Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni has built a reputation as a “player’s coach” but after a disastrous end to the 2023 season, he could use a strong personality on the staff. Why not Don “Wink” Martindale, former defensive coordinator of the division rival Giants?
After giving up the third-most points per game (25.2) in the regular season, the Eagles need all the help they can get on defense. According to NFL.com’s Nick Shook, Eagles defenders gave up 219 yards after the catch against Tampa Bay in the wild-card round with 79 of those yards coming over expected.
Martindale could fix that. With 19 years of NFL coaching experience, there’s not much he hasn’t seen. Before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2013, he was a linebackers coach for the Super Bowl champion Ravens and got the most out of a suspect Giants roster for the past two seasons as New York’s DC.
Thanks to Martindale’s aggressive, blitzing style, New York forced 50 turnovers over the past two seasons and finished with the fourth-most quarterback hits in 2022. Both are great numbers but unfortunately, Martindale’s aggressive style often goes beyond the field of play.
