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Almost the unthinkable has happened. Mike Martz, one of three active coaches to have the moniker “genius” attached to his name (Bellichick, Norv Turner) in some form or fashion, has been hired by Mike Nolan to be the Offensive Coordinator of the 49ers.

At the outset, it seemed to be an odd play for Mike Nolan, as it appeared to go against several grains of thinking. One was that Cam Cameron was a better fit because the personnel most resembled that with which he achieved success in San Diego. He was thought a more stable choice than Mike Martz, both in his personality and his playcalling balance. Even Chan Gailey seemed more likely given Nolan’s penchant for conservative football and inexperienced coordinators.

Scot McCloughan stated before the process started that Mike Martz was not a candidate. As soon as Nolan hired Martz, every media type, blogger, and message board lurker pounced on this as evidence that Nolan had immediately contradicted his new GM’s desires. This, of course, has been proven patently wrong. This fabulous line of speculation was started by the inglorious San Jose Mercury News, a publication that has so clearly been motivated by its desire to see Mike Nolan fired, every piece on the 49ers is colored in such a way that the situation appears as dire as possible.

Lest you disbelieve my assertion, Scot McCloughan said plainly that one of his conditions for taking the job was the return of Mike Nolan, because he gets along so well with him. He also stated that the hiring of staff was Mike Nolan’s responsibility, and that they always make decisions together. So the player trigger still would work with the coach, and the coach trigger would work with the GM. No surprise.

When McCloughan stated that Martz was not a candidate, he was reflecting that which Nolan said in a meeting beforehand, that he believed Martz would not be available to the 49ers. Probably the biggest reason was that Nolan believed, as many of us do, that he is saddled with the lame duck coach millstone around his neck, and a coach of Martz’s caliber would not want to move into that situation. Mike Nolan did not go against McClougan’s wishes, and we have seen the first reactionary attempt to find the cracks in the new relationship, by the very publication that WANTS to find cracks.

I thought I would examine the negatives about Mike Martz being bandied about by the media and fans, and try to counter them.

Gore will be ignored
In Martz’s year as the coordinator for the Rams, and his first two as Head Coach, Marshall Faulk had MVP years. With 1300 yards rushing in each season, as well as nearly 1,000 yards receiving in 1999. As a Head Coach Martz slowly but surely struggled to find the run game, but Marshall Faulk was also approaching the end of a running back’s shelf life. He was already going into his ninth year in 2002.

Martz comes to this team with an MVP-type running back who, as Martz stated in the media conference call on Tuesday, is bigger and stronger than Faulk was, and that he is going to center the offense around Frank Gore. Look at the feature back that Martz acquired as Head Coach of the Rams, and you’ll find the human Sherman Tank, Stephen Jackson.

Martz has only been a coordinator in two places, for a total of three years. He had Marshall Faulk in the first one, and then two pedestrian Detroit Lions in the other two. Frank Gore is younger now than Faulk was when Martz came to St. Louis. This time, when he works for a Head Coach that wants to establish the run, unilke with Marinelli he’ll have a running back worth doing it with.

Martz’s system needs small, fast receivers
No system in football is adamant on certain types of players. All systems have short yardage and long yardage plays, and plays with quick or slow timing. All systems can be tweaked to allow for the personnel to play to their strengths. Martz has never had a freakish Tight End on one side, and a smooth pass-catching tight end on the other. None of the Tight Ends in St. Louis, or Marcus Pollard in Detroit, were either fast, strong, or very good pass catchers. Martz is not an idiot, and recognizes raw talent when he sees it.

Jason Hill is not small, and he is very fast. I look for him to come out much more in his second year. Ashlie Lelie is tall, but still slight and also very quick. Arnaz Battle is also fast. Isaac Bruce achieved great success under Martz, and he is right at 6 feet and not all that fast himself. Any system can be adapted to players, and certainly Mike Martz is smart enough to do that.

Martz’s system will suck on grass
Again, it’s not the system, it’s the players. If the players are accustomed to playing on turf, then that is why they struggle on grass. Remember that defenses are slowed down on grass as much as offenses are.

Mike Martz is overrated
Sure. I would hate to have a coach who has had three NFL MVP’s in the last decade, appeared in two Super Bowls and won one. He’s the only available coordinator candidate who can boast anything near that level.

Martz gets quarterbacks beaten up
This is a long-standing assertion about Mike Martz, and perhaps it holds some water considering blocking scheme, and the amount of personnel that gets downfield. But Brett Favre holds the record for most interceptions, so I guess his coaches systems get balls intercepted.

Look at who the quarterbacks were under Martz: Trent Green, Kurt Warner, Mark Bulger, and John Kitna. Neither one of these four guys can run their way out of a paper bag, let alone a collapsing pocket. Look at how their careers have gone without Mike Martz, and you’ll see they still get sacked wherever they go. How many times have we seen Kurt Warner languishing within a collapsing pocket?

Now look at the quarterbacks he has instantly inherited, in Smith and Hill, and you see guys who can dart away from defensive linemen when the pocket collapses–unless Rocky Bernard blows up the center, of course. We don’t know how many of those sacks that these quarterbacks have suffered were due to their own inability to escape pressure. Martz has to be licking his chops looking at the raw tools he has to work with.

The upcoming offseason and beyond is shaping up to be far more than a long, slow march to a new Head Coach. We could still find ourselves sans Nolan, but it will be one heck of a ride. It’s the one thing we didn’t expect.