Michigan could lose its DC once again with Wink Martindale taking NFL interviews

It might happen again. Last offseason saw much of Jim Harbaugh's Michigan staff leave Ann Arbor and follow him to the Los Angeles Chargers. This included Wolverines' former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. A year later, his replacement in Don "Wink" Martindale might do the same thing. Martindale interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons for the defensive coordinator position on Tuesday.

Atlanta is also set to interview former Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo for the same role on Thursday. Both coordinators are expected to interview with the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday. Atlanta moved on from its former defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake after one season, while Indianapolis moved on from its former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley after three seasons.

While Anarumo and Martindale have worked in college before, they are better known for their runs in the NFL. Prior to doing great things in Cincinnati, Anarumo worked in Miami. Martindale initially worked for Jack Harbaugh at Western Kentucky before joining John Harbaugh's staff in Baltimore. While he did not work for Jim last year in Ann Arbor, Martindale's connection to that family runs deep.

If Martindale leaves for the NFL, this could be a major setback for Michigan under Sherrone Moore.

Don "Wink" Martindale getting NFL interviews after one year at Michigan

Let's be real. Whenever Martindale took over the Michigan defense, it always felt like it was a short-term thing. He is an NFL guy, having been that for the better part of two decades now. While it did not work out for him when he was on Brian Daboll's New York Giants staff, Martindale's reputation from his time in Baltimore speaks for itself. This is a guy that NFL head coaches know can scheme up defense.

For teams like Atlanta and Indianapolis, their fanbases are starting to get impatient when it comes to not making the playoffs. Indianapolis has made it more recently than Atlanta, but the Falcons have won a division title this past decade, something the Colts have not done since DeflateGate. There may be other teams vying for Martindale's services besides these two underperforming franchises.

Ultimately, coaching attrition is what hurts college football programs the most. Not NIL, not realignment, this. Being able to hire and develop position coaches is a huge credit to a team's staff. However, somebody else always wants a piece of what another team so great. Hiring Martindale was one thing, but Moore might have to replace him with another coordinator long before he was ready.

At the end of the day, an NFL team is going to be able to pay Martindale more than Michigan could.