Mike Martz came to the St. Louis Rams in 1999, turning a subpar offense in 1998 into the Super Bowl winning “Great Show on Turf.” Martz is even credited for improving Detroit’s anemic offense when he joined the team as their offensive coordinator in 2006 and showed improvement even in the second year with the Lions. The question now becomes: Can Mike do it again with the 49ers and resurrect a team with a famed history?

Unfortunately, we won’t know the answer to that question for 21 more weeks and the seasons end. Maybe the better question should be: Was it Martz in the first place?

The 1999 Rams offense was vastly improved over their 1998 counterparts, but it wasn’t even the same team. In ‘98, Tony Banks was the leading passer with Robert Holcombe lining up behind him. Isaac Bruce only played 5 games, leaving Amp Lee and Ricky Proehl as the team’s top receivers. The following year, coinciding with the arrival of Martz and the 225 point improvement on offense, the Rams traded for Marshall Faulk at RB, stumbled upon Kurt Warner at QB, and drafted Torry Holt at WR. Bruce also was around for a full season and led the receivers. Besides Proehl, none of the leaders on the 1998 team were key pieces of the Super Bowl team.

After several years as the head coach of the Rams, Martz moved on to be the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions in 2006. Again, Martz’s team marked an improvement over the 2005 team. And again, Martz’s team had more talent: Jon Kitna (’06) vs. Joey Harrington (’05) at QB, and a surprising ex-Safety in Mike Furrey becoming a viable WR option with Roy Williams to replace disappointing Mike Williams and Charles Rogers.

With the 49ers, Martz with replace Arnaz Battle as the #1 receiver with Bryant Johnson, who would have gotten more playing time with Arizona, if he had not been behind Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. He has the best RB than he has had since Faulk in Frank Gore. What he doesn’t have is a legitimate leader at QB at this time.

Martz is a good coach who can bring the best out of his team, however, it will take a huge leap for Alex Smith or Shaun Hill to become a top QB in the league. It will be another tough year for the 49er faithful, but maybe that year will give Mike Martz Tim Tebow in his 2nd year in San Francisco.

Come get in the game with the 49ers and Mike Martz at InGameNow.

Tags: 49ers, Hill, Martz, Smith

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