Is Mike Martz a genius? Has he just had the benefit of having talented quarterbacks at his disposal, or was his mind the reason for the on the field excellence they experienced? Martz is a well traveled man around the league, known for his hyper aggressive passing offense and equally abrasive personality. Some say arrogance is confidence without evidence. Can Martz back up his reputation.

In 2002, after the Rams started 0-5, third string QB Marc Bulger filled in for backup Jamie Martin, who was filling in for the injured Kurt Warner. Under Martz, he finished the season with a 6-0 record in games that he both started and finished, but another QB injury would leave the Rams at 7-9 on the year. In 2003, Bulger led the Rams to a regular-season record of 12-4 and the NFC West championship. The Rams would go on to lose a heart breaker to the eventual Super Bowl runner up Carolina Panthers in the second round of the playoffs. In June 2004, Kurt Warner was deemed ineffective and released, resulting in Bulger officially being named the Rams’ starting quarterback. In 2004, Bulger was impressive enough to be named to the pro bowl, and earned Pro Bowl MVP honors. Martz would be fired in 2005, and Bulger’s quarterback rating thereafter would decline from a 94.4 with Martz, to 92.9 in 2006, 70.3 in 2007, 71.4 in 2008, and 70.7 in 2009. Is he the definition of a system quarterback? While offensive line and organizational struggles we’re an enormous part of Bulger’s decline, the numbers without Martz make it difficult to dispute.

In 2006 Martz accepted the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator position. In just his first season, the passing game ranked 7th overall behind the play of quarterback Jon Kitna. Kitna would have his first 4,000-yard season at the ripe age of 34. Detroit lost its first five games with Martz and finished 3–13 in his first season. Though the offense was patchwork, Martz could only accept limited responsibility for the teams play. As an organization at the height of dysfunction, injuries, defense, and poor management decisions were central to the ineptness of the team.

In 2007, expectations were surprisingly high. Kitna flourished in Martz’s system and the Lions – The Detroit Lions – were in playoff contention. Halfway through the season, they held a head turning 6–2 record. Though Kitna was sacked more often than the average NFL quarterback, he showed vast improvement from the previous year. However, the team would go on to win only one more game and finished 7–9. Players eventual had grown tiresome of Martz’s system and attitude, resulting in his firing. The following season the Lions sank in all offensive categories, and Kitna along with the rest of the offense who weren’t running backs, openly criticized the more traditional approach. The Lions would go on to become the first ever 0-16 team after Martz’s departure. Coincidence?

While St. Louis was undoubtedly the high point of Martz’s career, San Francisco was a short lived low point. On January 8, 2008, Martz signed a two-year contract to be the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers had drafted quarterback Alex Smith with the #1 overall selection of the 2005 NFL draft, yet he failed to meet the expectations of the organization. The team hoped that a fourth offensive coordinator in four years could resurrect the anemic offense and Smith’s career, but Smith would injure his shoulder in the preseason, forcing him to miss the entire 2008 campaign.

The 49ers offense stalled in the first half of the season, and after 49ers coach Mike Nolan was fired, Mike Singletary was brought in as interim head coach. The keys to the quarterback position were given to backup quarterback Shaun Hill, who would pass for 2,046 yards in 8 games under Martz. Martz was released as offensive coordinator after the 49ers promoted Singletary from interim to Head Coach. Singletary favored a ball-control, run-oriented offense, making it obvious that Martz would not be a fit. San Francisco ranked 23rd in points scored, 13th in passing yards per game and 22nd in net passing yards per attempt. This is a shocking improvement over 2007, where they were 32nd in all categories. Not bad considering the quarterback position was manned 8 games by JT O’Sullivan, and 8 games by Shaun Hill. Martz’s talent is beginning to be undeniable after this year.

On Monday, the Chicago Bears hired Mike Martz as their offensive coordinator. Though Martz was surprisingly low on GM Jerry Angelo’s list of candidates, he was the sole candidate after Rob Chudzinski, Jeremy Bates, Hue Jackson, and others opted for greener pastures. Martz has been out of coaching for a year, but as an analyst on the NFL network showed why he is without question one of the game’s sharpest offensive minds. It will be interesting to see how the style and personality of Martz blends with an equally strong-minded quarterback in Chicago’s Jay Cutler. Martz’s offensive history shows that the Bears are making a high risk / high reward decision, as Head Coach Lovie Smith enters a must win season. If history has shown us anything, it is that having Mike Martz run your offense can only garner positive results. If you recall, the last time Martz was paired with a quarterback as intelligent and gifted as Cutler, he went to two Super Bowls in three years.

Share on Facebook