In case you were unaware Kurt was concussed that game---perhaps as early as 1st half. And Mad Mike brought him back into the game in the fourth quarter. I have never seen a concussed player taken out and then inserted into the same game before or since. What the hell was Mike thinking?
You know what he was thinking. He wanted Marc Bulger, didn't like that Brenda Warner called him out on his lies and BS and purposefully put Warner in significant danger so that no one would question his switching to Bulger who he favored.
That's the bottom line: He knew Warner was concussed. Warner didn't come back in the 4th quarter, he came back in the 2nd half, threw for 318 yds and 3 TDs, nearly won the game and then never played another down for the Rams.
Martz then went on to lie about Warner's health status, especially his hand saying to multiple people around the league that "he can barely hold a ball, let alone throw it". When that didn't work and Mike Shanahan still wanted him to become the starter in Denver, Martz who still had Warner under contract held on to him until all the starting jobs were taken and only then released him.
This was purposeful. He wanted to ensure Warner couldn't succeed anywhere or do anything that would invite second-guessing.
He couldn't foresee that Warner being the caretaker for the Giants who had just drafted Eli Manning would lead to another backup gig in AZ where Warner earned the starting job over Matt Leinart, led them to the Super Bowl and multiple playoff appearances, threw over 100 TDs for a second franchise and got into the HoF.
Martz, otoh, became the OC in Detroit where he nearly got Jon Kitna killed (even though as a competitor, Kitna preferred getting blasted to going 0-16 the next year, no FO signs up to use their QBs as fuel by using predominantly 7 step drops).
Martz then had a very mediocre stint in SF and hasn't gotten a job coaching even a HS offense and the league wouldn't let him near the gatorade now.
So, yeah. Martz, for all of his offensive genius, is also a complete shitbird as a human being. He purposefully sent a concussed QB out against a stout NY Giants D and passed on almost every play for an entire half, hoping that Warner would just get smashed and he'd never have to answer about why he moved on from a 2 time MVP only 1 season removed from his last MVP.
I've never before or since heard of a coach at any level who purposefully put a player in harms way, but Martz DID.
Warner didn't talk to him for quite awhile, but he showed tremendous poise and forgiveness in the years since.
So, if you wondered why no one in the NFL will hire Martz to even coach QBs, well, there you have it. He committed one of the few unpardonable sins in football and I for one am glad he's gone.