Just a reminder of the obvious but easily forgotten:
There are many other
possible reasons for this besides lack of confidence in Martinez. Martinez might have even
requested it this way.
First of all, other than 9 years at Georgia, his pattern has been about 4 years or less with any one school or head coach. Despite the squawk from some fans, that pattern has not been for lack of
success developing players or improving pass defenses. (check that link if you believe Martinez is a subpar secondary coach) So there's something there to the way he rolls. I think it's safe to figure that he enjoys the challenge, as long as he can work with excellent athletes.
He also has three children, so at his age it's likely he and his wife are or will soon be grandparents. Others here can attest to how that changes a person's goals in life--but especially when one's career has put his family through so many location changes. He and his wife could be looking to relocate closer to grandkids. Or, they might be looking to relocate closer to aging parents--or even retire from football to enter a second career in something other than coaching. People do, especially people who enjoy investing their lives in other people.
[editing this, because I forgot about the $75K raise]
It's even possible that Martinez forewent the raise this year, to free up money so Heupel could keep some promising young coaching talent in-the-fold. We've seen how Heupel prefers to promote from within when he encounters a coaching vacancy.
As I said, I'm only offering this as a reminder of things we don't know. Sometimes we jump on these theories like a coonhound on an unfamiliar scent trail. Curiosity leads to knowledge, but speculation more often misleads.
