the Miami Sports Dude

I admit that the prospect of having Mike Martz as head coach of the Miami Dolphins has me intrigued. And judging by your comments, some of you are equally intrigued.

But have we as Dolphins fans gotten so jaded by the lack of offense down here that we’re actually enthusiastic about welcoming in Mike “Mad Scientist,” “Mad Man” Martz as our head coach?

We’ve been through such hell with our offenses since the Jimmy Johnson era right on through to the Saban error that we’re now willing to hand over the keys to our beloved franchise to Mike Freakin’ Martz?

Now, I like Martz as an offensive guru. The first time I started to have my doubts about Nick Saban last year was when he decided to hire Mike Mularkey as his new offensive coordinator instead of Martz, who was also available. I wanted Martz down here. If there is a perfect place for Martz, it’s in the booth calling plays. But unless Huizenga offers to make Martz the highest paid offensive coordinator in the NFL, that window is shut.

Now Martz does have some positives to take into account. He is considered an offensive genius and designs some of the most complex and intricate passing schemes in the NFL. He made Jon Kitna relevant this season, helping him to a 4,208 yard season. He helped Dick Vermiel’s Rams win the Super Bowl in 2000 when he was named their offensive coordinator. In 2001 when Vermeil “retired” Martz took over as head coach and led the Rams to a 14-2 record and the NFC Championship – where they eventually lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. His head coaching record is 56-36 – so far the best record of all the candidates the Fins have interviewed with previous head coaching experience.

But Mike Martz is also considered one of the worst game-clock managers in the NFL. He’s known for calling replay challenges at the worst possible times during a game, abusing the time outs available to him and wasting challenges on mundane plays.

Plus, Mike Martz does not like to run the ball. Despite having both Marshall Faulk and Steven Jackson at his disposal when with the Rams, Martz was known for throwing first and throwing often, no matter what the game situation was. In one divisional game, Faulk and Jackson combined for 22 carries while the offense threw the ball 56 times – and this was NOT because the Rams were playing from behind. St. Louis lost that game.

The Rams, who were once known as the “Greatest Show on Turf” and featured a record breaking trio of stars, including Faulk, completely fell apart under Martz’s watch. It all came to a head in 2005 when Martz claimed that offensive lineman Kyle Turley threatened to kill him. Martz also had several conflicts with the Rams front office over the years that eventually led to his firing in 2005.

The verdict on Martz’s tenure with the Rams is clear: He was a record breaking play caller when he was their offensive coordinator. But as their head coach, the team crumbled around him. He lost the respect of his players, had conflicts with the front office and he, stubbornly, mismanaged games over and over again.

Simply put, if you have Martz on a leash, focusing solely on the X’s and O’s of the offense -- he shines. But when he’s put in charge and is made to be the boss, things fall apart.

All indications point to the Dolphins handing all the power to their new head coach. Martz can barely handle replay challenges and we expect him to make all the decisions on team personnel situations?

If Huizenga somehow changed his mind and decided to hire a strong personnel guy or, at the very least, give Randy Mueller the power, then my feelings towards Martz would go from cold to lukewarm. Only because as a head coach, I think Martz is a total flake. But I don’t think Huizenga is changing his philosophy.

I said yesterday in the comments section that my hunch, gut feeling is that Martz will be the guy they hire, unless Pete Carroll pulls a Saban and comes here even after saying he wouldn’t. Right now I’m listless about any of the supposed candidates – unless it’s Cam Cameron or Ken Whisenhunt.

Admittedly, I would be curious to see what Martz did with this Miami offense while having Dom Capers running the defense. But at this point, I’m just angry at the fact that this ownership is happily married to the idea of giving the new head coach all the power. That is going to be the single reason why the Dolphins will not return to being a Super Bowl contender for a long, long while.

So, Mike Martz? I say no. But if he did come here, I wouldn’t burn down the practice bubble or anything. I’d just be very indifferent and apathetic about our team’s future.

I guess we’ll see …

Labels: Dolphins Coach Search, Miami Dolphins