Coming up next month, NFL Network will premiere a new studio show featuring analysts Steve Mariucci and Jim Mora, host Charles Davis and newly hired Mike Martz. The NFL Network has just announced the hiring of Martz, former coach of the St. Louis Rams and offensive coordinator for the Lions. Here’s the announcement.
“THE NFL HEAD COACHES” SHOW DEBUTS ON NFL NETWORK
Former NFL Head Coach Mike Martz Makes NFL Network Analyst Debut, Joins Former Head Coaches Steve Mariucci and Jim Mora On New Monday Night Studio Show Hosted by Charles Davis
This fall, NFL Network gives fans more inside access into the game with the debut of The NFL Head Coaches, Monday, September 14 at 6:30 PM ET. Hosted by Charles Davis, the weekly half-hour show features a trio of former head coaches – Steve Mariucci, Mike Martz and Jim Mora – who have been on the sidelines and experienced the ups and downs associated with being at the helm of a team in the National Football League.
The NFL Head Coaches also marks Martz’s debut as an NFL Network analyst for the 2009 season. Martz joins the rotation of expert analysts on NFL Total Access and NFL Network’s live coverage of annual league events.
The NFL Head Coaches provides an inside look at game plans as Mariucci, Martz and Mora review the previous Sunday’s games and analyze the big plays and tough decisions NFL head coaches encounter. With 50 seasons of NFL coaching experience combined from three different coaching philosophies, NFL Network’s resident coaching trio share situations and experiences from their careers that remain applicable to today’s head coach.
“The head coach’s point of view is similar to that of a CEO of a company,” said NFL Network Executive Producer Eric Weinberger. “They manage so many different areas of a team, from evaluating talent to the split-second decisions made during a game. There’s a very unique point to view that a head coach provides and our panel of experts can shed some light on what separates a win from a loss.”
With nine years of NFL head coaching experience with the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions, Mariucci compiled a record of 72-67 and led his teams to four playoff appearances including the 1997 NFC Championship game with San Francisco. As a quarterback coach with the Green Bay Packers under Mike Holmgren, Mariucci’s offensive expertise, developed as a protégé of the Bill Walsh coaching tree, helped mold the talents of future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. Mariucci was also nominated for an Emmy award last season as an analyst.
Martz joins NFL Network’s team of analysts following 12 years as an NFL coach. Known for his offensive mind, Martz, who was hired as the St. Louis Rams’ offensive coordinator by then-head coach Dick Vermeil in 1999, led St. Louis to a Super Bowl championship that season. The following year, Martz took over head coaching duties from Vermeil and held that position for the next five years. During that time, Martz developed one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses nicknamed “The Greatest Show on Turf,” led by four-time Pro Bowl QB Kurt Warner and seven-time Pro Bowl selection and current NFL Network analyst Marshall Faulk.
Mora began his NFL coaching career with the New Orleans Saints from 1986-1996, followed by a three-year head coaching stint with the Indianapolis Colts. In his first season with the Colts, Mora played an integral role in Indianapolis’ selection of Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf as the number one overall selection in the 1998 NFL Draft.
In his fourth season with NFL Network, Davis has evolved into one of football’s most versatile broadcasters, expanding his repertoire with hosting duties on The NFL Head Coaches. Davis also serves as one of the NFL Network’s college football experts, providing analysis during the Network’s Senior Bowl, NFL Scouting Combine and NFL Draft coverage and on the show Path to the Draft. Outside of NFL Network, Davis is a game analyst for the Big Ten Network and FOX Sports’ BCS Championship and NFL Sunday game broadcasts.
I’ll give this show a try. Can’t hurt considering ESPN’s Monday night pregame programming is sometimes hard to watch.
