Wink Martindale back on NFL radar after Michigan smothers Ohio State and Alabama

NEW YORK — The NFL generally recycles existing staffs on the coaching circuit when jobs come open. But sometimes there are NFL coaches in college poised to roar back into the pros.

That’s exactly what Wink Martindale is after Michigan’s 19-13 bowl game smothering of Alabama this week.

The former Baltimore Ravens and Giants defensive coordinator flexed his pedigree down the stretch of the Wolverines’ season, shutting out Ohio State’s offense in the second half of a 13-10 upset at The ‘Shoe before holding Alabama to three second-half points to end the year with a bang.

Young Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore and Martindale strengthened belief in the Michigan program’s continued growth in Ann Arbor with an impressive three-game winning streak to finish 8-5 overall — despite losing tons of players to the NFL from the previous year’s national championship team under Jim Harbaugh.

But NFL staffs turn over annually at a high rate. Martindale coached three top defenses in Baltimore and the only Giants playoff defense in the last eight years. And there are a lot of teams in need of the schematic advantage and defensive mindset that Martindale has brought wherever he has coached.

The Colts, Jaguars, Bears, Raiders, Cowboys, Jets and Browns all stand out as franchises that have or could make head coaching or coordinator changes where Martindale could augment the existing program. The Giants would qualify, too, except he already left New York voluntarily to escape the toxicity and return to a winning culture, which he found and helped maintain at Michigan.

Martindale then put his stamp on the Wolverines by coaching the nation’s 11th-ranked defense by yards allowed (307 per game), the fourth-ranked defense by rush yards allowed (90.7) and the 19th-ranked defense by points allowed (19.9) — while the Wolverines’ rebuilding offense cycled through quarterbacks and finished 129th in the country in yards (286.2) and 113th in points (22.0).

The Wolverines’ defense was led by PFF Top 100 NFL draft prospects DT Mason Graham (No. 3), CB Will Johnson (No. 6), DT Kenneth Grant (No. 22) and edge Josaiah Stewart (No. 94). They even held playoff-bound Indiana to 15 points in a five-point road loss.

Still, none of those top Michigan prospects played in the bowl game, while Alabama trotted out most of its starting offense. And Martindale’s defense still clamped down on Jalen Milroe and the Crimson Tide.

Martindale was a popular candidate on last year’s NFL interview circuit after leaving the Giants, speaking with the Jaguars, Packers and Rams before landing in college.

Now, expect him again to be a coveted NFL coordinator that Michigan may have to work to retain.

Vic Fangio’s work with the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense, after all, is a recent example of how enormous of an impact a veteran coordinator can have on a defense, a roster and a team.