Wink Martindale discusses advantage of NFL to college route, how Texas reflects Steve Sarkisian's NFL background

Along with losing a majority of their key players from last year, Michigan also lost a large bulk of their coaching staff following last season’s national championship win and the departure of head coach Jim Harbaugh. But along with hiring Sherrone Moore from within as their head coach, the Wolverines also added coaching veteran Wink Martindale.

Martindale joined Michigan’s staff this offseason as the team’s defensive coordinator following 20 years at the NFL level. Previously calling himself as the O.G. of Michigan’s defensive scheme that’s led to the program’s massive success in recent history.

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“Allegedly,” Martindale said Friday on The Pat McAfee Show. “I think that I was referring to old grandpa.”

Michigan’s former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter worked under Martindale while he was the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. Taking the scheme with him to Ann Arbor and playing a major role in the Wolverines’ defensive dominance in the past two seasons.

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But now that the O.G. is running the show for Michigan’s defense, he was asked if his extensive experience at the NFL level gives him an advantage now that he returns to the college coaching ranks for the first time since 2003.

“Like I always say, I think it’s all relative. To answer your question personally, yeah I feel pretty good about it,” Martindale admitted. “But like Sark [Steve Sarkisian], he was in the NFL and you see a different flux.”

Martindale’s defense will take on Sarkisian’s Texas offense this weekend in one of the most highly anticipated college football games of the season. Both bringing NFL experience to the table along with several other coaches across the college level now.

“Like looking at this offense this weekend, there’s an Alabama run game with a [Miami] Dolphins motion passing game to them. So you can see who he’s been visiting with and who he’s talked to and he’s from the Shanahan tree. So you can see that as well,” Martindale explained.

The impact of Marintdale’s experience is hard to quantify, with seven total seasons of NFL defensive coordinator experience under his belt. Making it pretty challenging for offensive coordinators at the college level to show the veteran something he’s never seen before schematically.

But with Sarkisian’s offensive acumen and the talent that the Longhorns’ possess, there’s no question that Marintdale and the Wolverines will have to bring their best in all facets of the game to defend their home field this weekend.