Ravens and Steelers Both in Search of new Defensive Coordinators for 2022 Season
Two teams in the AFC North will be searching for new defensive coordinators relatively soon. Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers both will be forced to bring in new defensive leaders. Two teams with traditionally strong defenses will be replacing their defensive coordinators for different reasons.
The Ravens announced that Don Wink Martindale will no longer be coaching the defense. Martindale had previously been with the team since 2012 and has been the defensive coordinator since 2018, the prior six years he coached the linebackers. Baltimore faced a rash of injuries to their defense in 2021, including both of their corners suffering season ending injuries. It’s going to be tough sledding when you lose both Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey. Perhaps Martindale is the scapegoat here.
Martindale is likely to land another job somewhere if he wishes to. He has prior NFL experience with the Raiders organization, as well as the Denver Broncos. That is not even mentioning his college experience.
Steelers are losing their defensive coordinator due to retirement, per a report. Keith Butler had been with the Steelers since 2003, where he coached the linebackers until 2014. Ever since then Butler was the defensive coordinator and ran some really good defenses. In 2021 he coached the likely defensive player of the year in TJ Watt and made the playoffs.
Butler is 65 years old and is calling it a career, deservingly so. Rumors could get interesting, maybe even the Steelers looking to scoop up Martindale after the Ravens let him go. Each team has attractive defenses for their next hire, so getting names should not be an issue.
Brandon Little is a writer for Sports Illustrated’s Browns Digest website and you can follow him on Twitter here. You can follow Browns Digest on Twitter as well here.
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