Team stands by selection in face of inaccuracies
By Billy Byler | Staff Writer
Friday, December 12, 2008
Augusta Colts indoor football coach Cedric Roach did not coach for an arenafootball2 team as he claimed on his resume, The Augusta Chronicle has learned.
Mr. Roach's resume listed seven professional or semi-pro football teams he claimed to have coached during a period of 11 years. At least five of those years are inaccurate, multiple sources have confirmed.
Colts owner and general manager John Sisson, who introduced Mr. Roach as the team's coach Nov. 11, said Mr. Roach will keep his job.
"I will stand by my previous statement that, 'I believe (Coach Roach) is the right man for this team at this time in our history,' " Mr. Sisson said in an e-mail Thursday afternoon.
The highest level of football Mr. Roach claimed to be a part of was the arenafootball2's Carolina Rhinos, where his resume said he served as a defensive coordinator and line coach from 2001-02. Multiple former coaches and players for the Rhinos confirmed this week that Mr. Roach was never on staff with the team.
Mr. Roach did not return multiple phone calls left Wednesday and Thursday seeking comment.
The Carolina Rhinos, whose existence lasted from 2000-2002 in Greenville, S.C., were led by Earnest Wilson for the first two seasons and Rod Miller in 2002. Both coaches said Roach was never on staff, though his resume claimed he, among other duties, "coordinated and installed the defense" and "created and implemented defensive playbook."
"I've never heard of him, and I was there every year the team existed," said Mr. Miller, now the football operations manager and an assistant coach with the Arena Football League's Grand Rapids Rampage. "He was never part of the Rhinos."
Mr. Roach's resume also claimed he worked with the Charleston Firecats of the North American Football League from 1998-2000, but the team wasn't created until 1999, and he wasn't hired as the Firecats' head coach until 2001, according to a Charleston Post and Courier story written in June 2001.
The Colts voluntarily went dormant this season and plan to return to action in 2010. Mr. Sisson explained his reasoning for keeping Mr. Roach in an e-mail:
"I am far more concerned with what coach Roach has experienced (and learned) since the early days of his career, and I believe that he is well prepared to have great success at this level," he said.
Mr. Sisson's e-mail also included a revised list of teams Mr. Roach had worked for, including contact numbers to confirm his employment. The list had several changes to dates and teams from the original resume and did not include the Carolina Rhinos.
Reach Billy Byler at (706) 823-3216 or billy.byler@augustachronicle.com.
AUGUSTA COLTS OWNER RESPONDS
E-mailed statement from Colts owner and general manager John Sisson:
1) Coach Roach was highly recommended by a member of our 2008 Augusta Colts squad; who has
I think its funny. It shows how the owners of the leagues and of the teams do no background checks what so ever. Thats why there are team in leagues right now with convicted felons running the show. but hey if your cool with that more power to you. Every one deserves a second chance I guess. 