Brian Jean-Mary Discusses Michigan Defense and Wink Martindale

Brian Jean-Mary seems to see that Michigan’s defense has the potential to be extremely good once more.

Brian Jean-Mary appears delighted to be returning to Michigan. In 2020, the seasoned coach was only at U-M for one season—clearly the low point of the Jim Harbaugh Era. Jean-Mary returned to Ann Arbor from Tennessee three years ago. The Wolverines have won the national championship, Jean-Mary is grinning and content under Sherrone Moore’s leadership, and she appears sincere in her excitement to work with defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

Jean-Mary grinned and added, “We’ll start with Coach Wink.” “In my opinion, he is the finest football coordinator. I’ll place that between college and the NFL. It’s clear from his resume, the success he’s had, and the individuals he’s mentored that he has a wealth of information, and we’re all learning.

The nicest thing that, in my opinion, comes from having so many defense players that have coordinated is that, since you’ve done it before and have had to coordinate out all 11 players you need to fit in the picture, you’re probably able to put together the system a bit faster. It goes without saying that, when we’re trying to gameplan and put things together, the other coaches in the room will understand it better because we’ve had to do it. In my opinion, this benefits Coach Wink because so many players have had the chance to do it before, so he won’t have to explain everything in detail.”

Several Michigan assistants have praised Martindale as one of the top overall coaches in the nation, and it doesn’t seem like platitudes. Everyone seems to get a little more animated when talking about Wink, and there’s a general buzz around what he refers to as a defense. Though Jean-Mary is aware that every year is unique and that there are new players, you can still sense that Wink’s strategy has excited him.

“The big thing, the number one thing, as a defense, because it works hand-in-hand with the team, what’s going to give us the best opportunity to win?” Jean-Mary enquired. It goes without saying that we do a fairly wide variety of tasks. Given Coach Wink’s background with Coach Macdonald and Coach Minter, it goes without saying that He is fully aware of all they have done in the past since there is a connection there. He wants to embellish it with his own identity. We will attempt to record as many pressures as we can because he feels that he can help us in college football and there are a lot of things that he feels have been expanded upon since they left him with the Giants. Although there are some similarities, he will add his own unique touch and position us to play elite defense.”

Wink’s extensive experience as a linebacker is also beneficial. Because of their apparent bond, that seems to work really well with Jean-Mary and his strategy, and he believes it will only improve the defense overall.

Jean-Mary said, “Big time,” a little excitedly. “I tell everyone who asks that I’m constantly learning. Wink claims to be the offensive line coach (OG) of the defense, and I believe him to be as well. I’ve been doing it for a while, yet he picks up on little details that I miss. For me, it’s been a fantastic learning opportunity. Man, I’m just like the players. Every day when I enter the building to see what I can accomplish just from there, I’m full and excited Together with improving the linebackers’ play, working with him will improve me as a coach.”