Wink Martindale likes to bring pressure. He's now feeling it as Michigan football's new DC

The standard is high. The weight of expectations is enormous. So be it, says Wink Martindale, Michigan football ’s 61-year-old defensive whiz.

“I think that you’re not worth a grain of salt if you don’t feel pressure as a coach every year, no matter where you’re at,” he said earlier this week.

But, here at the Ann Arbor headquarters of the reigning national champions, along State Street, it all seems greater, more intense, different, maybe even entirely unique.

Martindale, after all, is taking over a unit ranked first last season in virtually every major category — from average points and yards allowed per game to turnover margin. The Wolverines, under the command of Martindale protégé Jesse Minter, were a particularly stingy bunch, holding eight of their 15 opponents to a touchdown or less. Their exploits included a stop of Alabama on a dramatic game-winning goal-line stand at the Rose Bowl and the suppression of Heisman Trophy runner-up Michael Penix Jr. in their convincing College Football Playoff championship conquest of Washington.

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In the turbulent aftermath of that seminal moment , head coach Jim Harbaugh left for the Los Angeles Chargers and the entire defensive staff migrated to the NFL. That pushed Harbaugh’s replacement, Sherrone Moore, to bring in a wave of new hires led by Martindale. Even though Martindale had spent the past 20 seasons in the pros burnishing his reputation as a brash, in-your-face assistant, he was a logical choice to succeed Minter. He was the self-described “OG,” or originator, of the Baltimore Ravens system Minter ran and Mike Macdonald, another Martindale disciple, implemented in 2021 at the beginning of Michigan’s recent golden age.

“He’s detailed, he’s organized and he has a plan,” U-M offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell raved about his defensive counterpart. “He then goes and executes it.”

More than anybody else, Martindale understood the mechanics of the maize-and-blue Ferrari he inherited and was told not to crash.

As he saw it, he was not just a capable operator of this high-performance machine; he was someone who could make it run even better.

“I think there is no doubt where the bar is set,” Martindale said. “And there is no doubt where I’ll set the bar, and that is to be the best in the country.”

Looking at it on paper, that seems to be an achievable goal, considering that a core of elite players populates the starting 11. Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, arguably the best defensive tackle duo in the nation, anchor the Wolverines at the line of scrimmage. All-American cornerback Will Johnson, a projected top-10 2025 draft pick, helps secure the back end. Then there is Jaishawn Barham, a playmaking linebacker transfer from Maryland, who is expected to fortify Michigan at the second level after arriving in the offseason.

The talent is everywhere, including on the edges, where emerging pass rushers such as Josaiah Stewart, Derrick Moore and TJ Guy are ready to pounce.

It has left Michigan’s new head coach bullish about Martindale’s prospects.

“The defense will be fun to watch,” Moore said last week at Big Ten media days in Indianapolis.

But will it be as sound as it was last year?

That is the big question. Minter ensured there were few leaks by using a combination of zone coverage and simulated pressures that didn’t leave Michigan vulnerable in deep quarters or require more than four defenders to attack the quarterback. Martindale has historically taken a different tack — blitzing often and asking his players to guard man-to-man.

“Whatever he wants us to run, whatever flavor of the week it is, we’re going to run it,” safety Quinten Johnson told the Free Press in June. “But I think it is going to be a healthy balance of what we’ve been doing the last couple of years.”

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Whether it produces similar results is far from certain.

Martindale, as he was quick to acknowledge, won’t have the advantages his predecessor did. The offense is no longer the proven and reliable force of the previous two seasons, when it built big leads, soaked up clock and minimized the exposure of Minter’s unit. To that point, Michigan defended 60 plays per game, the fewest among Power Five teams last year. The near-perfect execution of the Wolverines’ recipe of complementary football helps explain why U-M has won 40 of its past 43 games.

That run of success now figures to become Martindale’s burden to uphold, as the offense — which has one returning starter and no set starter at quarterback — rounds into shape.

Campbell scoffs at that notion, insulted by the suggestion his unit would somehow have to be carried by Martindale and his bunch in the early portion of a challenging schedule.

“We’re gonna execute on offense at a high level,” Campbell said in one breath.

“We’re gonna play great team football,” he added in another.

That’s Martindale’s hope as he looks to maintain Michigan’s might on defense.

“But sometimes what you want is not what you get,” Martindale said. “There’s different opponents, a different offense than what (we’ve) had. I’ve been around No. 1 defenses, and everything just fits right that season.”

It did for the Wolverines in 2023, when they thwarted one team after another. Now, heading into the 2024 season, the onus is on Martindale to maintain Michigan’s standing atop the defensive rankings.

That’s real pressure, which just so happens to be the driving force of Martindale’s life work.

Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com . Follow him @RainerSabin

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Wink Martindale likes to bring pressure. He's now feeling it as Michigan football's new DC