National Football League

Tom Brady QB coach: 'I'm basically gone'

Published Jun. 12, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

Alex Marvez

The health of Tom Brady’s personal passing guru has taken a turn for the worse.

Tom Martinez announced on his Facebook page he has less than a month to live because of complications stemming from diabetes and other ailments.

“My (medical test) numbers say I’m basically gone,” Martinez told the San Jose Mercury News, which first reported the story. “My blood pressure is too low for me to continue with dialysis, and without dialysis poisons build up in my body. Doctors say without dialysis I have a week to go. We're looking into transplants. I would need both heart and kidney transplants done simultaneously.”

Martinez is a renowned quarterback coach who has worked with many quarterbacks.His most successful was Brady, who has won three Super Bowl titles with New England and is considered a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The relationship between the two began in 1992, when Brady was in high school. Brady has continued to consult Martinez for passing tips and advice throughout his college and NFL careers with the two frequently working on mechanics during the offseason.

Martinez retired from coaching at the College of San Mateo (Calif.) in 2005 because of health problems but continued to work with quarterbacks at camps and on an individual basis. He is considered one of the greatest coaches from the junior-college ranks and is a member of the College of San Mateo's Hall of Fame, which includes Bill Walsh, John Madden and Dick Vermeil.

Martinez also coached women’s softball and basketball at San Mateo. Martinez is credited with more than 1,100 combined career victories in the three sports he coached.

“In our family he helped all three of our daughters (in softball) and our son as recently as last Sunday,” Tom Brady Sr. told the Mercury News. “He had just got out of the hospital Saturday, but on Sunday he was sitting in his chair directing what was to be done. He is one of the great tacticians ever. His passing will be a major loss.”