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Martz wanted Carson to help defense
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St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz might have given his players a week off, but he was hardly idle as he tried to coax renowned defensive coordinator Bud Carson out of retirement.
|  | | Kevin Carter and the Rams have been unable to duplicate last season's defensive success. |
And that should send a message to the rest of the NFL that the Rams are not content with their perfect record and status as defending Super Bowl champions.
Martz has not ignored the Rams' 30th-ranked defense. It's one thing to allow the Broncos and 49ers to put points on the board, but struggling offenses like the Falcons, Seahawks and Chargers posted an average of almost 30 points against St. Louis. In contrast to the NFC's other 5-0 team, the Minnesota Vikings, the Rams have allowed 145 points to Minnesota's 94.
A Rams official, in disputing a report that Martz almost fired defensive coordinator Peter Giunta, did admit early this week that "we are very
concerned about our defense."
Martz reached out to Carson during the bye week in the same manner Redskins coach Norv Turner did with Bill Arnsparger a year ago. Turner brought Arnsparger out of retirement to mentor beleaguered defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, who had cut his teeth under the coach at LSU. Giunta, meanwhile, had served under Carson. It is unique thread that binds this all together.
"When I was with the Redskins (in '97), (Carson) drove Norv (Turner) and the rest of us on the offensive staff nuts," Martz said. "In fact, all the things that Norv and
I are credited doing with this offense -- the movements, the motions, the shifting, the formations -- is all because of Bud Carson's defense. We had to figure out something. You could say he got us going with this offense. It's a creation of trying to counter what he threw at us."
Martz said he initiated contact with Carson when he heard Carson was in much better health following an angioplasty and bout with emphysema that
forced him to retire as the Rams defensive coordinator in 1997, the first season under Dick Vermeil.
Carson, 69, agreed to rejoin the staff last week, but doctors asked him to reconsider. So he reluctantly rejected Martz's offer to essentially become
co-defensive coordinator, a title Giunta held a year ago with John Bunting, now the linebackers coach in New Orleans.
"In my mind, Bud is one of the top two or three defensive coaches in the history of the game," Martz said. "This whole thing has been somewhat
misconstrued. Bud has been Peter's mentor. It's his defense we're running. Whether we were first or 30th in defense, I would want to bring Bud in
because I believe he's still the best out there. How can he not help you?"
Martz is still angry with a Fox News report alleging he tried to fire Giunta and another assistant.
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Bud is one of the top two or three defensive coaches
in the history of the game. ... It's his defense we're running.
Whether we were first or 30th in defense, I would want to bring
Bud in because I believe he's still the best out there. How can
he not help you? ” |
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— Mike
Martz |
"It was never a consideration and the worst kind of journalism because now two men have been wounded because of it," Martz said. "Look, I wanted to
hire Ernie Zampese, one of my mentors, and I'd would love to have Ernie back here with me if he'd do it (Zampese is in Dallas). When you have great
experienced coaches out there who are real mentors to what you're trying to do, you are foolish not to reach out to them."
It is an educated guess to say Carson will become a consultant via the telephone. Martz also shook up some of the defensive roster when he released
a pair of reserve defensive linemen, defensive tackle Nate Hobgood-Chittick and defensive end Lionel Barnes, and added veteran defensive end Fernando Bryant while promoting defensive tackle Gaylon Hyder from the practice squad. Hyder, a 300-pounder, could bring seem needed bulk to the defensive front.
Otherwise, Martz clearly sent a message to his "vacationing" players when they returned Tuesday in preparation for Sunday's game against the Falcons.
"I told our players, 'It's scary, we're 5-0 and we could be a lot better than we are,' " Martz said. "It's actually something I try to tell players all the time. It's not about Tampa Bay, the Bears, the Redskins ... it's about us. What are we going to do about it?"
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