One of the things that could always be guaranteed, in as much as anything could during his tenure, was that Mike Martz would make things interesting. Whether the discussion at hand was gameday management or the outcome of another wildly experimental draft day, Mike always provided sufficient fuel for polarising argument. A comprehensive examination of all threads on this board containing the word 'Martz' would give a fairly accurate indication of how differently his legacy can be judged by those who have a mind to do so.
Were the Rams an offensive juggernaut stamped indelibly with the mark of Martz or were they a happy coincidence that the fortunate Martz happened to be able to ride for a season or three until his poor judgement and overwhelming arrogance ruined it for all of us? I happen to have consistently argued the former but the latter is a reasonably prevalent opinion and well argued by those who feel the justice of it.
I have a feeling that It will ever be thus and that there will never be a definitive opinion of Martz in his time at the Rams. A SuperBowl victory may well have provided the vindication that Martz supporters are looking for but this would be by no means certain. Martz was a figure of controversy even when enjoying the dominance that perennial playoff achievment brings. A Superbowl victory could still have been described by those who wished him gone as something that happened in spite of him rather than because of him.
It was a time of extremes. Gaudy statistics, outlandish play design, rosters full of flair and talent, disgruntled offensive tackles, draft day gambles, draft day disasters, and front office tensions can all be remembered as part of his unique approach to the game. As long as you're winning then people are inclined to let some, if not all, of these things ride for a while. When you start to lose what were previously eccentricities become fatal character flaws. 'Mad Mike' changes from being a term of affection into a dangerous characature.
By stark contrast,
Scott Linehan has largely trodden a path well worn by those in his profession. Given his offensive background, he had been descibed as Martz 'Lite' largely on the back of his time in Minnesota but he was without some of those aberrant tics that Martz was prone to. He has been responsible, compliant, dutiful safe and responsible in public whilst steering his team to a par total of 8-8 last season. There were little in the way of alarming game-day gaffes, public faux-pas, trademark brilliance or wacky wizardry in his management of our Rams.
They performed largely as they were expected to do, they could maybe have been a game better or a game worse but 8-8 was where most of us thought they should be and that's exactly where they were come the season end. He didn't give rise to the same level of divergent opinion as his predecessor and it could be argued that this was exactly what the team needed after the distractions of the Martz years. He could be described as a 'safe pair of hands'.
Thing is however that I believe that this is as much a curse for Linehan as it is a boon. What Martz engendered was a debate that, consumed with his personality, occasionally clouded the stark facts of his record as a coach. Linehan by contrast hasn't bedecked himself with the same personality distractions and so will be judged entirely on his record and his record alone.
Some argue that this is exactly as it should be, I by contrast, have always felt that its too dynamic a game and situation to be judged as quantitatively as this. Football is far more than X's and O's and won/loss records and part of a coaches job is to go deeper than the statistics and measurables to find how to make a collection of indiviudals achieve collectively. To judge purely on record is a little simplistic for me and it discounts much that isn't immediately quantifiable.
Due to the absence of a catalogue of personality quirks however there is little else to judge Linehan by. The mainstream in which he operates in contrast to his predecessor isn't as 'safe' as it might be for an incumbent coach. Eccentricity can provide a distraction in testing times, Linehan won't provide that and so will be vulnerable to charges laid simplistically by way of his record.
What makes this ever more likely is that those who berated Martz for his performance over the last two years of his tenure did so largely on the dubious basis that we had a roster stocked with talent. On the basis that we have had two solid drafts since then, then the logic would be that this would be the year when a return to the playoffs is mandatory. I have detected mutterings in this vein already and we haven't even got past our first minicamp yet.
Personally I like what I saw last year and am encouraged by what I've seen so far this year. My expectations however, looking at our schedule and our roster at this point are 9-7, maybe a game either way. If we fall short of this then I'll be happy if I can see some qualitative improvement and I'll expect to see the franchise give him a third year in the knowledge that it takes at least this for a coach to wholly put his mark on a club.
Linehan swims in the mainstream but he might find that there are those who hunt in those waters on the basis that it's the 'safest' place to be.