In the ultimate role reversal, Wink Martindale faced a blitz. 

Why did he split with the Baltimore Ravens? Any lingering hard feelings toward Ravens head coach John Harbaugh? Was his surprising move to the Giants a step toward becoming a head coach? Has this Giants-Ravens game been circled on his calendar since the schedule came out? 

Inquiring minds wanted to know more Thursday about how one of the NFL’s best defensive coordinators ended up on the open market after last season and how he feels about facing his former team for the first time Sunday, when the Ravens visit the Giants. 

“It has re-energized me to go someplace new and try to build it again,” Martindale said. “John and I are family. It was nothing negative. It was just time for both of us.” 

Martindale, 59, has been one of the NFL’s most valuable assistant coaches this season, melding an unheralded unit of mostly youngsters and journeymen into a formidable defense that ranks No. 9 in points per game allowed (18.6). While he might be re-energized, Martindale is not reinvented, still using the same blitz-heavy playbook (43.3 percent of plays, tops in the NFL) that last week kept in check Aaron Rodgers in a Giants’ upset of the Packers. 

“The exciting part about coming here is it’s Year 1,” Martindale said. “We just have to keep staying with the process of where we’re going and how we’re going to get there. I’ve always believed that where you are at is where you are supposed to be.” 

Martindale worked under Harbaugh’s father, Jack, earlier in his career and received a lifeline from John after a year out of coaching in 2011. Martindale joined the Ravens, won a Super Bowl ring as linebackers coach in 2012 and was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2018. 

The Ravens ranked No. 1, No. 4, No. 7 and No. 25 in total defense in four seasons under Martindale. As the numbers went in the wrong direction and the Ravens closed last season with six straight losses, Harbaugh and Martindale reached a mutual agreement that the Ravens needed a fresh voice (ultimately hiring Martindale protégé Mike McDonald) and Martindale’s pursuit of a head coach job would benefit from working his magic at another stop. 

“I want this game to be about [the players],” Martindale said. “Is there a little competitive spirit in you when you go play a team that you used to work for? Sure, I’m not going to deny that. As far as circling the game and everything else, this is just the next game. We’ve had success approaching it that way.” 

Despite feeling that Maryland is home for his children and lauding Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, executive Ozzie Newsome and his “brother” Harbaugh, Martindale described his emotions leaving the Ravens as “happy and excited about the next chapter.” Easier to say in hindsight now that he has landed tall on his feet because the Giants’ original plan was to retain defensive coordinator Patrick Graham (now with the Raiders), which would’ve sent Martindale scrambling elsewhere. 

It might be a surprise to some that Martindale — synonymous with bravado — said he has been criticized in the past for not showing more emotion on the sideline. 

“I tell the players all the time: What I owe you during the game is my composure. That’s where I show you my athleticism,” Martindale said. “You are not going to be animated if you are thinking about what you are going to call next. When you watch two people playing chess, if a guy makes a great move, he doesn’t stand on a chair and chest-bump somebody.” 

The Giants don’t have an interception in five games, but they haven’t been victimized by the long passes Martindale’s secondary was last season — and to which the Ravens remain susceptible. 

“We always had the guys to play really good defense,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “Wink is bringing in a more aggressive mentality, which helps us out because that’s what we wanted to do in the first place. It’s not that he’s given us an identity. Sometimes the scheme wasn’t fitting the players.” 

Martindale carries with him a saying he learned in Baltimore, from late assistant coach Clarence Brooks: The game always has been and always will be about the players. 

“I believe in the scheme that we run and how flexible it is,” Martindale said. “It’s the players that make it go.”