Rams Coach Mike Martz Has Heart Infection

St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz has an infection, suspected to be of the heart lining and a valve, that will cause him to miss practice the next couple of days..

Martz says infection getting worse, to miss practice (AP)

St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz says the infection that hospitalized him late last week involves his heart and is getting worse. He said he expects to miss practice the next two days. “I haven’t been feeling good for four or five weeks and there is some type of infection in my body that has gotten worse,” Martz said during a conference call with Seattle reporters. “They think they’ve identified what it is.”

Martz. 54, said doctors believe he has endocarditis, a bacterial infection of the heart’s inner lining or the heart valve. Martz will be undergoing a series of blood cultures over the next week to confirm that is the infection. If caught early, treatment is done through a series of antibiotics taken over a long period of time, Martz said.

Martz was hospitalized last Friday with what doctors believed was a sinus infection. He was released on Saturday and coached the Rams in their 44-24 loss to the New York Giants. Martz said he would continue to do some scripting and game planning in the morning the next few days, but planned to go home before practice begins. Joe Vitt, the assistant head coach and linebackers coach, ran practice last week in Martz’s absence.

“This is something that if you let it go, it could become a real issue,” Martz said. “They feel very confident that’s what it is, but they have to confirm it.”

There a things more important in life than football games (indeed, some would say there are few less important things). He owes it to himself and his family to take care of his health, even if he has to miss some game time, let alone practice.

I’m no fan of Martz’ coaching style–he has lost many more games than he should have with the talent on his squad because of a stubborn insistence on winning “his way” rather than handing off to Marshall Faulk in criticial situations– but certainly wish him a full and speedy recovery.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. caltechgirl says:

    indeed, I wish him the best. He’s lucky he was diagnosed early and doesn’t need a valve replacement.

    Just wanted to take this opportunity to point out that many people in this country who get hospitalized for this kind of infection in recent years are teenagers and young adults who recently had their tongues pierced….which is a shame.

  2. garcia says:

    martz is getting payback for all the heartache he’s caused for us loyal Rams fans since he became head coach.

    btw, i’m kidding of course.

  3. Jim says:

    If Coach Martz has endocarditis take it from someone who has had it, I had to take iv antibiotics every four hours for six weeks. Then I found out it damaged a valve in my heart and had to have surgery. Good luck to him if this is what he has.