League bosses come to Vegas; is the ArenaBowl far behind?

McEwen has shot at job in Vegas

by DJRamFan

Saturday, July 31, 2004
By Gary Bond
The Grand Rapids Press
Sparky McEwen is doing the best he can to stay focused.

His Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz have an arenafootball2 playoff game today and a week has passed without a decision in the hunt for a new coach for the Grand Rapids Rampage.

Grand Rapids native McEwen has been a candidate for the Arena Football League coaching job for a second consecutive year. And like Danny White, who has received many phone calls about possible coaching jobs since being fired by the AFL Arizona Rattlers last week, including one from the Rampage, McEwen's phone has been ringing too.

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McEwen, the Rampage offensive coordinator from 2001 through 2003, was contacted by the AFL's Las Vegas Gladiators on Friday. He is on their list of possible replacements for Frank Haege, who was fired Thursday.

"I have talked to Sparky McEwen and he's on our list of possible head-coaching candidates," said Dan Dolby, the Gladiators' general manager. "We will condense our list of names down in the next few weeks and begin face-to-face interviews the week of August 16.

"McEwen has just as good of a chance as the rest of the candidates."

Dolby made a call to McEwen, but it was former Rampage quarterback Clint Dolezel, who teamed up with McEwen to guide the Rampage to the ArenaBowl XV Championship in 2001, who called Dolby to give his support for McEwen.

Dolezel was traded to Las Vegas last offseason after playing in Grand Rapids from 2001-2003.

"Once I found out the organization had fired Heage I made a call to say McEwen should be a candidate for the job here," Dolezel said. "And I think there is a good possibility he will come in for an interview."

White, who is considering the Rampage coaching position, asked for and was given more time by the Grand Rapids organization to sift through all his coaching options over the next few days.

Rampage general manager

see RAMPAGE, C6

Scott Gorsline, who wasn't aware McEwen was a candidate for the Las Vegas job, doesn't expect to speak with White again until Monday.

That leaves things in a holding pattern here for McEwen and the other four candidates, who have completed their interviews with the Rampage.

"The job hunt will take care of itself in due time and it's something I can't concern myself with because I have no control," said McEwen, who was in Grand Rapids for a few days recently because the Yard Dawgz had a bye week.

The expansion Oklahoma City franchise (10-6) will host a first-round playoff game today.

"I have a huge, huge date on Saturday and that's where I've tried to put all my focus...
- Channel: ARENA
-08-02-2004, 03:00 PM
Rampage hides nothing in search for new coach

by DJRamFan

July 16, 2004

The Grand Rapids Rampage has come up with a rather unusual hiring procedure for its next head coach.

Pro sports teams usually try to keep their coaching candidates a secret, mainly out of respect to those who ultimately don't get the job.

But the Rampage, which plays in the Arena Football League, sent out a press release Thursday revealing its five finalists: Rick Frazier, Rampage interim head coach; Sparky McEwen, former Rampage offensive coordinator and current Oklahoma (Arena Football 2) offensive coordinator; Tom Luginbill, Detroit Fury head coach; Kevin Porter, New Orleans VooDoo defensive coordinator; and Steve Thonn, Dallas Desperados offensive coordinator.

Not only did the Rampage announce its finalists, but the team invited the media to spend time with each of them when they are flown in for interviews next week.

Another bizarre twist is the news that Luginbill would interview for the job. His contract with the Fury doesn't expire until August, but he has been given permission to pursue other opportunities.

Fury officials haven't addressed the future of the franchise since the season ended. Palace Sports & Entertainment president Tom Wilson hasn't responded to repeated interview requests about the Fury in recent weeks. Wilson originally told the Free Press that he would reach a decision on the Fury's fate after the season. It has been months with no official word. People familiar with the situation say the outlook is bleak.

The Fury did not sign any of its players in June, when arena teams are allowed to re-sign their players before the free-agent period begins in August. So all the Fury players are free to sign with other teams.

Reached in Alabama, Luginbill said he had no comment on Detroit's situation. But he said he's glad to be able to look for other work and said he thought Grand Rapids could be a good fit. "They have the intangibles it takes to have a championship atmosphere there," Luginbill said.

Frazier didn't show much when he took over for the Rampage, guiding the injury-plagued team to an 0-5 record after replacing Bob Cortese, who resigned after a 1-10 start.

Thonn and McEwen were finalists for the job before, losing out to Cortese.

Porter played five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and was a head coach in AF2 with Macon (Ga.) and Pensacola (Fla.) before helping the VooDoo to an expansion-record 11-5 regular season.

By George Sipple
- Channel: ARENA
-07-17-2004, 02:05 PM
Gladiators considering coaches

by DJRamFan

Eight candidates, including White, being looked at to replace Haege

By MARK ANDERSON
REVIEW-JOURNAL

In addition to Danny White, the Gladiators' coaching search includes two current Arena Football League head coaches whose contracts for next season are in doubt, two team sources said Tuesday.

The Gladiators are considering Carolina Cobras interim coach Ron Selesky and Indiana Firebirds coach Mike Wilpolt to replace Frank Haege, who was fired last week. The Cobras have yet to remove Selesky's interim tag, and Wilpolt has not been signed for next season.

They are among eight candidates, according to the sources, who provided the information on condition of anonymity. The others are: Gladiators assistants Stan Davis and Ron James; Sparky McEwen, offensive coordinator for Oklahoma City of af2; Kevin Porter, New Orleans VooDoo defensive coordinator; and Gary Reasons, Oklahoma City head coach.

Gladiators spokesman Adam Grant declined comment about specific candidates, but said, "We obviously have narrowed the list down to individuals we feel give us a chance to compete for the ArenaBowl in 2005."

Probably the coach most in demand is White, fired last month by the Arizona Rattlers after two AFL championships and five ArenaBowl appearances in 13 seasons. The Grand Rapids Rampage even altered its coaching search for White, keeping open the job after interviewing five candidates.

Grant said coaches' talks with other teams will not affect the Gladiators' process.

"The message we've given out to everyone is we don't want to hold them up from making any decision they feel is best for them and their family," Grant said. "With our owner (Jim Ferraro) out of (the country), we are physically unable to make any decisions this week."

Ferraro is expected back Aug. 12 and will be in Las Vegas for the AFL's board of directors meeting Aug. 17. Grant said the Gladiators would like to decide on the finalists Aug. 16 or 17 and conduct in-person interviews that week.

McEwen, also a candidate for the Grand Rapids job, said Tuesday he is particularly interested in the Gladiators position.

Before moving to the af2 this season, McEwen was the Rampage's offensive coordinator for three years, coaching current Gladiators quarterback Clint Dolezel.

"That roster is ready to win right now," McEwen said. "When I say win, I mean compete for the ArenaBowl title. That's saying a lot because of that division with Arizona, San Jose and Los Angeles."
- Channel: ARENA
-08-04-2004, 01:42 PM
Owner says 'sloppy' play led to Haege's dismissal

by DJRamFan

Fear of losing players contributed to decision
By Adam Candee
<[email protected]>
LAS VEGAS SUN

An emotionally detached assessment showed Jim Ferraro that he wanted to fire Frank Haege as the Gladiators' head coach. The perceived danger of losing current and prospective players because of Haege, combined with the owner's distaste for the team's "sloppy" play during the past two seasons, made it easy for Ferraro.

But the owner's personal respect for Haege made it hard to pull the trigger.

"You look at it all and the decision was not really hard at the end of the day," Ferraro said Friday, speaking publicly for the first time since Haege was fired on July 28. "It was just hard for me to do it."

Along with a long evaluation process that Ferraro said could not have happened while the team focused on winning games during the season, that respect led to the two-month wait after the season's end to fire Haege.

Ferraro is in town to conduct interviews with the three finalists to replace Haege: Gladiators assistant head coach Ron James; New Orleans defensive coordinator Kevin Porter; and Indiana interim head coach Mike Wilpolt. Interviews begin tonight and continue Tuesday, with Ferraro and general manager Dan Dolby hoping to select someone by Friday. Ferraro recently returned from a long trip out of the country, which slowed the process of hiring a new coach.

After three middling seasons that produced a 25-21 record and a division title, but no playoff wins, Ferraro entered the offseason intent on evaluating Haege's situation after signing the coach to a three-year contract extension during the 2003 season.

The most distressing conversations Ferraro had, he said, were with people both inside the organization and around the league indicated that some free agents might avoid Las Vegas and that some current Gladiators might try to get away from the team if Haege remained the head coach.

He became more disturbed by the lack of support he found for Haege from both players and management.

"I didn't have anyone who objected to it," Ferraro said of firing Haege.

No players have spoken out against Haege. Talking the day after Haege's firing, Gladiators quarterback Clint Dolezel -- the team's centerpiece acquisition last offseason -- expressed no reservations about the coach.

Dolezel did not mourn for long, though, phoning Dolby to vouch for Sparky McEwen as Haege's replacement. McEwen, who worked with Dolezel in Grand Rapids as the offensive coordinator, came off the Gladiators' finalist list Friday when he accepted the head job with the Rampage.

Ferraro was disappointed in both the Gladiators' preparation and performance leading to an 8-8 record in 2004 after he spent up to the $1.7 million salary cap to upgrade...
- Channel: NFL TALK
-08-17-2004, 10:12 AM
White out: Gladiators look elsewhere for coach

by DJRamFan

By MARK ANDERSON
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Danny White
Gladiators could not meet coaching candidate's salary demands

Las Vegas was No. 1 on Danny White's list of potential coaching destinations, but the Gladiators did not make hiring him a priority and a deal almost certainly will not be reached.

"Right now they have no shot," White said Monday. "I haven't heard from them. It does (surprise me) a little bit because they were the front-runner going in because of their closeness to Phoenix."

White built a successful resum� with the Arizona Rattlers, winning two Arena Football League championships and making five ArenaBowls in 13 years.

Gladiators general manager Dan Dolby said two factors have worked against a more aggressive pursuit of White -- team owner Jim Ferraro's unavailability because of business overseas and White's asking price.

Dolby would not comment on White's salary parameters, but a source said he was seeking more than $200,000. Frank Haege, fired as Gladiators head coach last month, made a base salary of $110,000.

"From a compensation standpoint, we were too far apart," Dolby said. "It was a lot of money for the coaching ranks of the AFL."

The sides were so far apart, Dolby said, that a deal would have been extremely difficult even if Ferraro had been in the country. Ferraro returns to the United States on Thursday.

White has been more hotly pursued by other AFL teams, such as Grand Rapids and New York. He said he met with officials from both clubs recently, but that he was considering other teams, which he declined to name.

Grand Rapids had wanted an answer from White by today, but he said he would make a decision on his job search by next week's AFL board of directors meeting in Las Vegas.

"I've been actively involved with several teams ... but Las Vegas isn't one of them," White said.

With White no longer a serious candidate, assuming he ever was, that leaves seven others on the list the Gladiators are considering.

Those candidates are: current Gladiators assistants Stan Davis and Ron James; Oklahoma City (af2) offensive coordinator Sparky McEwen; New Orleans VooDoo defensive coordinator Kevin Porter; Oklahoma City head coach Gary Reasons; Carolina Cobras interim coach Ron Selesky; and Indiana coach Mike Wilpolt.

The list will be trimmed by next week, and in-person interviews will begin.
- Channel: ARENA
-08-10-2004, 08:29 AM

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League bosses come to Vegas; is the ArenaBowl far behind?

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