Mike Martz (born May 13, 1951 in
Sioux FallsSioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south. It anchors the fastest growing metro area in the Midwest, with a total increase of 22% since 2000.As of the 2000 census, Sioux...
,
South DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. South Dakota was carved out of the southern half of the Dakota Territory and admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889...
) is a former NFL head coach and offensive coordinator most recently the
offensive coordinatorAn offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
for the
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
's
San Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team. The team plays its home games in San Francisco, California, while the club's headquarters and practice facility are located in Santa Clara...
.
Martz is known for creating complicated offensive schemes, particularly in the passing game. He is best known as the offensive coordinator behind the
St. Louis RamsThe St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team has won three NFL Championships, including one Super Bowl.The Rams began...
high-poweredThe Greatest Show on Turf was the nickname for the offense fielded by the St. Louis Rams offense during 1999, 2000, and 2001 National Football League seasons. The offense employed was a high-scoring attack designed by offensive coordinator Mike Martz...
1999 teamThe 1999 St. Louis Rams season was the team's 62nd year with the National Football League and the fifth season in St. Louis, Missouri. The Rams finished the regular-season with a record of 13-3, and the NFC West Championship. The Rams were 8-0 at home for the first time since 1973. On the road,...
that won the
Super BowlSuper Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
. As a head coach in the
NFLThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
Martz was 56-36 in 5 1/3 seasons as the St. Louis Rams head coach. He won two division titles, had four playoff berths including a
NFC championshipThe NFC Championship Game is one of the two semi-final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the National Football Conference...
and a trip to
Super Bowl XXXVISuper Bowl XXXVI was an American football game played on February 3, 2002 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 2001 regular season. The American Football Conference champion New England Patriots win their first Super...
Early career
Martz played
tight endThe tight end is a position in American football on the offensive team. The tight end is sometimes the last man on the offensive line, but has a slightly different build and, in some cases, a different role than other linemen...
at
San Diego Mesa CollegeSan Diego Mesa College is a public, two-year community college perched on a mesa in the Kearny Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, California in the United States. It is the largest community college in San Diego The college is known informally as Mesa College or Mesa.-Academics:Mesa College is...
, the
University of California, Santa BarbaraThe University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Santa Barbara, California, northwest of Los Angeles...
, and
Fresno State UniversityThe Fresno State Bulldogs football team represents California State University, Fresno and the California Central Valley, especially the San Joaquin Valley, in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The Bulldogs proudly display a green “V” on their helmets, uniforms, and on the field symbolizing the...
and graduated
summa cum laude from FSU in 1972. The following year his coaching career began at
Bullard High SchoolBullard High School is a public secondary school located in Fresno, California. The school serves about 2650 students in grades 9-12 in the Fresno Unified School District.-General information:...
in
Fresno, CaliforniaFresno is a city in California, USA, the county seat of Fresno County. As of February 27, 2009, the population was estimated at 500,017, making it the fifth largest city in California and the 36th largest in the nation...
. From 1974 to 1991, he was an assistant coach at seven colleges and universities, including two stints as
offensive coordinatorAn offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
at
Arizona State UniversityThe Arizona State Sun Devils' football program competes in NCAA Division I-A as part of the Pacific Ten Conference.The Sun Devils had their greatest success in the 1960s and 1970's under head coach Frank Kush. In that 22-year stretch, they compiled a 176–54–1 record, putting Arizona...
.
St. Louis Rams
In 1999, Martz was hired as the offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams, who went on to win
Super Bowl XXXIVSuper Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
that season.
Martz was then named head coach of the Rams on February 2, 2000 after
Dick VermeilRichard Albert "Dick" Vermeil is a former American head coach for the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles , St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs...
retired (he later changed his mind and coached across the state at
Kansas CityThe Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
. He led the Rams to a 10–6 regular season record, but they lost in the 1st round to the
New Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints play in the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League ....
31–28.
Head coach
2001The 2001 St. Louis Rams season was the 64th season for the team in the National Football League and seventh season in St. Louis. The Rams set a franchise record for wins in a season , and quarterback Kurt Warner won his second league M.V.P. award...
saw the Rams cruise to a 14–2 record (with Martz's signature Greatest Show on Turf offense, behind two-time league MVP Kurt Warner) and the NFC West title. Martz's Rams went on to win the NFC Championship game against the Eagles before losing in the Super Bowl to New England.
In
2002The 2002 St. Louis Rams season was the team's 65th year with the National Football League and the eighth season in St. Louis.-Division standings:...
the Rams had a see-saw season in which
Kurt WarnerKurtis Eugene "Kurt" Warner is an American football quarterback who currently plays for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 1994. He played college football at Northern Iowa.Warner first reached...
played injured and committed more turnovers than usual;
Marshall FaulkMarshall William Faulk is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League. He is currently an analyst for NFL Total Access on the NFL Network. He played football in college for San Diego State University, before being drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1994...
was also not the factor he had been in previous years, although many faulted Martz for his tendency to emphasize the pass too much and not run Faulk more.
In
2003The 2003 St. Louis Rams season was the team's 66th year with the National Football League and the ninth season in St. Louis.-Regular season schedule:-Division standings:...
,
Marc BulgerMarc Robert Bulger is a professional football player, and currently is the starting quarterback for the St. Louis Rams. He was voted MVP of the 2004 Pro Bowl. He was born in on April 5, 1977, and was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
's first full year as a starter, the Rams fielded a much-improved defense under defensive coordinator
Lovie SmithLovie Lee Smith is the head coach of the Chicago Bears professional football team of the NFL. Smith has been to the Super Bowl twice, as the defensive coordinator for the 2001 Saint Louis Rams and as the head coach for the Chicago Bears in 2006....
and led the NFL in forced turnovers, and they posted a 12–4 regular season record and made the playoffs. However, the Rams lost at home in the NFC divisional playoffs to the Carolina Panthers in a game that would have put them in the NFC title game. In that game, the Rams had the ball on the Panthers' 15 yard line with 42 seconds remaining and trailing by 3 points. Rather than go for the win in regulation, Martz made the controversial decision to run out the clock and settle for a game-tying field goal and overtime. The decision proved costly for the Rams as they lost in double overtime.
In
2004The 2004 St. Louis Rams season was the team's 67th year with the National Football League and the 10th season in St. Louis.-Schedule:...
, the Rams got off to a slow start and Martz's popularity with the fans began to wane; the "online community" was particularly hostile. Despite the early struggles, a late-season rally combined with a weak NFC West allowed the Rams to sneak into the playoffs with an 8–8 record. They had to overcome an unusual number of injuries, but still managed to beat the
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington, USA. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team, along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, joined the NFL in 1976 as...
in the first round before losing to the
FalconsThe 2004 Atlanta Falcons season was the Falcons' inaugural season under head coach Jim L. Mora.-Week 1:The Falcons began their season by traveling to San Francisco, where Falcons head coach Jim L. Mora had coached the last five years as the 49ers defensive coordinator, to play the San Francisco 49ers...
in the divisional round. The loss of defensive coordinator
Lovie SmithLovie Lee Smith is the head coach of the Chicago Bears professional football team of the NFL. Smith has been to the Super Bowl twice, as the defensive coordinator for the 2001 Saint Louis Rams and as the head coach for the Chicago Bears in 2006....
, who left for Chicago and took two of his assistants, clearly hurt the team.
On October 10,
2005The 2005 St. Louis Rams season was the team's 68th year with the National Football League and the 11th season in St. Louis.-Division standings:...
, Martz took a leave of absence from the Rams to treat a persistent bacterial infection in his heart. Assistant head coach
Joe VittJoe Vitt is the linebackers coach and assistant head coach of the New Orleans Saints.Vitt played four seasons as a linebacker for Towson State near Baltimore, even though he was an undersized 5'10" and smallish 190 pounds...
handled coaching duties as the interim head coach for the rest of the season and offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild served as the play-caller. Martz told the Rams that after being examined and evaluated by his treating physician, Dr. Victoria Fraser, that his illness would prevent him from performing his duties. Martz immediately announced he would miss the rest of the season.
Martz allegedly had several conflicts with the St. Louis front office over the years which reportedly came to a climax in 2005. While recovering from his illness at home and watching a live Rams game on television, Martz was blocked by team president John Shaw from relaying a play call to Fairchild by phone. Martz continued to show up periodically at team practices late in the season, and was given medical clearance to coach the Rams' last regular season game on
New Year's DayNew Year's Day is the first day of the new year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1, as it was also in ancient Rome . In all countries using the Gregorian calendar as their main calendar, except for Israel, it is a public holiday, often celebrated with fireworks at the...
. However, the Rams declined to have Martz coach that game, and fired him on January 2, 2006.
During the seven years in which Martz was involved with the Rams, the team went to two of the franchise's three Super Bowls. His record of 55–5 with a lead any time in the 4th Qtr [91.7 winning %] and 26.5 pts a game as a head coach were the best of all time at the end of 2005 season by any coach in the history of the NFL.
Recently, Martz has been honored by the Rho Alpha Mu Sigma Fraternity with his likeness on Mt. Rammore. Featured with Martz are other Rams and "Greatest Show on Turf" alums, Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce. Honorable mentions were given to Orlando Pace, Torry Holt, Ricky Proehl and Az-Zahir Hakim.
The Rams are 15–28 since Martz left.
Detroit Lions
Martz interviewed for head coaching vacancies in
OaklandThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team in the NFL based in the city of Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and
New OrleansThe New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints play in the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League ....
. After the interview, he withdrew his candidacy for the position in Oakland. After initially rejecting an offer due to financial considerations, on February 8, 2006, Martz accepted an offer from the
Detroit LionsThe Detroit Lions are an American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in downtown Detroit....
to be their offensive coordinator and their QB coach.
In 2006, his first season, the passing game improved considerably, ranking 7th overall behind unheralded QB Jon Kitna, who had his first 4,000-yard season at age 34. Detroit lost its first five games with Martz and finished 3–13 in his first season as coordinator. Though the offense obviously had its woes, Martz wasn't blamed for very much of the team's issues, as the defense was also bad and there were various injury and personnel issues.
In 2007, with expectations still high following the previous year's disaster, it appeared Martz's system was actually beginning to work, and the Lions looked to be playoff contenders, almost in competition with Green Bay for the division title at mid-season when they sat comfortably at 6–2. Though Kitna was still sacked far too much during this span due to the worst Offensive line in the NFL, it was still a great improvement from the year before, and sacks aside, Detroit possessed one of the league's most potent passing games during this period. However, the team won only one more game that season and finished 7–9. When even players began to complain of Martz's pass-happy and unbalanced offense, the Lions fired him in the offseason. However, the following season the Lions plummeted in the offensive rankings, and some players (most notably quarterback
Jon KitnaJon K. Kitna is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 1997...
) were openly frustrated with the conservative play calling that replaced Martz' system as the Lions became the first ever 0 - 16 team after firing Martz.
San Francisco 49ers
On January 8, 2008, Martz signed a two-year deal to become the offensive coordinator of the
San Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team. The team plays its home games in San Francisco, California, while the club's headquarters and practice facility are located in Santa Clara...
, who hoped that a fourth offensive coordinator in four years could re-energize the offense (and, most notably, QB
Alex SmithAlexander Douglas "Alex" Smith is an American football quarterback for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. He was drafted first overall by the 49ers in the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Utah.-Early years:...
's career).
Smith would injure his shoulder in the preseason, however, and miss the entire 2008 season. Martz lobbied for journeyman
J.T. O'SullivanJohn Thomas "J. T." O'Sullivan is an American football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
to come in as his replacement, but O'Sullivan and the 49ers offense struggled in the first half of the season. After 49ers coach
Mike NolanMike Nolan is an American football defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos-College years:Nolan attended the University of Oregon and was a three-year letterman in football and starter at safety....
was fired and
Mike SingletaryMichael Singletary is the current head coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Before he became the coach of the 49ers in 2008, he spent his entire playing career as a linebacker for the Chicago Bears after starring in college at Baylor University...
was brought in as interim head coach, the team gave
Shaun HillShaun Hill is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings in 2002 as an undrafted free agent. He played college football at Maryland.-Early years:...
a chance to establish himself as the starting QB. This has proven to be a good decision; with Hill under center the 49ers are playing .500 football and Hill has a
passer ratingPasser rating is a measure of the performance of quarterbacks or any other passers in American football and Canadian football. There are at least two formulae currently in use: one officially used by the National Football League and the Canadian Football League, and one used in college football...
of 87.0.
While news emerged on December 26, 2008 that Singletary will be retained as the 49ers head coach in 2009, Martz will not be coming back to the team as its offensive coordinator for a second season, according to The Sacramento Bee. San Francisco ranks 23rd out of 32 teams in points scored, 24th in total yards, 13th in passing yards per game and 22nd in net passing yards per attempt, which does represent an improvement over 2007 (when SF ranked dead last in all 3 categories), but they rank 26th in rushing yards & last in total turnovers. Singletary reportedly wants more of a ball-control, run-oriented offense than Martz is known for crafting.
External links