You and I don't know a man by the name of Tom Martinez but he's had a rather large impact on football. Martinez is known to most of the football world as the mentor for New England Patriots QB Tom Brady since Brady's high school days.
He's also worked with Chiefs QB Matt Cassel and, according to Peter King's latest MMQB, Chiefs rookie QB Ricky Stanzi spent several weeks in California this year working with Martinez.
Stanzi's agent, Jack Bechta, connected him with Martinez because of how highly Brady had spoken of the coach. For two weekends after the college season, Stanzi lived with Tom Martinez and his wife, ate meals in their home, and studied DVDs of Brady's mechanical drills.
Martinez, a community college coach, was recently given only weeks to live as a result of battling a kidney condition. Unfortunately, Martinez is in the news because he was recently given only weeks to live as a result of a kidney condition.
Here's the Facebook posting with Martinez announcing his situation:
"We have received some bad news that I wanted to share with all of you. I have been given a week to a month to live, depending on my body's response to medication. I want to thank you for the relationship that we shared and the friendships that allowed me to have a very successful career. As much as I would like to talk to you each in person, that is not feasible so please respect my family's need for some privacy now.
"If the number of lives that I've been involved with are in the thousands, then it isn't possible to talk to each and every one of you. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to teach and coach you all and I ask that you take one or two of my life lessons and pass them on to your family and friends and that will keep me alive forever. With much love and appreciation, I wish all of you a very successful and fulfilled life. TM"
Obviously a very sad situation for someone who has affected quite a few people. Best wishes to the Martinez family during this time.
(H/T Arrowheadlines)