How Greer Martini is shaping Western Michigan's defense: 'Different person, same scheme'
Martini and the Broncos aren't overhauling the scheme that served them well in 2025, instead adapting things to the new play caller and personnel.
Kalamazoo — Even in a brief interaction, it’s easy to see why Lance Taylor elevated Greer Martini to replace Chris O’Leary as Western Michigan’s defensive coordinator.
The unspoken is the obvious: Martini was a pick that favored continuity when O’Leary left for the Los Angeles Chargers staff, as Martini coached linebackers for the Broncos in 2025 and knows the ins-and-outs of the defense they ran. It will be a relatively continuous look on defense for the Broncos in 2026 as a result.
But moreover, Martini spoke about his priorities for the defense in terms of how the Broncos play. There are the strongest echoes of O’Leary’s ethos from the top in 2025.
“I think ultimately, you know, building a culture of 11 as one swarming,” Martini said. “11 hats to the rock. And ultimately it's never going to be what we call. The biggest thing is gonna be how we play it.”
Western Michigan’s defense dominated in 2025 and was the leading force in Western Michigan winning 10 games and a MAC title. The Broncos produced the MAC defensive player of the year and did so well that the defensive coordinator got an NFL promotion, even after WMU tried to get him to hang around. Enter Martini, and a Broncos defense hellbent on reprising their efforts from 2025 with another championship level defense. And they fully believe they have the goods to do it, taking the defense the Broncos smothered opponents with last year and running with it.
“I was responsible for two guys,” Martini said of coaching linebackers. “Now I'm responsible for 11. So ultimately for me, it's more of a responsibility, but it's been great so far. And we have the right guys to have a really good season this year.”
Edge rusher DeJuan Echoles committed to the Broncos out of the transfer portal when O’Leary was still on staff in January.
Coming from Ball State, Echoles is a key piece of the defensive front rebuild for the Broncos as they replace lots of front seven production, from star edge Nadame Tucker to a few interior linemen who moved on.
Since the shift from O’Leary to Martini, Echoles has noticed little difference in how WMU plays defense.
“The only difference is this different person, same scheme,” Echoles said. “He's preaching the same thing and the train is still rolling. So it's pretty good.”
Specifically among the front seven, Echoles shared that the coaching points center around wreaking havoc for opposing offenses in whatever way possible.
“So try to beat the guy that's in front of you, get very good knockback and everything,” Echoles said. “So bring the violence in the box. That's what they're preaching.”
Where the Broncos do have loads of returning experience is in the secondary, where of the notable contributors in 2025, everyone but Aaron Wofford and Tate Hallock return. Micah Davis and Joey Pope are at safety, Josh Franklin figures to be the nickel and Jarvarius Sims and John Peters will play outside corner.
And that knowledge and experience is giving Martini an early upper hand in how he wants to call things. He’ll likely start to winnow down the looks into things the Broncos want to major in, but that they can minor in a number of coverages is a distinct advantage to fall back on.
“I feel like we can be multiple,” Martini said. “I can call multiple different coverages and they're gonna execute at a high level. And so for me, it gives me bullets in the chamber. So ultimately, where our secondary is allows me to call a little bit more defense, which has been great. But ultimately, we're gonna have to figure out what's the best defense for us.”
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Sims praised both O’Leary and Martini for how they see the game, and also noted a key difference between the two defensive coordinators
“They're both for real cerebral, smart coaches. It just seemed like they always just have the perfect play call,” Sims said. “And as far as opposite, coach O’Leary, he's a super energetic, bubbly type of guy. So, I've never heard him say a cuss word before, man. And then we got coach Martini, he's a fiery coach. He's passionate, just like coach O’Leary, but they both have two completely different coaching styles.”
That coaching style seems to be well received by the Broncos as Martini, a former linebacker at Notre Dame, continues to whip the group into shape.
Martini himself wants to see his squad get further along in scheme mastery, and expects they’ll get where they need to be through the summer and fall camp. The Broncos aren’t there yet, he said, but are on the right sort of timeline.
But more than scheme acclimation for new players and sorting out how the depth chart could look with new players, Martini is trying to galvanize a mentality for how WMU plays.
“We haven't arrived yet, right? So, like, that's what spring ball is great for. To see what your personnel looks like, what scheme matches with us. But ultimately, for us, we have a standard of excellence on defense here. We created it last year. That's the expectation going forward.”
Like O’Leary, Martini is a former player and a young one at that. He’s not much removed from his own playing career and appears to be a relatable presence to his players.
But he’s perfectly happy to leave the playing to the players as he marshals them from the sideline.
“We were talking about, ‘Hey, you gave me six months, can I play one series?’ And I think the answer is no, to walk away and not be banged up. But ultimately, for me, I know those days are long gone. Now it's about empowering the players, giving the knowledge that I might have gained as a player, because I do see the game still, not so much just X and Os. just a feel to it. And so I think that I can relate to the players in that manner. But to me, no, I don't dream of playing anymore. I dream of making the right call.”
