This is a funny league sometimes. Especially when it comes to coaching research.
Take, for example, the curious case of Ravens’ defensive coordinator, Wink Martindale. The man can train, he continues to supervise an elite defense in Baltimore – although one that isn’t exactly full of pass brokers – and he’s coming off an absolutely excellent performance against a coordinator that all six teams are looking for a head coach wanted an audience. However, not a single request to interview Martindale. Besides, strange, for me.
That, a year after the Giants convinced themselves not to finalize a deal with Martindale to freak out over the state of Mississippi (yes, that state of Mississippi) instead, possibly hiring the Patriots’ 38-year special team coordinator. , Joe Judge, and basically decided to give him the trouble instead of waiting to see how far the Ravens have advanced in the playoffs (they found out they lost in the Divisional Round after the Wild Card goodbye). Martindale went on to lead Baltimore to the best defense in many important metrics, despite having played a lot in the season without getting his best defensive line players on the pitch along with any regularity due to Covid and injuries, he has the strong support of the Ravens coach John Harbaugh, and he is beyond prepared to take on an NFL team.
Unfortunately, apparently, he is not the flavor of this year. The tendency of the defensive side of the ball is decidedly younger, not that Martindale is in any way up at 57; in fact, his fire, ability to connect with very young players and unique teaching style must be exactly what is drawing him to the NFL teams. Not to mention his ability to call up a football game, he puts great pressure on the opposing defender, despite an external pass thrower with superior movements. He’s aggressive and creative with his blitz packs, and maybe someone interviewing Smith should check out the movie from last Sunday’s game. It was the first time in two years that the young offensive coordinator appeared to be his age, and he had no answers for the swarm approach to smother Titans chasing 2,000 yards, Derrick Henry.
Consider that the Titans held the ball for more than 10 minutes from the first quarter … and then 15:59 out of the final 45 minutes of the game. Tennessee ran 22 times for 51 yards. Almost two-thirds of Henry’s 18 rushes (11) went to two yards or less, four went to zero yards or negative yards and only two went to five yards (with an eight-long). The Titans accumulated 121 yards in 20 plays with 10 points in the first quarter, Martindale changed his covers and clashes, doubled AJ Brown, switched assignments in the tight finals and Tennessee only managed to collect an impressive 88 yards in 29 plays in the past three quarters.
Unfathomable.
Perhaps the last sign of respect – or surrender – was Smith calling two passing passes in the second and two of the Baltimore 40, with 10 minutes to play and losing just 17-13, and then coach Mike Vrabel punting in the fourth down. Baltimore 40! Was Martindale’s defense in their heads on the opposite sideline? On a day when they couldn’t run with Henry, there were no really designed races or bootlegs for Ryan Tannehill. There are no real deep photos or calculated adjustments. The Titans had 5 out of 5 to 68 yards and a touchdown playing for tight ends in the first half and tried all of a pass for them in the second half. Teams, like the Titans recently, in November, cut the Ravens in the screen game a few times, but the Titans’ back in their third loss saw very little of the ball.
Martindale had perhaps its best moment, during a season in Baltimore that included many of them. Perhaps some curious owner or general manager wants to know a little more about what is going on in their game plans and what drives them. Of course, the window to interview him easily (this week) has passed and you would have to wait until the Ravens lose – or the Super Bowl goodbye week – to get an audience with him, but it may be worth the wait.
The fact that no team has yet launched itself on Wednesday afternoon on any of the “hot” candidates in circulation seems quite revealing. Martindale is more than ready and deserving.
Carroll’s view complicates the coordinator’s research
No matter who gets hired as the next offensive coordinator for the Seahawks, you should ask yourself about the outcome. It’s pretty clear that Pete Carroll is more concerned with football now than ever, and that’s a shocking statement if you paid attention to his career, because running the ball has always been on your mind.
There is not much room for maneuver here. Creativity has its place, with little moderation. Brian Schottenheimer, and the quick process for which he was hired three years ago, was by no means a bold selection or robust search, but Schottenheimer’s reach would always be somewhat limited. And I was told that things finally fell apart between Carroll and his offensive player during the season review meetings, when it became clear that his philosophies on how to correct an offense that went south in the second half of the season were far apart. The mandate was essentially to find ways to keep hitting the rock, and a change that was not originally planned fell quickly.
There is definitely some skepticism in the coaching ranks about how attractive this job is, even with a talent like Russel Wilson to work (and those receivers). If I were Seahawks, I would contact Chiefs quarterback Mike Kafka and Ravens quarterback coach James Urban and Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott. I would be looking for the most inspired choice to find ways to attack all quarters of the field through the air and explore Wilson’s unique skill set. But it is fair to say that there is skepticism within the industry that this search actually happens this way.
More privileged notes from the NFL
- I am happy to see the Texans get in touch with Leslie Frazier about his opening as a head coach. I was very surprised that he didn’t get openings in the initial round of interviews and he is more than qualified for the job.
- Luke Fickell, of the University of Cincinnati, is a name to watch in NFL circles. The teams like him a lot and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Eagles chased him.
- Brian Daboll would make a lot of sense with the Chargers. The offensive coordinator for Bills continues to impress, despite Buffalo’s defense giving way and knowing he needs to score a lot of points to win.
- Do not discount the chances that Lions will seriously consider hiring interim coach Darrell Bevell.
- The young defensive coach who most intrigues me is Rams Brandon Staley. Many quality candidates out there, including 49ers Robert Saleh, that the Jets are on the rise. But the work that Staley did and his experience with Vic Fangio stood out for me.
- Most people in this industry expected at least half of the coaching vacancies to be filled by Wednesday, and instead by noon, there were actually more vacancies (seven) than a week ago. As I said, sometimes this is funny.