Martz responds to Armey comments

Former St. Louis Rams head coach Mike Martz said he is “just stunned” by the negatives comments made about him by Wednesday.

Former Rams general manager Charlie Armey ripped Martz in an interview with ESPN Chicago.

“Working with him, he never expressed that. I thought things were really good, but I guess that’s why things ended up the way it did,” Martz told the Sun-Times this afternoon. “If he felt that way, he never expressed that.

“He was very amiable. He was very complimentary.”

Armey, though, was very critical of Martz, who has expressed an interest in becoming the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator and working with quarterback Jay Cutler.

“I don’t think Martz would work well with Jay Cutler at all,” Armey told ESPNChicago.com. “He’s a terrible . . . coach, and he would ruin that kid like he ruined Kurt Warner and drove him out of St. Louis.

“He’s the worst thing that could happen to any young quarterback.”

Martz, who helped develop Warner into a perennial Pro Bowl quarterback, insisted that he and the quarterback still have a good relationship.

“I’m proud of the relationship I have with Kurt. Not just how I helped him, but how he helped me,” Martz said. “We were always pressing the envelope.”

Other offensive coordinator candidates for the Bears include USC offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates and University of Minnesota offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch.

Both have worked with Cutler.