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Is Mike Martz on his way to Bears?
Source says Martz might be man to replace Turner, rework offense and try to save old pal Lovie's skin
November 25, 2009
BY BRAD BIGGS [email protected]
With the Bears on a three-game skid and piling up losses for the first time in the post-Super Bowl era, the burning question around the NFL is torn from the pages of ESPN The Magazine: Who's got next?
A source close to former St.Louis Rams coach Mike Martz, most recently the San Francisco *****' offensive coordinator last season, said the architect of The Greatest Show on Turf might finally be headed to Chicago. Martz -- infamously slated to be the offensive coordinator for Dave McGinnis before Michael McCaskey fouled up McGinnis' hiring in 1999 and Dick Jauron came to town -- is an out-of-work coach serving as an analyst for NFL Network and surveying where he might land next.
How about with the Bears, as coach Lovie Smith's coordinator?
''Martz would love to work with Jay Cutler,'' said the source, who cited the close relationship between Smith and Martz in sharing the information.
Smith is expected to stay with the Bears in 2010 because of more than $10 million in walking-away money.
But offensive coordinator Ron Turner and at least part of his staff could be another story. The Bears (4-6) purged their defensive staff last offseason, and it might be the offense's turn in January as Smith makes a final effort to turn around a franchise headed toward its third straight season of missing the playoffs. Since Turner was hired in 2005 after the firing of Terry Shea, the offensive staff has been untouched. In that same span, Smith has changed seven defensive position coaches and moved the title of defensive coordinator from Ron Rivera to Bob Babich to himself.
Smith and Martz have known each other forever. Smith started at Arizona State in 1988, a year after Martz had left the Sun Devils program. Martz made Smith the Rams' defensive coordinator in 2001. When Smith began assembling his first Bears coaching staff in 2004 and was looking for an offensive coordinator, he turned to Martz for ideas. Martz didn't have anyone on his staff to recommend for the job, so he called then-Kansas City coach Dick Vermeil, and that's how the Bears got Shea, the Chiefs' quarterbacks coach. When Shea tried to hold up the Bears for big money, Martz devised a plan where the Bears could use Jim Colletto and Marc Trestman as co-coordinators.
Now, Martz might bring his own playbook to Halas Hall.
Martz, who last week on NFL.com said, ''I do want to coach again,'' angered Smith in September when he called out Cutler on the debut of ''The Coaches Show'' on NFL Network, criticizing Cutler's news-conference etiquette and looking out for Smith by saying Cutler ''doesn't understand that he represents a great head coach.'' Surely, that could be ironed out. As coordinator, Martz would bring instant credibility and a Super Bowl ring.
''We had some great years in St. Louis,'' said Bears left tackle Orlando Pace, who played under Martz for seven seasons with the Rams. ''I am surprised he didn't get a gig.''
Martz was offensive coordinator under Rod Marinelli in Detroit in 2006 and 2007 before his season in San Francisco. The common denominator in both stops was he didn't have a quarterback, and there wasn't a lot of talent to go around. Cutler would change that.
''When we were rolling good, we had a good mix,'' Pace said. ''[Quarterback] Kurt [Warner] was probably the best at picking up the blitz and knew it was coming, and they worked well together. I think it was a combination of coaching and having the right keys in place to make the plays.''
Pace said Martz's struggles with the Lions and ***** ''may have been a combination'' of a lack of talent and defenses figuring Martz out.
''When you've had success for a while in the league like he did, guys take a look at it and say, 'Well, what can I do to disrupt his stuff and his success?''' Pace said. ''Maybe that was a part of it, also.''
Martz has been viewed by some as a rogue coordinator who acts at his own discretion and sometimes puts the quarterback and even the defense in bad positions. He has a strong bond with Smith, though, and if Smith turns to him again for assistance, whom else would Martz recommend?
''Coach Martz is a big-play guy,'' Pace said. ''He wants the big plays all the time. You have to have a defense that is sound. He's going to put up 30 points a game if he can, but you have to have a defense. We had some instances like that [where the defense was put in tough spots]. But like I said, he's a gambler. He gambles, and it paid off for us a bunch of times.''
If Smith makes a move, is there anyone else he'd want to gamble on with his future on the line?
Source says Martz might be man to replace Turner, rework offense and try to save old pal Lovie's skin
November 25, 2009
BY BRAD BIGGS [email protected]
With the Bears on a three-game skid and piling up losses for the first time in the post-Super Bowl era, the burning question around the NFL is torn from the pages of ESPN The Magazine: Who's got next?
A source close to former St.Louis Rams coach Mike Martz, most recently the San Francisco *****' offensive coordinator last season, said the architect of The Greatest Show on Turf might finally be headed to Chicago. Martz -- infamously slated to be the offensive coordinator for Dave McGinnis before Michael McCaskey fouled up McGinnis' hiring in 1999 and Dick Jauron came to town -- is an out-of-work coach serving as an analyst for NFL Network and surveying where he might land next.
How about with the Bears, as coach Lovie Smith's coordinator?
''Martz would love to work with Jay Cutler,'' said the source, who cited the close relationship between Smith and Martz in sharing the information.
Smith is expected to stay with the Bears in 2010 because of more than $10 million in walking-away money.
But offensive coordinator Ron Turner and at least part of his staff could be another story. The Bears (4-6) purged their defensive staff last offseason, and it might be the offense's turn in January as Smith makes a final effort to turn around a franchise headed toward its third straight season of missing the playoffs. Since Turner was hired in 2005 after the firing of Terry Shea, the offensive staff has been untouched. In that same span, Smith has changed seven defensive position coaches and moved the title of defensive coordinator from Ron Rivera to Bob Babich to himself.
Smith and Martz have known each other forever. Smith started at Arizona State in 1988, a year after Martz had left the Sun Devils program. Martz made Smith the Rams' defensive coordinator in 2001. When Smith began assembling his first Bears coaching staff in 2004 and was looking for an offensive coordinator, he turned to Martz for ideas. Martz didn't have anyone on his staff to recommend for the job, so he called then-Kansas City coach Dick Vermeil, and that's how the Bears got Shea, the Chiefs' quarterbacks coach. When Shea tried to hold up the Bears for big money, Martz devised a plan where the Bears could use Jim Colletto and Marc Trestman as co-coordinators.
Now, Martz might bring his own playbook to Halas Hall.
Martz, who last week on NFL.com said, ''I do want to coach again,'' angered Smith in September when he called out Cutler on the debut of ''The Coaches Show'' on NFL Network, criticizing Cutler's news-conference etiquette and looking out for Smith by saying Cutler ''doesn't understand that he represents a great head coach.'' Surely, that could be ironed out. As coordinator, Martz would bring instant credibility and a Super Bowl ring.
''We had some great years in St. Louis,'' said Bears left tackle Orlando Pace, who played under Martz for seven seasons with the Rams. ''I am surprised he didn't get a gig.''
Martz was offensive coordinator under Rod Marinelli in Detroit in 2006 and 2007 before his season in San Francisco. The common denominator in both stops was he didn't have a quarterback, and there wasn't a lot of talent to go around. Cutler would change that.
''When we were rolling good, we had a good mix,'' Pace said. ''[Quarterback] Kurt [Warner] was probably the best at picking up the blitz and knew it was coming, and they worked well together. I think it was a combination of coaching and having the right keys in place to make the plays.''
Pace said Martz's struggles with the Lions and ***** ''may have been a combination'' of a lack of talent and defenses figuring Martz out.
''When you've had success for a while in the league like he did, guys take a look at it and say, 'Well, what can I do to disrupt his stuff and his success?''' Pace said. ''Maybe that was a part of it, also.''
Martz has been viewed by some as a rogue coordinator who acts at his own discretion and sometimes puts the quarterback and even the defense in bad positions. He has a strong bond with Smith, though, and if Smith turns to him again for assistance, whom else would Martz recommend?
''Coach Martz is a big-play guy,'' Pace said. ''He wants the big plays all the time. You have to have a defense that is sound. He's going to put up 30 points a game if he can, but you have to have a defense. We had some instances like that [where the defense was put in tough spots]. But like I said, he's a gambler. He gambles, and it paid off for us a bunch of times.''
If Smith makes a move, is there anyone else he'd want to gamble on with his future on the line?
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