Possible Eagles replacements for defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon

The Eagles better give some thought to hiring Wink Martindale.

Black Monday, as it always does, shifted the NFL landscape some. There were firings that we all expected, Mike Zimmer for instance. There were also a couple of shocking firings, and that’s putting things lightly.

The Miami Dolphins’ decision to move on from Brian Flores falls in that category. The Baltimore Ravens’ decision to move on from Don Martindale is another example.

‘Wink’ as they call him has been a part of the Ravens’ coaching staff since 2012 when Baltimore hired him to be their linebackers coach in 2012. He was a part of the Ravens’ Super Bowl XLVII-winning team in 2013.

In 2018, he was promoted to the Ravens’ defensive coordinator’s chair, where he’s been up until Baltimore decided to move on from him on January 21st. He’s assisted with the development of some young and capable stars, and any slip-ups in 2021 by his defense could probably be attributed to the exorbitant amount of injuries they’ve had to work through (Marcus Peters, Marlon Humphrey, DeShon Elliott for instance). That’s water under the bridge now though.

Any team looking for a defensive coordinator should have Martindale’s name at the top of the list. For a unit like Philly’s, one that has stars but has underachieved, a hiring like this one could be what the doctor ordered to give the unit some punch in 2022.