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Report: Three NFL teams interested in Wink Martindale

Anthony Broomeby:Anthony Broome•about 15 hours•

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Michigan Wolverines football defensive coordinator Wink Martindale spent 20 years coaching in the NFL. (Photo by Junfu Han-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images)
Michigan Wolverines football defensive coordinator Wink Martindale spent 20 years coaching in the NFL. (Photo by Junfu Han-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images)

Michigan Wolverines defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale has a pair of interviews scheduled with NFL teams with a third potentially interested, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He will interview with the Atlanta Falcons on Tuesday and the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday with the Cincinnati Bengals potentially interested.

Martindale, the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football this season, led a unit that was 11th in the country in total defense, allowing 307.0 yards per contest. They were also 19th in scoring defense, allowing 19.9 points per contest.

Remarkably, the defense seemed to get better as the year went on despite injuries and depleted depth. Despite that, Martindale put himself into legendary status at Michigan with a pair of masterclasses to end the season. The Wolverines ended the regular season with a 13-10 victory at No. 2 Ohio State, who rebounded to advance to next Monday night’s College Football Playoff national title game vs. Notre Dame. The U-M defense followed it up with a 19-13 win over Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl, where it forced three turnovers and held the Crimson Tide to 260 yards of total offense.

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Martindale signed a three-year contract last winter, coming in at an average of $2.5 million over the duration with base salaries of $2.3 million in 2024, $2.5 million in 2025 and $2.7 million in 2026. Now into the second year of his contract, which began on Jan. 11, if he left for an NFC defensive coordinator job, he will owe U-M $350,000.

Before Martindale arrived in Ann Arbor, Martindale spent two seasons with the New York Giants as its defensive coordinator. He was previously with the Baltimore Ravens from 2012-21 as its linebackers coach (2012-17) and defensive coordinator (2018-21). He has two decades of experience coaching in the NFL, so renewed interest after a strong debut season at Michigan is not all that surprising.

Michigan replaced a coordinator already this offseason by firing OC/quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell in December, bringing in former UNC OC/QBs coach Chip Lindsey. No other coaching moves have occurred on the full-time staff this offseason so far.

This story is developing.

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