Thomas Jefferson reached into its football past and grabbed one of its former stars to head the program.
Derrick Martin, a former All-Colorado player by The Denver Post, was named head coach for the Spartans late Friday night,, according to athletic director Andrew Skari.
Martin’s credentials are considerable. As a Spartan while playing for coach Dan Turnbull at quarterback and in the secondary, he led them to the 2002 Class 5A state semifinals, a break-through year for the Denver Prep League that had been struggling against suburban counterparts. They lost to eventual champion Columbine, which was undefeated and on the way to winning its third title in four years.
As a collegian, Martin played in 30 games for the Wyoming Cowboys at safety, starting 24. And in the NFL, he was a two-time Super Bowl champion, in 2010 with Green Bay and a year later with the New York Giants. All told, he also played with Baltimore, New England and Chicago.
TJ, under Jesus Escobedo, was 3-7 in 2015, 1-4 in the 3A Metro North League. The Spartans have dropped multiple classes and haven’t had a winning record since 2009, when they were 8-3. Martin will be their third coach since 2011.
