The search for the next Ravens defensive coordinator is over. Since Dean Pees announced his retirement after the Ravens failed to make the playoffs for the third year in a row, rumors began to circulate about a possible reunion with former Baltimore defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano. The other top candidate was linebackers coach Don “Wink” Martindale.
Today, the Ravens announced that they have promoted Martindale to defensive coordinator. Fans seem annoyed by the decision to stay in house, and have cited that Baltimore is content with mediocrity. Martindale will keep most of what Pees did on defense, and that irritates many people considering how many blown leads were under Pees and his prevent defense.
It’s possible that Martindale will run the system better though. Hopefully, he and John Harbaugh have learned from all of the fourth quarter defensive meltdowns, and will implement strategies to prevent such disasters in the future.
I would have preferred an outside candidate, such as Pagano, to fill in the position, but that discussion is over now. My guess is that Pagano wanted time off from coaching, after a long and challenging stint as head coach for the Colts. For now, we can all just hope that the Ravens made the right decision by promoting Wink. His players sure seem to love him, so maybe us fans will too.
Poll
How do you feel about Martindale being promoted to DC?
This poll is closed
-
6%
Love it.
-
33%
Unsure, but optimistic.
-
33%
It’s ok, but I would have rather had someone else.
-
26%
Terrible decision.