How Wink Martindale ended up at Michigan football

Three years ago, it was something of a coup for Michigan football to manage to get a rising NFL assistant in Mike Macdonald to leave the pros to come to the college level (though many Wolverines fans were unsure of the hire at the time). Under no circumstances would any believe back then that the man who was above Macdonald, and leading the Baltimore Ravens defense, would eventually come to Ann Arbor to be the replacement for both Macdonald and his other protege, Jesse Minter.

After Jim Harbaugh left Ann Arbor for the NFL, Sherrone Moore managed to somehow lure longtime pro-level defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, ‘the O.G.’ of the defense, back to college. So how did it happen? Certainly, Martindale was a hot commodity, yet the Michigan job was appealing enough that he didn’t entertain any other possibilities.

It all started through a notable ESPN personality who made a phone call to Martindale, gauging his interest in the position. Martindale shared more with Jake Butt on a Champions Circle subscriber podcast.

“How that all came about was through Adam Schefter,” Martindale said. “And, I talked to some other people — Steven Eisenberg, I’ve known for 12 years now. And when I was down in Sarasota, in my mind, Jake — and you know, from being in the program — I was going to take this year off, and then just go back. And I received a phone call from Adam Schefter. He said, ‘Hey, would you be interested?’ And I’m like, ‘Sure. I’d be interested, I want to talk to (Sherrone Moore).’

“And I talked to the guy, his passion — not towards Michigan — his passion towards the kids. I’m like, ‘This is my guy.’ He wants to do everything right by the players. And what’s the best way we can do it for the players?

“And he had questions for me, and I had questions for him. And we talked, I…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/wink-martindale-ended-michigan-football-183306588.html

Author : Wolverines Wire

Publish date : 2024-06-20 18:33:06

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