Don

Martindale

Martindale was crowned the early favorite for the defensive coordinator role earlier this week by another Jets beat writer, ESPN’s Rich Cimini. Hughes also replied to a fan comment on Twitter about the Jets not letting Martindale leave Saturday with, “I doubt they do.” Martindale has previously held the DC title with the Giants, Ravens and Broncos in the NFL as well as at the University of Michigan on the college level.

“The ’23 Giants tied for the league lead with 31 takeaways, which has to intrigue the turnover-starved Jets. Glenn jumped on Martindale early, interviewing him before the Jets’ season ended,” Cimini adds. Martindale had DC interviews with the Falcons and Colts last offseason and would certainly make the Jets more bombastic in one way or another. The Jets are the only team that has interviewed him in the 2026 offseason that we know of.

It was part of an announcement of eight names that the Jets had preliminary interviews with, those other names are: Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda, Packers defensive run game coordinator DeMarcus Covington, Vikings defensive passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach Daronte Jones, Broncos assistant head coach and defensive passing game coordinator Jim Leonhard, internal Jets DB coach and defensive pass game coordinator Chris Harris, and Lions safeties coach Jim O’Neil. (Mathieu Araujo, the Dolphins cornerbacks coach, was also revealed earlier today.) Martindale hasn’t had any outside interest since last offseason, when he interviewed for the Falcons and Colts defensive coordinator roles.

Today’s main character has emerged. The Falcons defense had a mini-resurgence after their bye week under recently-fired Jimmy Lake, but weren’t able to sustain it down the stretch against the Commanders and Panthers with a chance to get into the playoffs. Michigan finished sixth in defensive FEI (Fremeau Efficiency Rating) last season under Martindale’s eye, and the longtime NFL defensive coordinator looks to be eyeing a return to the professional ranks. He’s also interviewing with the Colts on Friday.

Martindale, 61, is a long-time NFL defensive coordinator who is known for his aggression. His most recent NFL experience was with the Giants defense in 2022-2023, but he also coordinated the Ravens and Broncos defenses at the NFL level. It would seem a jarring fit to transition from a Gus Bradley scheme to Martindale’s big blitz tactics, but the Colts are at least interested in understanding what Martindale thinks it would look like. The interview will reportedly take place on Friday.