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Gus Knight Here...
With one week left to go, its time to look at those coaches who may be on the hot-seat.
I thing the first one you have to look at is West Virginia’s B.J. Green, Green is 6-41 since coming to the Beasts and has never made the playoffs. His teams play lackluster despite his reputation for dialing up a gameplan. The problem is for $2M/yr, the Beasts may not be able to afford anyone better.
Salt Lake City’s Rico Flannery may also be in trouble, but his 4 playoff appearances may be enough to keep him around a bit longer. He’s got 3 more years on his contract, and the talent in SLC hasn’t been what it has been in the past. That being said, offensive coordinator, Trent “Freddy” Krueger has openly criticized Flannery’s decisions with the offense and believes they need to open up the playbook a bit more.
Orlando’s 8-game losing streak has Pirate fans wondering if its time to let Neal Buckley walk the plank. Neal has never led the Pirates to the playoffs and lacks the ability to motivate. His oppressive disciplined style frustrates a lot of the “free spirited” players in Orlando, and we believe that the Pirates are better than there record indicates. The Pirates have battled some injuries, but the Pirates haven’t had a winning season since 2005–about the time when Buckley took the reigns. This is a contract year for Buckley. At $3.9M they can do better...Goodbye.
What has Montreal been thinking in holding on to Preston Shields for 3 years...Firebird fans say...let him go! He is an abyssmal 8-39 since taking over the team. He just can’t get his players to play for him and this team looks lethargic and depressed. His contract is over...and he’s as good as gone.
Reno has paid a lot of money, $4.23M for Mitch Montgomery for the past three years. What do they have to show for it? Three 7-9 seasons and one 4-11 season...We like Montgomery, he’s a great motivator and well rounded coach, but the talent around him isn’t that good, so it’s a high price to pay, especially with other good coaches around. Look for the Wolfpack to fold on Mitch, but it wouldn’t surprise us if he re-upped his contract.
Is that someone’s stomach growling in Newark that I hear? A 4-11 season is not what Metropolitan fans are looking for. C.J. Gunn is making a whopping $7.2M salary and this is Newark’s first losing season–ever. Sportsreporters will argue that the loss of Crespo and an aging offensive line has taken it’s toll. C.J. has a great reputation around the league, but Newark fans expect a winner every year. I say the Bulldogs can afford to stick to the contract, and look for the team to re-tool and get back to their winning ways before long.
Texas’ position is a bit more complicated, Lester Mineo’s “on again off again” seasons has this writer scratching his head. Lester’s defensive playcalling has been suspect, but Houston has always relied on their offense to win games. Texas is 48-64-1 under Mineo with 1 playoff apperance. We believe that Texas’ past problems have more to do with previous ownership and personnel decisions by the General Manager than with Mineo. We look for Texas to re-sign Lester at possibly less than his $3.37M.
Is T.J. Palmateer’s job safe in Hartford? The Grizzlies went from IFL champions to the outhouse, and we’re not exactly sure why...either are fans in Hartford. My guess is that ownership thinks it’s a fluke but losing to Dakota didn’t help after giving Norfolk almost all they could handle. Losing to Boston could make Grizzly fans nervous. Palmateer though is a class act–and quite frankly is getting more out of an aging Grizzly team than most coaches could.
Speaking of Dakota, Spirit ownership has already floated a public rumor about cutting Steve Borders, citing a falsification of his resume. Borders hasn’t done that poorly, especially with a young team. Former coach Kurt Silvanic is silently laughing over his firing last year. I’m not sure they could re-sign him, and not sure they would want to. Silvanic never had a winning season either. There are some interesting choices out there, but can the Spirit afford them.
Kris Ludwig out in Houston has gone 48-35 with 2 playoff appearances. He’s a great motivational speaker and an offensive playcalling guru. With Houston at the top of their division since he took over, look for the Renegades to pull out all the stops in re-signing him. Of course they may have to offer more than the $3.77M they are currently paying him.
Don’t look for Lawrence to let Hunter Crawford go either. He’s 83-48 with 2 playoff appearances. He’s a great offensive playcaller and the Phantoms are about the only one’s who could afford his $6.05M contract.
That leaves Tyrell Nichols of St. Louis. Tyrell is 5th on the all time list in IFL wins going 81-56 with 6 playoff appearances, and one IFL championship. An excellent playcaller on both sides, and a great motivator. Nichols is well worth the $4.69M that the Cardinals have been paying him. Hopefully they can get a deal done without some other team stealing him away. Rumor is he is looking for more money, but the recent slide has present ownership making negative comments about lackluster gameplans. How quickly he forgets the win over Portland.
With one week left to go, its time to look at those coaches who may be on the hot-seat.
I thing the first one you have to look at is West Virginia’s B.J. Green, Green is 6-41 since coming to the Beasts and has never made the playoffs. His teams play lackluster despite his reputation for dialing up a gameplan. The problem is for $2M/yr, the Beasts may not be able to afford anyone better.
Salt Lake City’s Rico Flannery may also be in trouble, but his 4 playoff appearances may be enough to keep him around a bit longer. He’s got 3 more years on his contract, and the talent in SLC hasn’t been what it has been in the past. That being said, offensive coordinator, Trent “Freddy” Krueger has openly criticized Flannery’s decisions with the offense and believes they need to open up the playbook a bit more.
Orlando’s 8-game losing streak has Pirate fans wondering if its time to let Neal Buckley walk the plank. Neal has never led the Pirates to the playoffs and lacks the ability to motivate. His oppressive disciplined style frustrates a lot of the “free spirited” players in Orlando, and we believe that the Pirates are better than there record indicates. The Pirates have battled some injuries, but the Pirates haven’t had a winning season since 2005–about the time when Buckley took the reigns. This is a contract year for Buckley. At $3.9M they can do better...Goodbye.
What has Montreal been thinking in holding on to Preston Shields for 3 years...Firebird fans say...let him go! He is an abyssmal 8-39 since taking over the team. He just can’t get his players to play for him and this team looks lethargic and depressed. His contract is over...and he’s as good as gone.
Reno has paid a lot of money, $4.23M for Mitch Montgomery for the past three years. What do they have to show for it? Three 7-9 seasons and one 4-11 season...We like Montgomery, he’s a great motivator and well rounded coach, but the talent around him isn’t that good, so it’s a high price to pay, especially with other good coaches around. Look for the Wolfpack to fold on Mitch, but it wouldn’t surprise us if he re-upped his contract.
Is that someone’s stomach growling in Newark that I hear? A 4-11 season is not what Metropolitan fans are looking for. C.J. Gunn is making a whopping $7.2M salary and this is Newark’s first losing season–ever. Sportsreporters will argue that the loss of Crespo and an aging offensive line has taken it’s toll. C.J. has a great reputation around the league, but Newark fans expect a winner every year. I say the Bulldogs can afford to stick to the contract, and look for the team to re-tool and get back to their winning ways before long.
Texas’ position is a bit more complicated, Lester Mineo’s “on again off again” seasons has this writer scratching his head. Lester’s defensive playcalling has been suspect, but Houston has always relied on their offense to win games. Texas is 48-64-1 under Mineo with 1 playoff apperance. We believe that Texas’ past problems have more to do with previous ownership and personnel decisions by the General Manager than with Mineo. We look for Texas to re-sign Lester at possibly less than his $3.37M.
Is T.J. Palmateer’s job safe in Hartford? The Grizzlies went from IFL champions to the outhouse, and we’re not exactly sure why...either are fans in Hartford. My guess is that ownership thinks it’s a fluke but losing to Dakota didn’t help after giving Norfolk almost all they could handle. Losing to Boston could make Grizzly fans nervous. Palmateer though is a class act–and quite frankly is getting more out of an aging Grizzly team than most coaches could.
Speaking of Dakota, Spirit ownership has already floated a public rumor about cutting Steve Borders, citing a falsification of his resume. Borders hasn’t done that poorly, especially with a young team. Former coach Kurt Silvanic is silently laughing over his firing last year. I’m not sure they could re-sign him, and not sure they would want to. Silvanic never had a winning season either. There are some interesting choices out there, but can the Spirit afford them.
Kris Ludwig out in Houston has gone 48-35 with 2 playoff appearances. He’s a great motivational speaker and an offensive playcalling guru. With Houston at the top of their division since he took over, look for the Renegades to pull out all the stops in re-signing him. Of course they may have to offer more than the $3.77M they are currently paying him.
Don’t look for Lawrence to let Hunter Crawford go either. He’s 83-48 with 2 playoff appearances. He’s a great offensive playcaller and the Phantoms are about the only one’s who could afford his $6.05M contract.
That leaves Tyrell Nichols of St. Louis. Tyrell is 5th on the all time list in IFL wins going 81-56 with 6 playoff appearances, and one IFL championship. An excellent playcaller on both sides, and a great motivator. Nichols is well worth the $4.69M that the Cardinals have been paying him. Hopefully they can get a deal done without some other team stealing him away. Rumor is he is looking for more money, but the recent slide has present ownership making negative comments about lackluster gameplans. How quickly he forgets the win over Portland.
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