Arbet Earns Coach of the Year Nod
August 16, 2002 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- San Jose SaberCats head coach DARREN ARBET has been named the Arena Football League's Coach of the Year. This is the second time in three seasons that Arbet has garnered Coach of the Year honors.
Arbet, who also won the award in 2000 and becomes the third coach to win the award more than once, joining Hall of Famer Perry Moss (1988, 1992, 1994) and John Gregory (1995, 1996), guided San Jose to the most successful regular season in league history.
Under Arbet, the SaberCats set a league record by winning 12 consecutive games to start the season. San Jose also set a league record for regular season wins (13-1) while scoring 50 or more points in every game this season, including the post season (16). Counting playoff wins, the team has already tied the 1996 Tampa Bay Storm and 1997 Arizona Rattlers for most total victories in a season (15). They can set the all-time record with a victory in Sunday's ArenaBowl versus Arizona.
Arbet continues to climb up the AFL record books for career wins and winning percentage. In just four seasons, Arbet has compiled an overall mark of 45-17 (.725). His winning percentage is now fourth-best in AFL history, while his 45 coaching wins rank eighth. He has reached 45 career wins faster than any coach in league history, while his 35 regular season wins over the last three years is the most ever by an AFL coach over a three-season span.
A four-year lettermen at Sacramento State, Arbet played two seasons of Arena Football as a fullback/linebacker for the Los Angeles Cobras (1988) and Maryland Commandos (1989). He began his coaching career at his alma mater, coaching tight ends and special teams over a three-year period from 1990-92.
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