Michigan football DC Wink Martindale rejects Don Brown comparison

Michigan football players have talked about how new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is more “aggressive” than Jesse Minter, but Wink doesn’t want to be compared to Dr. Blitz — Don Brown.

“There’s a narrative out there right now — and one of the things is, I don’t listen to the radio and I don’t read articles or anything else — but there’s a narrative now that some people are afraid it’s going back to the old-school Don Brown system,” Martindale said on the Champions Circle Leaders Series with Jake Butt. “That’s not the case whatsoever. To me, that’s profiling. Just because I’m old and Don Brown’s old, you can’t put us together.”

Brown was the defensive coordinator for Michigan football from 2016-2020. There were some solid years but Brown blitzed too much and his scheme was too predictable. The Wolverines dominated lesser opponents but struggled in the big games.

That’s changed since the hire of Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter. Michigan football has won three straight games over Ohio State and the Buckeyes didn’t score 30 points in any of those losses.

Michigan football defense will be flexible

Martindale is known for being aggressive, but he said his defenses have “flexibility.”

“There are a bunch of guys who have been through this tree, and they understand the flexibility of the defense and the success you can have. So it’s a fun defense to coach and, listening to the kids, it’s a fun defense to play in.”

Wink also said that his defense was going to be Michigan’s defense which will look different than it has in the past, based on what is needed.

“And it’ll be our mix. This is gonna be our defense,” Martindale said. “This is Michigan’s defense. This is Sherrone’s defense. And if you take one of those elements out next year, it’s still the same system, but there will still be another little personality thing to it. And it comes down to who’s calling the games, as well. Which I’ll be calling the games.”

You can expect an aggressive defense but don’t confuse Wink Martindale with Don Brown. Wink has spent decades in the league defending elite offenses and I do not doubt that the Michigan footbal defense will be elite once again in its own right.

Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics and Big Ten content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms.