Columbus Destroyers name assistant coaches

Published on September 19, 2005 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Columbus Destroyers News Release


COLUMBUS, OH - The Columbus Destroyers announced the remaining of its coaching staff Monday with the additions of Ken Matous, Chris MacKeown, Ian Cooper and Vinnie Clark. Matous (pronounced MAY-tosh) will serve as the offensive coordinator, MacKeown (pronounced ma-CUE-when) as the offensive assistant/special teams coordinator and Cooper and Clark join head coach Doug Kay's staff as defensive assistants. Destroyers Vice President of Football Operations Jim Lachey, will also serve as the team's line coach.

Matous, 49, brings three years of Arena Football experience to the Destroyers. Matous got his start in 2001 with the Carolina Cobras where he was the special teams/fullbacks/linebackers coach. His special teams were one of the best in the Arena Football League that season as the Cobras ranked first in kickoff returns (21.8 yards per return) and missed field goal returns (24.6 average per return).

Matous became the head coach of the arenafootball2's Tulsa Talons in 2004. With very few players returning from the 2003 ArenaCup championship team, Matous rebuilt the 2004 Talons and guided them to an af2 best 13-3 record and a Southwest Division title. That season, Tulsa led the league in scoring offense (57.6 points per game), passer rating (116.1), were third in turnover margin (+15), fourth in sacks allowed (7) and fifth in sacks by (30). This past season, Matous was the special teams coordinator for the AFL's New Orleans VooDoo. The VooDoo ranked eighth in kickoff return yards with 1,513. Matous has 25 years of coaching experience, including stops at East Carolina, Duke, Mississippi, Austin Peay State, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Wichita State and Hutchinson (Kan.) Community. He also worked in the player personnel department for the Kansas City Chiefs.

"I think he is one of the fine young coaches that you can have," Kay said. "I am very confident in what he can do. He brings a lot to the table."

MacKeown joins the Destroyers staff fresh off of an af2 American Conference championship season with the Louisville Fire. MacKeown served as the offensive consultant to the Fire, who had their best season in team history. In seven years, MacKeown has been a coach with eight teams and only missed the playoffs once.

The Fire ranked tops in the af2 in passing offense (279.1 yards per game), were second in total offense (291.8 yards per game) and touchdowns scored (120).

In 2004, MacKeown was the offensive coordinator for the Fire and helped guide them to their first ever playoff berth. The previous season, MacKeown was the head coach for the af2 expansion Cincinnati Swarm, where he guided them to a 7-9 record. Prior to Cincinnati, MacKeown was an assistant coach with the AFL's Indiana Firebirds for two seasons, where the Firebirds made the AreanBowl playoffs twice and the semifinals once. MacKeown got his start in Arena Football when he was an assistant with Matous and the Carolina Rhinos in 2001. Following the season, MacKeown became the running backs coach at Wilmington College. He also coached the Dayton Skyhawks (IFL) from 1998-2000. He served as the head coach in 2000 and was the assistant head coach prior to that.

"He's been around the game," Kay said. "He has a great work ethic. He understands player personnel and how high to set the bar to win. He has a great offensive mind and will work with Matous very well."

Cooper is another coach who has spent time alongside Matous, as the two were together in 2004 with the Tulsa Talons. Cooper has spent time in both the indoor and outdoor game with a total of eight years as a coach. Cooper's coaching career began after a four-year career at Rocky Mountain (Mont.) College. He spent the next five years with the Battlin' Bears program as an assistant coach before taking over as the defensive coordinator for the National Indoor Football League's Billings Outlaws. He spent two seasons with the Outlaws prior to moving onto Gardner-Webb University of the NAIA. In 2003 he was the defensive assistant, then took a year off to coach with Matous in Tulsa. He spent the 2004 season at Gardner-Webb to coach the receivers.

"He did a great job defensively in the arenafootball2 league," Kay said. "Great mind. Hard worker. I look forward to him to being a strong addition to the staff."

Clark, 36, returns for a fourth season with the Destroyers. He began his coaching career with the Buffalo version of the Destroyers in 2000 and spent two seasons as the defensive backs coach. In 2003, Clark joined MacKeown's staff in Cincinnati as the defensive coordinator.

That season, Cincinnati's defense was tops in the af2 in red zone defense as opponents only scored on 49 of 81 attempts. They were second in opponents fourth down conversions, fifth in interceptions (20), sixth in fumble recoveries (17) and total defense (229.9 yards per game). Clark, who also serves as the defensive coordinator for Harmony Community High School in Cincinnati, was a standout on the field as well. From 1987-1991, Clark starred as a defensive back at The Ohio State University. In the 1991 NFL Draft, he was the 19th overall selection by the Green Bay Packers. During his seven-year career, Clark spent time with the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars.

"You're talking about a hometown product, a guy who played at Ohio State and spent seven years in the NFL," Kay said. "He's coached here before, understands the game and he's coached in and around the game the past four or five years. He understands the game and is a good teacher.

The Destroyers finished the 2005 season fourth in the AFL in attendance, averaging 15,229 fans per game in eight home contests at Nationwide Arena. In addition, the Destroyers became one of only two teams in the league to draw over 250,000 fans combined during the past two years (Philadelphia).

For further information on the Columbus Destroyers, visit www.ColumbusDestroyers.com or call (614) 246-HITS. The AFL will return to NBC this season; watch for the AFL on NBC schedule to be released this fall.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from September 19, 2005


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