The San Francisco 49ers hired Mike Martz as their offensive
coordinator Tuesday, landing one of the NFL’s top offensive minds
to fix a unit that floundered last season.
San Francisco (Associated Press)
The San Francisco 49ers hired Mike Martz as their offensive coordinator Tuesday, landing one of the NFL’s top offensive minds to fix a unit that floundered last season.
Martz tormented the 49ers for six years during his greatest success with their NFC West rival St. Louis Rams, but was fired by the Detroit Lions last week after two seasons as offensive coordinator.
He replaces Jim Hostler, who also was fired last week after the 49ers matched a franchise low and finished last in the NFL with 219 points. San Francisco’s offense was derided as bland and conservative – something that shouldn’t be a problem with Martz on board.
Hostler, who got the job on short notice after Norv Turner left to coach the Chargers, also produced the league’s worst statistics in total yards (3,797), yards passing (2,320), offensive touchdowns (23), first downs (218), sacks allowed (55) and third-down conversions (31.4 percent).
Martz, who got a two-year contract, is San Francisco’s sixth offensive coordinator in six years. The Rams’ offensive coordinator in their last Super Bowl victory, he became a largely successful head coach in St. Louis from 2000-05, including a Super Bowl loss in 2001.
San Francisco coach Mike Nolan, who will return for a fourth season despite a 16-32 record, vowed to find a veteran NFL coach to take charge of his inept offense. Martz certainly fits the bill as an experienced game-planner known league-wide from his inventiveness.
Nolan, a veteran defensive coordinator, is likely to give Martz more freedom to run the offense than he seemingly provided to Hostler.
“Our players are accustomed to and deserve strong leadership and competency,” Nolan said in a statement. “The addition of Mike Martz as offensive coordinator gives our offensive players both.”
Nolan and Martz were together on the Washington Redskins’ coaching staff from 1997-98, with Martz coaching the quarterbacks while Nolan was the defensive coordinator. Both have earned reputations as confident, headstrong head coaches who were outstanding in preparing teams, but often criticized for clock management and play-calling.
But San Francisco fans still ruefully remember the Rams’ Greatest Show on Turf, when Martz built an explosive vertical offense around Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. St. Louis won 10 of its 12 meetings with San Francisco from 1999-04, scoring at least 30 points five times.
Scot McCloughan, the 49ers’ general manager with a nominal position of authority over Nolan, said last week Martz probably wouldn’t be a serious candidate for the job. Martz still landed the position after an interview with Nolan on Monday.
It’s difficult to tell how Martz’s style will mesh with the 49ers, who mostly based their offense around a deliberate rushing game with Frank Gore during the past two seasons. Martz’s previous teams often have finished near the bottom of the NFL in yards rushing while Martz concentrates on inventive passing attacks.
The 49ers have perhaps the NFL’s least impressive collection of receivers, with starters Darrell Jackson and Arnaz Battle backed up by Ashley Lelie and rookie Jason Hill. Tight ends Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker, both capable pass-catchers, chafed when they went underutilized in Hostler’s offense.
And while Alex Smith heals his rift with Nolan over the treatment of the quarterback’s shoulder injury, he’ll also have to adjust to his fourth new offensive scheme in four NFL seasons.
