Former New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is now the highest-paid assistant coach in college football, Football Scoop's Doug Samuels reports.
Martindale and the Giants parted ways in January following a disagreement with head coach Brian Daboll. Less than a month later, he accepted the defensive coordinator job with the University of Michigan, reportedly signing a three-year contract starting in 2024 with a base salary of $2.3 million.
This number increases to $2.5 million in 2025 and $2.7 million in 2026.
“Wink is great, dude. I love Wink,” Michigan head coach Sherone Moore said, via The Athletic. “He's a very nice, vibrant person, a great human being and obviously a very intelligent coach. The boys love him. He obviously brings a great atmosphere and experience to the team. Masu.”
Martindale has had a very successful career as an assistant coach. He was the coach of some great NFL defenses of his own, including the Super Bowl XLVI champion Baltimore Ravens.
He recently joined New York and led the Giants to the 18th highest scoring defense in his first year after struggling for years in Big Blue. His defensive abilities helped the Giants win nine regular season games and one playoff game that season.
However, the team's defensive performance dropped to 26th in the league during the 2023 regular season. Martindale didn't have the trademark pressure from the military on quarterbacks that he was known for. He will have a big job at the University of Michigan, which finished the national championship with the best defense in college football.
