Melbourne names former Florida Tech offensive coordinator Martin head football coach

Former Florida Tech offensive coordinator Jayson Martin has been named head football coach for Melbourne High, replacing Tony Rowell.

Martin spent the last seven years as a Florida Tech assistant and was the program's offensive coordinator. The 2014 Florida Tech team accumulated more than 5,000 yards of offense and averaged 35.6 points. FIT dropped football in May.

Rowell, a Melbourne alum, led the Bulldogs to a 7-4 season and a trip to the Class 7A regional playoffs in his lone season as coach.

While recruiting for the Panthers, Martin said he saw "a lot of Brevard County football in general, and my son goes (to Melbourne). One thing I've always noticed really about Brevard County is they play great defense. There are some really great defensive coaches, defensive-minded. You don't see a lot of high-powered offense. I'm hoping to change that. That's kind of my background."

Martin was the offensive coordinator at Rose-Hulman in 2008 and 2009, also under former FIT coach Steve Englehart. He was interim head coach in 2010, leading them to a 6-4 season. Martin was the offensive coordinator at Holy Trinity in 2007 after two years as the junior high coach.

The Lexington, Ky., native is a 2000 graduate of Kentucky State, where he was a four-year football letter-winner and a member of the 1997 team that won the Pioneer Bowl.

Martin's first priority was a staff with both established experienced coaches and younger coaches to "bring some juice and some energy." He wants the Bulldogs to be known for toughness.

"I don't mean physical stature. I mean mentally and physically tough kids that are going to stay the course and play four quarters and not beat themselves," he said. "Everywhere I've been has been a strong academic school, so we weren't always the most talented. I always want you to say those dudes were tough, didn't beat themselves and didn't make mistakes."

Contact McCallum at 321-242-3698 or bmccallum@floridatoday.com. Follow @321preps on Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to subscribe to FLORIDA TODAY, and listen to 321 Overtime on major podcast platforms.