Jets' almost defensive coordinator Wink Martindale fires shot at Woody Johnson

The New York Jets had a weird start to the 2026 offseason. After a couple of weeks of indecision, the Jets settled on going into a search for a new offensive and defensive coordinator following a 3-14 season.

Originally, the Jets looked like they were going to hire Wink Martindale to be their defensive coordinator. Something changed after an in-person interview with Martindale. The Jets pivoted and hired Brian Duker as the coordinator, with Aaron Glenn calling plays for the defense.

That context is necessary before seeing this video of Martindale obliterating Woody Johnson and the Jets in a recent podcast appearance with the New York Post's Pat Leonard.

"AG, he needs to stop trying to call defense and actually manage the game. Just focus on managing the game, because it's too much, too fast... Just think if the owner would've actually paid for a real defensive coordinator, they might've had a chance to win some more games."

Wink Martindale takes aim at the New York Jets for DC decision

Martindale says that the Jets are the definition of a losing organization and that the team would've had a chance at more wins if they had hired a real defensive coordinator.

To be abundantly clear, calling out the Jets and their owner for how they handle things is nothing new and is not even a wrong approach. The Jets are holding the longest playoff drought in professional sports. The criticism is warranted.

The annoying part is that this is coming from a guy who was passed over for a spot on this staff. Martindale comes across as petty here, not as an analyst. Were the Jets so bad when they were on the verge of giving Martindale a job? It's hypocritical.

The truth is, Martindale was out of the NFL for two straight seasons before this interview. Over his last three years in the NFL as a coordinator, Martindale's defenses ranked 25th, 25th, and 27th in yards against and 19th, 17th, and 26th in points against.

This is the same guy who very publicly had a terrible relationship with his previous head coach, Brian Daboll, when they worked together with the Giants. Are we really to believe the Jets' fortunes would be vastly different if the only change they made was to bring in Martindale to call the defense? Fat chance.

The Jets defense is 16th in EPA per play, 13th in points allowed, and ninth in yards allowed. They were bad against Miami, so I guess the timing is right for Martindale to make this criticism, but over the seven games this season, the Jets defense has mostly punched above its weight. It's a nonsense argument.

Take Martindale's defensive play calling out of the equation, and just look at how he handles himself. Is his ego what the Jets need to go from a losing organization to a winning organization? Are we sure he wouldn't be saying something stupid right now to bring even more negative attention to this organization if he were here?

Right message, wrong messenger. Hopefully Martindale is enjoying life as a podcaster, because the dream of being a defensive coordinator in the NFL again seems unlikely.

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