Marv Marinovich Marv Marinovich ( born August 6 , 1939 ) is a retired American football offensive guard and sports trainer . Early years . Marv Marinovich grew up with his extended family on a three - thousand - acre ( 12 km² ) ranch in Watsonville , in northern California . The area was owned by his Croatian grandfather , J . G . Marinovich , who had supposedly been in the Russian Army and overseen the battlefield amputation of his own arm . Marinovich attended Watsonville High School . College career . Marinovich went to Santa Monica College , where the team went undefeated and won the 1958 national junior - college championship . From there he transferred to the University of Southern California . While majoring in art at USC , Marinovich was a two - way lineman and a captain of the USC team that won the 1962 national championship ; however , during the 1963 Rose Bowl he was ejected for fighting . Known for his passion , he was named Most Inspirational Player by his teammates . In college he met his wife , Trudi ( née Fertig ) , who was a sorority girl at USC ; she dropped out of college after her sophomore year to marry Marinovich . Pro career . Marinovich entered professional football during the era of NFL and AFL competitive drafts , and was drafted in the 12th round of the 1962 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams and in the 1962 AFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders . After a disappointing three year career , where he over - trained himself based on weight and bulk with little time for recovery , Marinovich left to focus on sports training . Post Football . Marinovich studied Eastern Bloc training methods and was hired by Oakland Raiders owner , Al Davis , as one of the NFL ' s first strength - and - conditioning coaches . Marinovich learned to focus more on training for speed and flexibility , and much of his work became the basis for modern core - and swimming - pool - based conditioning programs . He later worked for the NFL ' s St . Louis Cardinals , and then the Hawaiians of the World Football League . He eventually moved his young family in with his in - laws on the Balboa Peninsula of Newport Beach , California . He later opened his own athletic research center , and began applying the techniques to his children , Traci and Todd Marinovich , introducing sport training before they could leave the crib and continuing it throughout childhood and adolescence . Todd Marinovich became a high school football legend , dominating all records in Orange County and coming to national attention when " Sports Illustrated " published an article , titled " Bred To Be A Superstar " , that discussed his unique upbringing under his father who wanted to turn his son into the " perfect quarterback " . The article declared Marinovich " America ' s first test - tube athlete " , and mentioned his mother took him to museums , played him classical music and jazz while banning cartoons as too violent and instead viewing films by Alfred Hitchcock . Marv Marinovich had assembled a team of advisers to tutor him on every facet of the game . In a noted passage , the article described that : Because of his strict upbringing and almost mechanical lifestyle under his father , some nicknamed him the " Robo QB . " Todd Marinovich went on to have a solid career at USC , but began to show signs of emotional rebellion against his strict upbringing under his father ; by the time he entered the NFL as a first round draft pick , he soon became a major bust due to personal issues . As a result , an ESPN columnist named the elder Marinovich one of history ' s " worst sports fathers . " In May 2009 , Marinovich became the strength and conditioning coach for MMA fighter BJ Penn for his August 8 title defense against Kenny Florian , at UFC 101 in the main event . Penn defeated Florian by a rear naked choke at 3 : 54 of the 4th round to retain the UFC lightweight title . and then following with another win against Diego Sanchez via 5th round TKO due to a cut . Marv has also trained hundreds of Elite pro athletes who continue to be strong advocates of Marvs method including Troy Polamalu , Tyson Chandler , Steve Finley , and Jason Giambi . Family . Marinovich is the father of Traci Marinovich Grove , Todd Marinovich and Mikhail Marinovich . His brother - in - law is Craig Fertig , who was also a former USC football player .