Goodbye Mike Martz

It's official, the Mike Martz era in St Louis is over.
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Personally, I want to thank the man. True, he is arrogant, bullheaded, and his infatuation with the passing made thousands scratch their heads. But think about what the man accomplished while he was here. As offensive cooridinator, he led the Rams to one of the most stunning offenses of all time, capturing a Super Bowl in 2000. When he lost in the Super Bowl two years ago, he was defeated by a team that has since become a dynasty. Say what you will about the Rams not running enough during that game but the Pats are one of the all time great teams. They are a model for winning and greatness. Martz even called them Super Bowl caliber after playing them during the 2001 season. Give credit to Bill Belichek and crew for creating a winning gameplan year after year.
Aside from helping us get to the Super Bowl twice, Martz produced three straight MVPs, won 2 division titles as coach and led us the playoffs four times in six years. It's a feat just to make the playoffs. The football Cardinals made it, what, three times in 30 years?
I know why St Louisans are bitter, and downright hateful, towards Mike Martz. After winning the championship in Jan 2000, there was a feeling in St Louis that winning should be automatic, it was our destiny. When we were defeated in Feb 2002, St Louis was outraged, how could we lose, we're " the greatest show on turf?" St Louisans felt that they were entitled to a championship year after year. So the anger that St Louisans displayed towards Martz has to do with the absurd notion that while we had some winning seasons, we didn't win enough. The NFL is a business structured for teams to go from last to first, then back to last. It's a cutthroat business and anyone that thinks it's easy to produce a winning team year after year is a fool.
So I'm sad to see the man go. I think the time has come for the Rams and Martz to part ways but it's a sad ending. As far as I'm concerned, there was no Rams football in St Louis until Mr Martz came aboard. His poor track record on special teams and the running game may tarnish his legacy a bit but St Louis has never seen so much winning football before and I doubt we'll see it again.