Emanuel C. Martin (born July 31, 1969) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Alabama State Hornets The Alabama State Hornets and Lady Hornets represent Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama in intercollegiate athletics. They field sixteen teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, and track and field; wom ...

. Martin played five years in the NFL as a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

and

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. He is the current head football coach at

Dillard High School Dillard High School is a historic public middle and high school located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The school was established in 1907 as Colored School 11 and was later named for black-education advocate James H. Dillard. It is a part of Bro ...

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

Early years

A native of

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Martin attended

Miami Central High School Miami Central Senior High School is a secondary school located at 1781 NW 95th Street in West Little River, Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States.0.1% 80.7% of students were eligible for free or reduced lunch. Miami Central has a large Hai ...

, where he played defensive back for the football team in the late 1980s. He subsequently attended

Alabama State University Alabama State University (ASU, Bama State, or Alabama State) is a public historically Black university in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1867, during the Reconstruction era, it was one of about 180 " normal schools" established by state gove ...

Professional football career

After graduating from Alabama State, Martin played in three games for the

during the

1993 NFL season The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). It was the only season in league history where all NFL teams were originally scheduled to play their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks and did so (the ...

. In 1995, he played for the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

in the

. In 1996, Martin tried out with the

, where he was considered "the longest of long shots." Despite the odds, Martin made the team and became a major contributor in the Bills' secondary over the next four years. In one of his first games for Buffalo, he made a name for himself when he made two interceptions (and nearly grabbed a third) off

Troy Aikman Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. After transferring from the Oklahoma Sooners, he play ...

on back-to-back possessions during the third quarter of a win over the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. During a pre-season game against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

in August 1999, he returned an interception 96 yards for a touchdown. Martin's NFL career ended in October 1999, when, at age 30, he suffered torn ligaments in his knee. During his NFL career, Martin played in 54 games (six as a starter), intercepted five passes, and had 64 tackles.

Coaching career

After retiring from the NFL, Martin became a high school math teacher and football coach in south Florida. He was the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

Deerfield Beach High School Deerfield Beach High School (DBHS) is a public high school in Deerfield Beach, Florida. It is part of the Broward School District and has an enrollment of approximately 2,400. The school features the IB Middle Years Programme or Pre-IB, whic ...

Deerfield Beach, Florida Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just south of the Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County line. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,859, making it the Broward County# ...

, when

Denard Robinson Denard Xavier Robinson (born September 22, 1990) is an American former professional football player and a former staff member for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jacksonville University and the University of Michigan. He played four seasons as a runn ...

played there. Interviewed in September 2010, Martin recalled Denard Robinson as a freshman trying to persuade him to give him a position on the varsity football team as a defensive back. Martin recalled, "To see where he was at then, and to see where he is now, it's a blessing. This is the reward we get as high school coaches. You spend time with a kid, and then you watch what happens." In 2007, Martin became the head football coach at his alma mater, Central High School. He led the team back to the playoffs in 2007, but he was fired after one season. Martin told ''

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe countie ...

'' at the time, "I was told Friday afternoon by the principal, and he said they wanted to move in a different direction." Since 2009, Martin has been the head football coach at

in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. At Dillard, Martin is currently the coach of All-American safety Wayne Lyons, one of the top-rated high school players in the Class of 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Manny 1969 births Living people American football defensive backs Alabama State Hornets football players Buffalo Bills players Houston Oilers players Ottawa Rough Riders players High school football coaches in Florida Miami Central Senior High School alumni Players of American football from Miami Players of Canadian football from Miami