Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Marty Rodgers exemplifies Saluki Football’s family atmosphere
10/20/2016 | 3:53:00 | Football
When Nick Hill was named as the head coach of the Saluki football team, he preached that his team would be a family and will act like men. Safeties coach Marty Rodgers knows a thing or two about family and acting like a man and is setting the tone for his group of young safeties.
Rodgers, who is in his first year as a coach at SIU and played for the Salukis from 2006-09, has three kids, Titan, 6, Mylez, 3, and Marlee Bae, Rodgers's newborn daughter who was born less than a month ago. It's tough for Rodgers to be a full-time father as well as a full-time football coach, but he makes the most of both jobs thanks to a little help from his wife, Tanasha.
"A great coach once told me that you're not going to have all the time in the world to spend with your family, but the time you do get, you've got to make that count," Marty said. "My wife is a great help. She means the world to me. We call her the head coach at home. She makes so many sacrifices for me to do what I do."
Marty and Tanasha have known each other all of their lives. Both grew up in Joplin, Mo., together. Tanasha's brother is Marty's best friend from his childhood. Marty made an effort to get home to Joplin as much as possible in his playing days. After his playing career was over, Marty took a graduate coaching position at SIU and Tanasha and her son Titan joined Marty in Carbondale. Around a year later, Mylez was born at Carbondale Memorial Hospital.
The Rodgers family spent a stint in North Dakota together while Marty held jobs at North Dakota and Minot State. Then in 2016, Marty's former teammate, Nick Hill, called and offered Marty the opportunity to coach the safeties at SIU.
"When I played at SIU, we had some pretty good seasons together," Marty said. "Having the chance to come back and knowing what that success was like down here as a player was a big part of me wanting to come. I want to get us back to that."
At SIU, Tanasha brings the kids to the football offices so Marty can see his kids at work and Mylez and Titan are often playing on the field after practice ends.
Mylez and Titan are at practice several days a week and they play around with the players. Marty posted a picture on social media earlier this year of Mylez and Titan joining in on the huddle with the safeties after practice, each kid standing on either side of his dad.
Marty's football family and his family at home have started to grow into one.
"The kids we have on our team are great kids," Rodgers said. "I love that my kids get to be around them and hang out with them. They get to look up to those guys and try to follow in their footsteps. It's awesome for me to be able to give them that experience and that exposure of what young adulthood looks like."
All the time that the two Rodgers boys spend around the Saluki football team has turned them into football fanatics. Rodgers said Mylez and Titan usually choose to watch football with dad instead of cartoons. Mylez knows all of the players and could spot a football player walking down the street even though he isn't dressed in a uniform. Marty posted a video of his kids running pretend plays in his living room on social media earlier this season.
In September, Tanasha and Marty had their third child, Marlee Bae. Marty missed a team meeting to be there for her birth, and his Saluki family was there, too.
"Not four hours after we had the baby, every guy in my position group showed up at the hospital," Marty said. "It's a great feeling for me to share that with my team and my family. A lot of teams out there preach family culture, but I can't appreciate my guys any more than I do for that."
