Veteran coaches who made a career in football end up crossing paths, coaching with or coaching against practically everyone else. The profession is a small world with few trade secrets.

Take this week’s matchup between No. 3 Texas and No. 10 Michigan. Case in point: Michigan linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary was once a Texas assistant under Charlie Strong.

Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian spent the 2004 season as the quarterbacks coach with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders. The team’s linebackers coach that season is now Wolverines defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

“I worked with Wink, so I know. He’ll be the first one to tell you he’s going to pressure you,” Sarkisian said Wednesday on the SEC coaches’ teleconference. “He likes to cut it up, send DBs, send linebackers and attack protections and things of that nature, and so he's not afraid to do it.”

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That 2004 season was the first of many for Martindale in the NFL. He’s spent time coaching for the Raiders (2004-08), the Denver Broncos (2009-10), the Baltimore Ravens (2012-21) and the last two seasons with the New York Giants.

During his time in the NFL, Martindale helped 22 players become Pro Bowlers. After guiding the Giants get to the playoffs during the 2022 season, Martindale was honored with the Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman Award for lifetime achievement as an NFL assistant coach.

Martindale planned on taking a year off from coaching, but got a call from Adam Schefter, the well-connected reporter covering the NFL for ESPN. Schefter asked Martindale if he’d be interested in the Michigan job. That led to a conversation with new Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, who replaced Jim Harbaugh, and it developed from there.

“And I talked to the guy, his passion — not towards Michigan — his passion towards the kids,” Martindale said on the Champions Circle podcast. “I’m like, ‘This is my guy.’ He wants to do everything right by the players. And what’s the best way we can do it for the players?”

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Martindale was impressed by the players’ work ethic and the overall standard in Ann Arbor. “These guys, they want to win,” he said. “That’s the first thing that attracted me to this job. The thing that surprised me because I didn’t really know what I was — it’s been 20 years (since coaching college). I didn’t know what I was going back into.”

At Michigan, Martindale walked into a program that won the 2023 national title but lost 13 NFL draft picks and its coach to the NFL. A huge sign-stealing controversy clouded the program, but as the Netflix documentary points out, the Wolverines still had incredible talent.

This season, Michigan returned seven interior defensive linemen who had seen game action, including preseason All-American Mason Graham. The Wolverines picked up transfer linebackers Jaishawn Barham (23 starts at Maryland) and Ernest Hausmann (seven starts at Nebraska). The secondary is loaded with players who have waited their turn to start.

Sarkisian and the Longhorns are headed into a matchup against a well-known NFL chess player with blue-chip talent at his disposal.

“I mean, these guys are NFL players, and they’re very talented in the back, and they’ve got great length,” Sarkisian said. “They can run their physical defense. I think they play with a lot of pride.”

In Michigan’s season opener, the defense smothered Fresno State and allowed just nine yards rushing on 33 attempts. Josaiah Stewart had two sacks, and the Wolverines had six tackles for loss.

This will be a huge test for the Texas run game. The Horns’ veteran line must pave the way for Jaydon Blue to run between the tackles to help move the chains and eat up some clock.

“I know our defense is excited for the challenge to go against them,” Moore told reporters earlier this week.