Brian Jean-Mary Talks Wink Martindale, Michigan Defense

Michigan's defense has a chance to be really, really good again and Brian Jean-Mary seems to know it.

Brian Jean-Mary seems happy to be back at Michigan. The veteran coach was at U-M for just one season in 2020, which was obviously the low point of the Jim Harbaugh Era. Now, Jean-Mary is back in Ann Arbor after spending three years at Tennessee. The Wolverines are national champs, Jean-Mary is smiling and happy to be working for Sherrone Moore and seems genuinely excited to operate under defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

"We'll start with Coach Wink," Jean-Mary said with a smile. "I think he's the best coordinator in football. I'll put that on the NFL and college. You look at his resumé and the people that he's coached and the success that's had, obviously, he's got a wealth of knowledge and we're all learning. I think the best thing that happens when you've coordinated and have had so many guys who have done it on defense is that you're able to put the scheme together probably a little faster because you've done it before and have had to coordinate out all 11 guys you need to fit in the picture. I think, obviously, when we're trying to gameplan and put things together, it's going to make more sense to all the other coaches in the room because we've had to do it and I think that helps Coach Wink where he doesn't have to actually explain everything from A to Z because you have so many guys who have had the opportunity to do it before."

Martindale has been billed as one of the best overall coaches in the country by several Michigan assistants and it doesn't feel like lip service. They all seem to light up a bit when talking about Wink and there's a general sense of excitement when discussing how he calls a defense. Jean-Mary knows that it's different each year and with new players, but overall, you can tell that he's fired up by Wink's approach.

"The big thing, the number one thing, as a defense, because it works hand-in-hand with the team, what's going to give us the best opportunity to win?" Jean-Mary asked. "Obviously, we're very, very multiple in what we do. Obviously with Coach Wink and his history with Coach Macdonald and Coach Minter, there's a connection there so everything that they've done in the past he's very aware of. He wants to put his own identity on it. We're going to try to get as many pressures as we can to get on tape because there's a lot of things since they left him with his time with the Giants that I think they've expanded on and he feels like is going to be able to help us in college football. I know there's some similarities but he's going to put his own spin on it and put us in the best position to go play high-level defense."

It also helps that Wink has a heavy linebacker background. That seems to mesh very well with Jean-Mary and his approach and thinks it'll only make the defense better all around because of the bond they seem to have.

"Big time," Jean-Mary said with some excitment. "I tell anybody that asks — I'm learning every day. I think Wink is, he says he's the OG of the defense, I think he's the OG of linebacker coaches, too. I've been doing it for a long time and there's slight nuances that he sees that I don't see. It's been a great learning experience for me. I'm like the players, man. I'm eager and hungry every day walking into the building seeing what I can do just from being with him that's going to help elevate myself as a coach and help elevate the play of the linebackers."