverines’ returning players possess, and he’s ready to learn from them. He compared senior safety Rod Moore’s football IQ to former NFL safety Eric Weddle, who Martindale crossed paths with in Baltimore and called “one of the smartest safeties (he’s) ever coached.”
Throughout the transitional period, Martindale has also been in close contact with his predecessor. Minter played a big role in getting his former boss to Ann Arbor, and they’re both supporting each other in adjusting to new roles.
“The great thing was we were all together — Mike, Jesse and I, and obviously others that you’ve seen throughout the NFL, I think there’s like six teams that are running this system now,” Martindale said. “ … I think we all have our own personalities. And I think we all call games differently than each other. Some are more aggressive, some are less aggressive. And the thing that I love about it is that the system works. It’s proven that it works.”
Martindale hasn’t coached college football in 21 years and might joke about being an “old grandpa.” But make no mistake: He built that system, and he’ll continue the legacy that Macdonald and Minter first introduced — alongside his own unique personality.