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Islamorada in the Florida Keys is a long way from San Diego when another boat owner and former NFL head coach is already planted in the town formerly known as America's Finest City.
While Jimmy Johnson fishes near the Gulf of Mexico, Mike Martz awaits near San Diego Harbor.
Martz, the former coach of the St. Louis Rams, is one of a handful of names being floated by the NFL Network Monday night as potential candidates to replace Marty Schottenheimer as coach of the Chargers.
San Diego, on the heels of a 14-2 season, is certainly an attractive option for other former head coaches like Steve Mariucci (49ers, Lions), Mike Sherman (Green Bay) and Norv Turner (Redskins, Raiders).
Assistants who could land interest, according to the network: Mike Singletary (49ers) and James Lofton (Chargers).
Lofton, however, has spent much of the last two seasons interviewing for head coaching gigs only to be passed over by the likes of Stanford (his alma mater), San Diego State and the Raiders.
Singletary, best known as the middle linebacker of the famed defense that carried the 1985 Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl championship. Singletary is the linebackers coach and assistant head coach of the 49ers. He reportedly interviewed very well for the Dallas head coaching job that went to former San Diego defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
Mariucci, currently working for the NFL Network, is best known for leading the San Francisco 49ers to four winning seasons in six years. But his teams struggled in the playoffs and he was fired in January 2003. A month later he was named head coach of the Detroit Lions. He was 15-28 midway through his third season when he was fired.
Sherman, now the offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans, served as coach and general manager when he was with the Packers.
Turner, now the offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, enjoyed his best success as an OC rather than a head coach. He was the OC under Jimmy Johnson during the Dallas Super Bowl years. He was the Chargers' OC in 2001. Turner went 49-59-1 in seven season as the Washington head coach and 9-23 in two years with Oakland.
Martz played at San Diego Mesa College and is now the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions. He is best known for developing quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger while he was in St. Louis and for taking the Rams to the playoffs 5 out of 7 years, including a NFC Championship and a spot in Super Bowl XXXVI. He developed a Rams offense that came to be known as "The Greatest Show on Turf'' and when on to win Super Bowl XXXIV.