WASHINGTON 鈥� A new coach always brings a sense of optimism and excitement to a franchise. But there鈥檚 nothing like being the inaugural coach.
We don鈥檛 know much yet about the new Washington Arena Football Team, part of the Monumental Sports and Entertainment family. But we know they鈥檒l play at Verizon Center starting in 2017, and now we know their new head coach 鈥� AFL veteran Dean Cokinos.
A college running back at University of Massachusetts Boston, he went undrafted and went back to his alma mater as an assistant. He made his AFL coaching debut in 2003 and won the ArenaCup in 2008. Now a veteran of the indoor, high-speed, high-intensity format, he鈥檚 right at home identifying talent and is looking forward to his fresh start in D.C.
鈥淵eah, it鈥檚 awesome on so many different levels,鈥� Cokinos (pronounced co-KEEN-ose) told 海角精品黑料 in a visit to the station Monday. 鈥淕etting in early and having the opportunity to use this time wisely to set up is a huge advantage for us to do it right.鈥�
Many times, the process for the first season is rushed. But Cokinos has a full year to hire his staff and begin scouting players for the 2017 season. He hopes the draw of a big city and a venue like the Verizon Center will help sell prospective players on joining him.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a huge part of the attraction,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great place for entertainment.鈥�
In addition to the smaller field, rosters are also condensed in the AFL, as the team carries just 21 gameday players, compared to 53 in the NFL. That means some players in the 8-on-8 format play both offense and defense. But it doesn鈥檛 mean there aren鈥檛 opportunities out there for players looking for a shot to play professional ball.
鈥淔or us, it鈥檚 all about going out to these NFL camps, these CFL camps,鈥� Cokinos said. 鈥淭hose bubble guys? Those are our guys.鈥�
But they also plan to take players from an open tryout this fall. Out of an initial group of maybe 10 who will get invited to camp, Cokinos expects two or three to make the final cut from the open tryout.
鈥淲e always grab guys out of those open tryouts who end up making our roster,鈥� he said.
Listen in to our full chat with Coach Cokinos above, which will also serve as recorded history that we are holding Monumental Sports & Entertainment聽CCO聽Kurt Kehl to his word to announce the name of the new franchise, once decided, live on 海角精品黑料.
