Viewer forecast for Texas vs. Michigan
In addition to losing the majority of their key players from last year, Michigan also lost a large part of its coaching staff after winning the national championship last season and the departure of the head coach Jim Harbaugh. But besides the attitude Sherron Moore from within as head coach, the Wolverines also brought in veteran coach Wink Martindale.
Martindale joined Michigan this season as defensive coordinator after 20 years at the NFL level, and previously described himself as the OG of Michigan’s defensive scheme, which has led to the program’s tremendous success in recent history.
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“Supposedly,” Martindale said on Friday The Pat McAfee Show. “I think I meant old grandpa.”
Michigan’s former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter worked under Martindale when he was defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. He took the system to Ann Arbor and played a key role in the Wolverines’ defensive dominance over the past two seasons.
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But with the OG now in charge of Michigan’s defense, he was asked if his extensive experience at the NFL level gives him an advantage as he returns to college coaching for the first time since 2003.
“As I always say, I think it’s all relative. To answer your question personally: Yes, I feel pretty good about it,” Martindale admitted. “But like Sark (Steve Sarkisian), he was in the NFL and you see a different development.”
Martindale’s defense will face Sarkisian’s defense Texas Offense this weekend in one of the most highly anticipated college football games of the season. Both bring NFL experience, as do several other coaches at the college level.
“If you look at the crime this weekend, there is a Alabama running game with a (Miami) Dolphins motion pass game to them. So you can see who he’s been visiting and who he’s been talking to, and he’s from the Shanahan family tree. So you can see that as well,” Martindale explained.
The impact of Marintdale’s experience is difficult to quantify, as he has seven seasons as an NFL defensive coordinator under his belt, so it’s quite a challenge for offensive coordinators at the college level to show the veteran something he’s never seen schematically before.
But given Sarkisian’s offensive prowess and the Longhorns’ talent, there is no doubt that Marintdale and the Wolverines will have to do their best in all facets of the game to defend their home court this weekend.
