New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and two others — the late Bobb McKittrick and retired Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line coach John Mitchell — have been named the 2023 Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman Award winners by the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA).
The award, which was instituted in 2014, is “given for lifetime achievement as an assistant coach in the NFL.” Martindale, McKittrick and Mitchell are the 21st, 22nd and 23rd honorees.
From the PFWA press release:
Martindale, the Giants defensive coordinator, is known for his wit and his creative blitz schemes out of a variety of fronts, and his best defenses have also defended the run with discipline. He has a resume that shows a gritty climb that included a year as a truck driver for a company his uncle owned before collegiate coaching stints at Defiance College, Cincinnati, Western Kentucky, Western Illinois as well as three Ohio high schools before he broke into the NFL in 2004 as a linebackers coach with the Oakland Raiders.
Martindale spent 10 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, including four as the defensive coordinator. His defenses were among the league’s top three in scoring in three of those four years as the Ravens’ coordinator, including No. 1 in his first season with the team. Martindale was on the staff for the Ravens’ Super Bowl XLVII win.
Current Jets, and former Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley, who earned a Pro Bowl trip as a Baltimore rookie with Martindale, called Martindale “just a real guy, a real coach.”
Former Giants Bill Arnsparger and Romeo Crennel have also previously won the award, although neither was with the team at the time. Martindale is the first Giant to win the award while still employed by the organization.
