Looks like Michigan State football defensive coordinator Wink Martindale can pick up the tab the next time he goes out to dinner.
Martindale, the Wolverines' new lead defensive mind, is one of the highest-paid coordinators in the nation. The former NFL defensive coordinator's annual salary is $2.3 million this year, $2.5 million in 2025 and $2.5 million in 2026, according to a contract signed Feb. 12 and obtained by the Free Press through the Open Records Act. It is set at $2.7 million.
Only two coordinators in the country made $2 million last season. Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb topped the list with just $2 million, followed by Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley (brother of USC head coach Lincoln Riley) with $2.05 million. To USA TODAY.
Martindale, 60, hasn't played college football in 20 years. But he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. Perhaps the best part is his familiarity with the Wolverines' defensive scheme and vice versa.
UM's two previous defensive coordinators, current Seahawks head coach Mike McDonald (2021) and current Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter (2022-23), were both from Baltimore, while Martindale was at UM. When I came up with the idea for the current Ameba Defense, I was the staff member in charge of the defense under him.
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“I believe these players will perform at a high level,” he said when he met with local media for the first time since taking over last week. “I'm more aggressive than Jesse — the proof is in the pudding with Jesse and Mike. If we can get to the quarterback rush three, we'll rush the three. That's the way football is, people adapt to us too. We need to see how that changes.”
Martindale's buyout is $1 million through the final game of the 2024 season if he leaves for the NFL or another NCAA job. It will drop to $350,000 until the final game of the season in 2025, and $150,000 until 2026.
He's not the only high-paid new coach. Linebackers coach Brian Gene Mary, whom UM acquired from Tennessee, will receive the first $900,000 of a three-year contract this season. The contract increases in value by $25,000 each of the next two seasons, on top of a $255,000 signing bonus.
His purchase price would be $450,000 at any time before his contract ends.
New defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Lamar Morgan will be paid $1.3 million over the next two seasons. Morgan, 39, will be paid $675,000 this season and his signing bonus is $183,000.
Greg Scruggs, who resigned on Thursday after being arrested for drunk driving early Saturday morning and later found to have a BAC twice the legal alcohol limit, signed a two-year contract worth $1.4 million. there was.
Head coach Sherone Moore, who served as offensive coordinator last season, is making $6 million a season with a new contract and new role.
