
Good news: Th Michigan football looks to hiring a seasoned defensive coordinator like..
With Wink Martindale’s aggressive defensive philosophy and NFL-style pressure schemes, Michigan has maintained a dominant defensive presence. However, if Martindale were to leave for an NFL opportunity, such as the Saints, the Wolverines would need to find a new defensive coordinator who can sustain their defensive identity.

Here are three options.
Sherrone Moore (If He Wants More Control Over the Defense)
This might be seen as an unconventional option, but in today’s coaching landscape, it isn’t unusual for a head coach to take a more hands-on approach to one side of the ball. Kirby Smart has done it at Georgia with his defense, and Jim Harbaugh took a similar approach with Michigan’s offense during his tenure.
Moore, who has already established himself as an elite offensive mind, could decide that the best way to maintain defensive excellence is to take a more direct role in overseeing the defensive side of the ball. He wouldn’t call plays, but he could bring in a rising assistant as a co-coordinator, allowing him to have a strong influence over the defensive philosophy.
A potential name to pair with Moore in a co-coordinator role? Someone like Taver Johnson, the current Philadelphia Eagles defensive backs coach. He is a well-respected defensive mind and could be brought in to call plays while Moore provides overall defensive oversight.
Michigan football still has to worry about Wink Martindale and the NFL
There is another NFL team that Michigan football fans need to worry about in terms of losing Wink Martindale.

Just when Michigan football fans were starting to feel good about the return of Wink Martindale for the 2025 season, another NFL team is on the radar to hire away the Wolverines defensive coordinator.
Martindale has already interviewed with two NFL teams for their coordinator jobs — the Colts and Falcons. Both teams ended up hiring others. The Bengals were also interested but went with Al Golden, the former Notre Dame defensive coordinator.
With Rod Moore now slated to be back, along with Derrick Moore, T.J. Guy, Rayshaun Benny, Ernest Hausmann, and Jaishawn Barham all coming back, along with Zeke Berry and others in the secondary, the defense has the chance to be elite once again.
However, losing the defensive coordinator would be a blow and according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN, if the Saints end up hiring Mike Kafka as their head coach, there’s a good chance Martindale will be his defensive coordinator.
“Interesting tidbit on this: If Mike Kafka gets the Saints job multiple league sources expect him to bring Wink Martindale as his defensive coordinator. They obviously worked together with the Giants and were key to the initial success in 2022,” Raanan wrote on X.
It will be interesting to see what happens and who Sherrone Moore targets if Martindale leaves. There are still moving parts though because Wink is expected to make $2.7 million. So are the Saints willing to pay him about $3 million to be their defensive coordinator?
That might be the most important question.
How long will Sherrone Moore be Michigan football head coach?
When Michigan signed its first African American Head Coach in history last year, fans raved about the future of this program. After one year in the books, it seems safe to say that Schembechler Hall has great leadership for years to come. Just how many years that will be though is up to Sherrone Moore and Sherrone Moore only.

Michigan isn’t likely to part ways
Any head coach who can beat a National Championship-winning Ohio State team with Michigan’s worst team in a decade will be welcome in Ann Arbor for life. One thing is for sure I don’t believe that Sherrone’s time at Michigan will ever be cut short for non-mutual reasons.
Sherrone has already showed early success, such as beating Ohio State in back-to-back seasons and leading the Wolverines to wins against Michigan State and Alabama. Any coach who can beat the Crimson Tide in year one is worth keeping around. Barring some unforeseen unfortunate events, I don’t see a way that Moore could have his time cut short by those above him. In fact, it seemed increasingly more likely that his way out of A2 would be at the next level if anything…
The NFL could come calling
Perhaps the biggest and only relief of Jim Harbaugh moving to the NFL was putting yearly rumors to rest. Countless recruits and parents alike were skeptical of just how long Harbaugh would continue to stay at Michigan, which hurt recruiting more than anything else.
If Sherrone Moore can build on his recent successes, there’s a isn’t snowball’s chance he doesn’t get a phone call from an NFL GM at some point. Michigan football has a knack for putting head coaches and specifically coordinators at the next level, which like it or not will continue. If Moore is interested in coaching at the next level, he’s likely to entertain offers which could start a Harbaugh situation all over again. The best-case scenario for the Wolverines is that their head coach isn’t interested in leaving Michigan.
So, how long will Sherrone be in Ann Arbor?
I believe that within the next 4-5 years a lifetime contract could be on the table for such a young head coach. That is if Sherrone Moore can continue to build on what he’s already done. Landing Bryce Underwood was pivotal to the future success of this program. That one recruit could have taken an 8-5 Michigan football team to the College Football Playoff in his first year starting. It’s recruiting wins like these that will determine contracts in the future.
We honestly don’t know if Sherrone has an interest in coaching in the NFL. He could be a Michigan man through and through and be Michigan’s version of Joe Paterno. If that’s the case, the Michigan trophy room could use an expansion. I think that unless Moore moves on to the pros, he’ll be here for the rest of his coaching career. There isn’t a better program in the entire United States than Michigan. U-M has the championships, the players, the history, and the coaching staff to where anyone and everyone would want to be a part of it.
So, in other words, I believe that Coach Moore is here to stay.