DEFIANCE, Ohio - A Defiance College alumnus will play a big role in Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans on Sunday, February 3. Don Martindale, inside linebackers coach for the Super Bowl-bound Baltimore Ravens, graduated from Defiance College with a bachelor's degree in business education after playing linebacker with the Yellow Jackets. His coaching career began as an assistant at DC in the late 1980s.

Martindale joined the Ravens in 2012. He is an eight-year NFL coaching veteran and has 19 years of combined coaching experience on the pro and collegiate levels. Prior to joining the Ravens, he was defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos, and he spent five seasons with the Oakland Raiders.

Before entering the NFL ranks, Martindale coached for three seasons at Western Kentucky University on the staff of Jack Harbaugh, father of Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.

He also coached for three years at the University of Cincinnati, and in 1994 and 1995 was a defensive assistant at the University of Notre Dame for teams that played in the Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl.

Martindale was an All-State linebacker at Trotwood Madison High School. He and his wife, Laura, have two children.