Doug Martin’s career at Kent State ended with a shower of Gatorade.

Known for forcefully defending his players to critics, Martin garnered the respect of the team all the way through his final game. That was seen on Friday as his players honored him with a 28-6 upset over Ohio University and a dousing of the green juice.

Martin’s final words — given through assistant coach Jerry McManus — only reiterated his “player’s coach” reputation. “Coach Martin wants you to know that this was about these guys — players,” McManus said. “It was not about him.”

Martin’s seven-year tenure leading the Flashes had its ups and downs, but the coach with the slight Southern drawl still leaves Kent State with one of the top winning percentages in program history.

Today, we look back at Martin’s career at Kent State and then ahead at who potentially will helm the Flashes in the future.

Jan. 2003 Doug Martin joins Kent State’s coaching staff as its offensive coordinator.

March 1, 2004 Former Director of Athletics Laing Kennedy names Martin as Kent State’s new head coach after Dean Pees left to coach in the NFL.

Nov. 23, 2004The Flashes beat Central Florida 41-24 to cap a four-game winning streak and finish the year with a 5-6 (4-4 MAC) record after starting 1-6. Under Martin’s watch, Josh Cribbs finishes his college career with his name all over the record books.

2005 season Martin’s second year ends as his worst, with the team finishing 1-10 and last in the MAC.

Pre- 2006 season In need of a new quarterback, Martin brings in a sophomore junior college signal-caller from California named Julian Edelman.

Nov. 24, 2006 Kent State loses to Ball State 30-6 to just miss the MAC East title and a berth in the MAC Championship game. At 6-6 (5-4 MAC), Martin notches his only non-losing season as head coach.

Dec. 1, 2006 Kennedy likes the direction Martin is taking the team, so he pens the coach a new four-year contract with a higher base salary.

July 25, 2007 With expectations at an all-time high for the Flashes, Kent State is tabbed to finish second in the east in the MAC preseason poll.

2007 season Hampered by injuries on offense, the Flashes go a disappointing 3-9 (1-7 MAC), which included a seven-game losing streak to finish the season.

Nov. 1, 2008 After a 45-30 loss to Bowling Green, Martin backs up Edelman by asserting he is “the best football player in the Mid-American Conference.”

Sept. 14, 2009 In reaction to running back Eugene Jarvis’ season-ending kidney injury, Martin infamously guarantees a winning season and says, “If this kid doesn’t get a sixth year, everybody in Kent should storm the NCAA, and we should burn the place down.”

2009 season Behind freshman quarterback Spencer Keith, the Flashes start MAC play 4-1 and look poised to make its first bowl appearance since 1972. A three-game losing streak to finish the season crushes those hopes.

Nov. 21, 2010 A day after Kent State’s 38-3 loss to Western Michigan, Martin informs Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen he will resign after the last game of the season.

Nov. 26, 2010 The Flashes upset Ohio in a 28-6 win in Martin’s last game as head coach. After a Gatorade shower from his players, Martin refuses comment in the post-game press conference.