Martz wants head coach job somewhere in NFL

~ The former Rams coach said he is physically ready to return to the sideline.

ST. LOUIS -- Mike Martz is eager to coach again, especially after missing the last 11 games of the season with a heart ailment.

He's still coming to grips with not coaching the St. Louis Rams anymore, he told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday.

"I felt like I could ride this one into the sunset," Martz said, a day after he was fired after five-plus seasons. "But the NFL, it stands for 'Not for Long.' "

Martz's agent, Bob LaMonte, is scheduled to meet with team president John Shaw in the next day or two to discuss a possible settlement of the final year of his contract, worth $3.25 million.

"All of that stuff, I just leave up to my agent," Martz said. "We'll just see how that goes. We'll just see what the Rams say."

Physically, Martz said he's ready to work again. He received clearance from his physician to return to work on Sunday after dealing with endocarditis, a bacterial infection of a heart valve, but told his agent a month ago that he was ready then.

"I feel great," Martz said. "I feel fully recovered."

Martz had been with the Rams for 12 of the past 14 years, beginning as an unpaid assistant to Chuck Knox in 1992. He served as wide receivers coach for two seasons, and as offensive coordinator for the franchise's lone Super Bowl championship in 1999 before succeeding Dick Vermeil as head coach in 2000.

Martz led the Rams to the playoffs In four of his five full seasons, and he took them to the Super Bowl in 2001 before losing to the Patriots. This year, he stepped down for the season in October and the team finished 6-10 under interim coach Joe Vitt -- the franchise's worst record since 1998.

Vitt checked into a hospital for treatment of a lingering staph infection on Tuesday.

"I thought we had terrific success here," Martz said. "It was a very special place in time and we were able to stretch it out over five or six seasons, Dick's last season and my five years.

"It was terrific, and I think the coaches, the players and the city enjoyed that terrifically."

Now Martz, 54, will try to duplicate that in another city.

"It's going to be fun to try," Martz said. "No question about it. This makes you hungry."

Players who've been around him for years are confident it can happen again.

"One thing I know about him, he's a great coach," offensive tackle Orlando Pace said. "He'll land on his feet and he'll land a job pretty quick."

Martz refused to talk about specific job openings. He did say, however, that for now he's unwilling to return as an offensive coordinator.

"We'll just see how it works out," he said. "I'm sorting through this right now."

Rather than leave with bitter feelings, Martz spoke in generalities about the end of his era in St. Louis. He was dismissed more because of a rift with Jay Zygmunt, president of football operations, and general manager Charley Armey, than his won-lost record.

"I think you always have regrets because you think you could have done a better job," Martz said. "Perfection is always the goal.

"Obviously there's regrets that I'm not going to be here anymore, but that's the way it goes."

Martz was peeved about reports he'd been showing up at Rams Park on a frequent basis at the end of the season. He said he spent three of the last four weeks of the season at his second home in San Diego and was returning to that city on Wednesday.

He also said he had not met with Shaw in about 2 1/2 months. Martz said he was at Rams Park on Monday when Shaw told him on the telephone that he was being fired.

Given a chance to stay, Martz said he believed he could have mended fences with Zygmunt. He noted the two had a good working relationship earlier in his tenure.

"On a personal level, it's not what it used to be," Martz said. "We have some differences. But obviously, I could coexist with him."

Shaw said Monday that he hoped to hire a new coach in three to four weeks and is expected to lean toward a defensive mind this time. The team has already received permission to talk with Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera this week.