The head coach is a pinnacle character on every football sideline, but many are hidden in the sea of jerseys and helmets. They often blend in with other coaches or players, making them hard to recognize despite their headsets and clipboards.
Miami University head coach Chuck Martin, however, is almost impossible to miss in his iconic Miami-red sweater vest. The winningest coach in program history has worn the same vest at all 139 of his games across 12 years with the RedHawks, highlighting his presence on the sideline every week.
Martin arrived in Oxford in December 2013 following a winless season. He broke a 21-game losing streak in his sixth game as head coach, a preview of what was to come later in his tenure.
“He's taken the program to another level,” said quarterbacks coach and Miami football alumnus Gus Ragland. “Now it’s at the level where we'll win championships. It has everything to do with him, that's who he is. He sets the temperature of the room.”
During his collegiate career, Martin played on both the basketball and football teams at Millikin University, a Division III school in Decatur, IL. He earned All-American honors as a safety and all-conference honors as a placekicker.
Martin bounced as an assistant coach throughout the 1990s, including a two-year tenure at his alma mater. He eventually landed a role as the defensive backs and outside linebackers coach at Grand Valley State University (GVSU), where he stayed for 10 years.
Martin stepped into a head coach position at GVSU from 2004-09, his only other head coaching job prior to Miami. Under his leadership, the Lakers went 74-7 and brought home two Division II national championship titles.
The sweater vest tradition started at GVSU: a nondescript style choice that quickly became a symbol of his career, success and image as a whole.
“I became a head coach, and I had to wear something to be a head coach,” Martin said. “I don't know if somebody told me to do it, but at my first head coaching game back in 2004, I decided to wear a black sweater vest at Grand Valley, and I've been wearing them since.”
After leaving GVSU, Martin moved up to the Division I level at Notre Dame University. Over the course of four seasons, he worked his way up to offensive coordinator, helping the team achieve a 12-0 season and a place in the 2012 national championship game.
Martin announced he was leaving Notre Dame to take the head coaching position at Miami after the 2013 season. The RedHawks had previously gone 0-12 under head coach Don Treadwell and interim coach Mike Bath.
While he holds the record for most wins in program history now, Martin’s early years didn’t show the same success. His first season saw the RedHawks go 2-10, followed by a 3-9 record the following year.
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One of his most notable early seasons was 2016. The RedHawks were 0-6 coming off two conference losses with six games to go, all against conference opponents. Looking back, Martin said if the season had continued down that path, he would’ve been fired.
Instead, Martin led the team to finish the regular season 6-6 with a bowl game appearance against Mississippi State University in the St. Petersburg Bowl, a performance that secured his position as head coach.
The 2016 season marked a shift for the program. Three years later, Martin led the team to a MAC championship title with an upset win against Central Michigan University. The RedHawks won another title in 2023 with a fierce comeback win over the University of Toledo after losing to the Rockets in the regular season.
“He's someone who tells you kind of what you need to hear, not what you want to hear,” Ragland said. “He came in here with a roster that hadn't won, and was able to get the guys that were on that team to buy in and play hard and play at a level they didn't know they're capable of. He has everything to do with the turnaround.”
Throughout his time at Miami, Martin has had several players continue to be with the program for five to six years due to his influence. His impact stretches far beyond the football field, leading the team members to make a long-term commitment and become better people through the lessons he teaches within his coaching.
“With the lessons and everything he's taught me and how he holds his players accountable in this program, I would say I’m a better person, not just an athlete,” fifth-year quarterback Henry Hesson said, “I've learned more [about] how to be a good, successful person, [as well as a] father and husband in the future, [more] than anything he's taught me with football, and I feel like that's more important.”
Martin said he always had a different eye for the game, even as an athlete. He was pushed by his own coaches to take on coaching in the future, and he was quick to deny ever wanting to be in another profession. He said he feels this was his calling.
The accolades that Martin has accomplished over his 12 years as Miami’s head coach are almost undershadowed by the larger impact he’s had on his players and the programs as a whole.
“Do I fail these kids? I do, but I've never failed them because I wasn't trying,” Martin said. “I do get frustrated and upset sometimes, but even then, I really believe that I try to help each kid be great in life.”
