Wednesday was just another eventful day in the Michigan football coaching hunt. However, all is well that ends well, as late yesterday night, Sam Webb of the Michigan Insider broke some amazing news: Steve Clinkscale will be making a comeback.
Concerns were raised regarding the reinstatement of the secondary coach and co-defensive coordinator. His enthusiasm in calling the plays seemed to be clear. But Webb’s story claims that Clink has told the Michigan football players he will be back the following year.
It’s huge for Michigan football in terms of player retention. Since Clink joined the team three years ago, the pass defense has improved significantly. Prior to being elevated to co-defensive coordinator in 2021, he oversaw the defensive passing game.
If nothing else, it at least stops the negative news that has been spreading since Mike Elston left to join the Chargers this week. In addition to keeping Clink, there seems to be some significant progress about the defensive coordinator position.
It appeared as though Michigan football was headed in the right direction, with Joe Cullen emerging as the front-runner. But according to Webb, Cullen will remain with the Chiefs, which means Sherrone Moore is now concentrating on Wink Martindale.
Martindale, a former defensive coordinator for the Ravens, has been the Giants’ DC for the last two seasons. Martindale is credited with designing the defense that Michigan football has played. He was the coach of both Jesse Minter and Mike Macdonald.
Since 2003, when he was Jack Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Western Michigan, Martindale has not been a college football coach. Thus, there are connections to the Harbaugh clan.
Moore has discussed the significance of maintaining the current system. If we’re being really honest, Minter and Macdonald weren’t exactly active recruiters either, which is why I’m concerned about Martindale. They did recruit, but it wasn’t their forte. The other players won’t really matter as long as Martindale can command the defense like an elite player.
during Jim Harbaugh’s firing, the Michigan football staff may not look the way supporters had hoped, but Moore will benefit from the addition of Martindale and the retention of Clink, assuming Martindale accepts the position during a scheduled job interview on Thursday.
