|
Lions Still Chasing Martz
BY JIM THOMAS
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
02/03/2006
DETROIT -- Apparently, the Detroit Lions aren’t quite ready to take “no” for an answer from Mike Martz.
According to league sources, the Lions contacted the former Rams head coach Friday, seeing if he would reconsider his decision not to take their offensive coordinator job.
On Thursday, Martz pulled his name from consideration, telling the Post-Dispatch, “We couldn’t come to an agreement on terms.”
Martz could not be reached for comment Friday. But those familiar with negotiations say the Lions were offering somewhere in the range of $700,000 to $800,000 in Year One, and about $1 million a year in Years 2 and 3.
Martz’s agent, Bob LaMonte, apparently was seeking $1.5 million in Year One, and a little over $5 million total in a slightly back-loaded, three-year deal. Those numbers present a problem for the Lions since their new head coach, Rod Marinelli, is believed to be making about $2 million a year.
With the dollar figures so close between the two jobs, it would be an awkward situation. If a coordinator is making almost as much as the head coach, it would be like having Head Coach 1 and Head Coach 1A.
Could the sides regroup, and meet somewhere in the middle?
Although unlikely, it wouldn’t be the first time the mercurial Martz has changed his mind. Less than a month ago, for example, Martz told the Post-Dispatch it was head coach or bust for him in 2006. He emphatically stated he was not interested in being an offensive coordinator.
Later, he said he would consider a coordinator’s post, but only if the right opportunity presented itself. And on Tuesday, he was in Detroit, interviewing with Marinelli and team officials for the Lions’ offensive coordinator job.
Martz and Marinelli hit it off in a big way Tuesday, and Martz appears to have a lot of respect for Marinelli. Those who know Martz say it’s inconceivable to think of him sitting out a year of coaching. But after all that transpired this week in Detroit, seeing will be believing in terms of Martz reconsidering the Lions.
|
Linear Mode
