The St. Louis Rams are one of the most dominant, and exciting teams not only in the NFL, but NFL history. The man behind the creative, exhilarating Rams’ attack is Mike Martz.

Chairman Georgia Frontiere appointed Martz as the 21st head coach in franchise history on February 2, 2000. Now in his fifth season as head coach, Martz is the longest tenured head coach in St. Louis Rams history, and is the longest tenured Rams’ head coach in over a decade, when John Robinson led the franchise for nine seasons from 1983-91.

Martz’s 45 wins is the fourth highest total in franchise history, trailing only legendary coaches John Robinson (79), Chuck Knox (72), and George Allen (49). Martz, who joined the Rams in 1992 as an unpaid assistant coach, began to earn acclaim in 1995 when second-year wideout Isaac Bruce set franchise records in receptions (119) and receiving yards (1,781). Martz had a two-year coaching stint with the Washington Redskins (1997-98), but since returning to St. Louis, the Rams and the NFL were changed forever.

As offensive coordinator, Martz coordinated a remarkable turnaround when he took over the Rams' offense for the first time in the 1999 Super Bowl XXXIV-championship season. Guiding former Arena League quarterback Kurt Warner and exploiting the running-receiving talents of Marshall Faulk, Martz's offense averaged 401 yards a game, compared to 280 the season before, and scored 526 points; 285 more than in 1998. Only two teams had ever scored more points. The Rams were only the fourth team since the start of the 16-game schedule in 1978 and sixth since 1950 to outscore their opponents by at least 250 points. The Rams' margin of 17.8 points a game more than opponents was third highest in the NFL since 1950.

But that was just the beginning:

• In fact, since 1999, the Rams’ 56 regular season wins are tied for the most in the NFL over that span. In addition, Martz’s 24 wins in his first two seasons is the third highest in NFL history. Martz’ 43 regular season wins in his first four seasons as head coach is tied for the third highest in NFL history. Martz’ .672 regular season winning percentage is tied for the fourth highest in the NFL in the Super Bowl era with a minimum of 50 games coached.

• The Rams led the NFL in offense from 1999-2001, producing three consecutive NFL Most Valuable Players – QB Kurt Warner in 1999 and 2001, and RB Marshall Faulk in 2000. It was the first time in league history one NFL team had the outright winner of the MVP award three consecutive seasons.

• Since 1999, the Rams have averaged 29.5 points a game and nearly 390 yards per game in total offense.

• In 2001, the Rams became the first team to score at least 500 points in three consecutive seasons.

• Over the past five seasons, the Rams have broken 17 NFL offensive records, and tied six others. In addition, the Rams have set a whopping 95 team records, and tied 38 others.

• In 2000, the engine that is the Rams’ offense motored to a franchise-best 540 points and averaged 442 yards a game.

Not a one-dimensional coach, Martz addressed a critical defensive overhaul before the 2001 season. Beginning with the NFL free agency period in February, the Rams signed or traded for several significant defensive players, then surprised the football community by selecting defensive players with their five choices in the first three rounds of the 2001 NFL draft. That season, the Rams allowed 273 points, nearly 200 points less than they did in 2000, the second largest point improvement in NFL history.

In 2003, the Rams led the NFC and were tied for second in the NFL with five defensive touchdowns. Martz's philosophy is not complex: "This is a game of speed and attitude,” he says. Offensively, Martz does not try to fit players to a system. Rather, he fits a system to the players.

Mike began preparing for this coaching opportunity at San Diego's Madison High in the 1960s. He spent many Saturday nights at San Diego Stadium watching Coryell's San Diego State offensive powerhouses and Sunday afternoons watching Sid Gillman's offensively creative San Diego Chargers.

Martz is a summa cum laude graduate of Fresno State, where he played tight end in 1972. He was a tight end at the University of California-Santa Barbara in 1971 and transferred to Fresno when UCSB dropped football. Martz also played two seasons at San Diego Mesa Community College.

In 2004, Martz was added to the NFL’s competition committee, which oversees all aspects of the game on the field, and recommends rules and policy changes to NFL clubs.

Mike's first coaching appointment was at Bullard High in Fresno, California, in 1973. He also coached at San Diego Mesa (1974, 1976-77), San Jose State (1975), Santa Ana College in Santa Ana, California (1978), Fresno State (1979), University of the Pacific (1980-81), and Minnesota (1982). He was quarterbacks and receivers coach at Arizona State from 1983-87 and was the Sun Devils’ offensive coordinator in 1984 and from 1988-91.

But Martz is more than just a football coach. During the offseason, Martz has been active in causes ranging from Alzheimer’s research and funding to hosting a coaching clinic for area coaches. In 2003, Martz was asked to speak to the Missouri House of Representatives, as they were facing problems balancing the state budget. While he declined to speak on solving the complex budget issue, he addressed the Rams’ philosophy, the high standard of excellence the team strives for on the field, and out of the box thinking. In April 2003, Martz gave a passionate testimony before a United States Senate committee, urging increased federal funding for Alzheimer’s research (Martz’ late mother Betty suffered from the disease). This past June, Martz was a featured speaker at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute Black-Tie Gala hosted by U.S. Senator John “Jay” D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV), who’s mother also suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.

In each of the past three years, Martz has addressed St. Louis school superintendents on leadership and character. In June, Martz spoke to 150 area business people and educators at the 7th annual St. Louis Rams briefing presented by AAIM Management Association, a leading provider of training and development services to business organizations.

For the third consecutive year, Martz hosted a high school football coaches clinic, the only team-sponsored high school coaching clinic in the National Football League, which had over 2,000 attendees at the three clinics. Martz also hosted his third annual golf tournament, which raises funds for Alzheimer's research and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Martz and his wife Julie have joined Adam and Jana Timmerman for the past three years as chairs of the St. Louis Rams Super Blood Drive. The Super Blood Drive, in partnership with the American Red Cross, is the largest single day drive in the St. Louis community. Mike and Julie have also served as honorary chairs of the National Council of Jewish Women’s Back to School Store, which provides 400 elementary students from low-income families with new clothing, winter coats, shoes, backpacks, personal care items, and school supplies free of charge.

In July of 2003, Coach Martz was named the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame’s Most Pro-Active Coach. In each of the past two seasons, Martz was named Staples Coach of the Week Award. Part of the award involved speaking at a school assembly about how he became a head coach and stressing the importance of staying in school. While Staples presented each school with a $5,000 gift certificate to purchase school supplies, Coach Martz added his own donation of $10,000 to each presentation.

Martz was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and moved to San Diego at age eight. Martz and his wife Julie have three sons, Chris, David, and Tim, and a daughter, Emily. The Martzes’ reside in Wildwood, Missouri.