Pittsburgh Steelers OLB T.J. Watt was recently honored at the 101 Awards as the AFC Defensive Player of the Year, and Watt chose Steelers outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin to present him with the award. During an appearance on The SiriusXM Blitz on NFL Radio, Watt talked about his relationship with Martin and how much the two of them have helped each other.
“Me and Denzel have been through a lot together. He was quality control when I first got there, he was the guy I would text like, ‘Hey, where’s my film.’ If I had something late at night, 9, 10 at night, he’s the guy I would text,” Watt said. “He learned a lot from me and I learned a lot from him. We’ve grown in this league together, and now he’s my outside linebacker coach. I would not be here without Denzel Martin so I’m super excited he made the trip for it.”
Martin got his start in Pittsburgh as a scouting assistant in 2016, the year before Watt was drafted. He ascended the ranks, becoming a coaching assistant and then the assistant outside linebackers coach before taking over as the outside linebackers coach in 2023. Clearly, he did a lot early in his career to help Watt and the two of them were able to help each other out as they advanced in their careers, with Martin now being a position coach and Watt turning into one of the NFL’s best defensive players and someone who’s in consideration for Defensive Player of the Year almost annually.
This was the third time that Watt won the AFC Defensive Player of the Year at the 101 Awards, and in addition to his presenter in Martin, Steelers defensive line coach Karl Dunbar was also in attendance at the awards ceremony in Kansas City.
It was the first time Watt has spoken to the media since the Steelers acquired quarterbacks Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, and Watt said he’s excited to work with Wilson and hopes he can achieve the team’s goal of winning a Super Bowl.
Martin and Watt will again work closely together next year, and hopefully, the two of them can continue to get better at what they do. Watt’s already reached the mountaintop of winning an AP Defensive Player of the Year award, but the lack of playoff success is something that’s a black mark on his resume right now, despite it not being his fault. The better Watt can do under Martin’s tutelage the better the Steelers are going to be, and Martin, who also coached at the Senior Bowl last season, is a rising star in the coaching profession.
It’s always awesome to hear the stories of positive relationships between players and coaches, and Watt and Martin clearly have a lot of respect for one another and the work they each put in. Hopefully, it continues to yield positive results on the field for the Steelers.
