Wink Martindale is close to returning to New York.
One day after the Jets fired a handful of defensive position coaches, Martindale is scheduled for an in-person interview to fill the coordinator vacancy, The Post confirmed.
He is one of eight coaches who were previously announced as part of the initial round of interviews.
League sources told The Post that head coach Aaron Glenn has had Martindale at the top of his list from the start of the process and that Martindale sees potential to make a big impact with the Jets.
Both Martindale and Glenn believe in playing attack-minded defense, which could be the cure for the Jets’ mind-boggling stat of finishing this season with zero interceptions.
Giants fans hoping Martindale might return to their organization – where his two-year tenure included a 2022 playoff berth, a 2023 season leading the NFL in takeaways and ultimately behind-the-scenes fireworks with then-head coach Brian Daboll — because of his past time working under new head coach John Harbaugh in Baltimore were never going to get that dream accomplished because of the abrupt way things ended.
Jets fans hoping that one of their former players, Broncos assistant head coach Jim Leonhard, would land the job might have to hold their breath.
Of course, Leonhard is preparing for the AFC Championship game right now and cannot be hired, while Martindale is available because he was not retained as Michigan defensive coordinator after the staff changeover following the Sherrone Moore scandal.
Leonhard is considered a strong candidate to be the defensive coordinator on Harbaugh’s staff, so the Giants could have an ex-Jet calling plays and the Jets could have an ex-Giants coordinator calling plays.
There would be concerns that Glenn — who chased out Aaron Rodgers — and Martindale are both alphas, but Martindale is not chasing a head coach job like he was earlier this decade.
SNY was first to report Martindale’s in-person interview.
The Jets parted ways Friday with quarterbacks coach Charles London, offensive pass game coordinator Scott Turner, defensive line coach Eric Washington, linebackers coach Aaron Curry, assistant defensive backs coach Dre Bly and defensive assistants Roosevelt Williams and Alonso Escalante.
It is common for a new defensive coordinator to want his own position coaches.
