Avengers hire Doug Kay as defensive coordinator
October 1, 2002 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers News Release
LOS ANGELES -- Doug Kay, a veteran coach with 10 seasons of Arena Football League experience, has joined the coaching staff of the Los Angeles Avengers, head coach Ed Hodgkiss announced today.
Kay, whose coaching career has spanned more than 40 years at various levels of football, will serve as the defensive coordinator of the Avengers, who will kick off their fourth season in the AFL this coming February.
"Doug Kay is a proven winner," said Hodgkiss, who led the Avengers to an 8-6 record and No. 5 seed in the AFL playoffs last season in his first year with the club. "Doug's resume speaks for itself and he's well respected in the coaching fraternity and Arena Football League. In my opinion, he will be our biggest acquisition of the offseason. I want to improve our defense and this is the No. 1 way to do it. Doug also has been a head coach in this league and he's another guy for me to lean on in certain situations. We're all extremely excited to have him joining the Avengers."
Kay spent last season as the special teams coordinator for the Tampa Bay Storm, who ended L.A.'s 2002 campaign with a 61-44 victory in the first round of the playoffs. Prior to the 2002 season, Kay was the head coach of the Carolina Cobras for two years (2000-01). After posting a 3-11 record in 2000, he led the Cobras to a 7-7 mark in 2001 and the team's first-ever post-season berth. His first AFL head coaching job came in 1995, when he was at the helm of the Charlotte Rage.
Following his stay in Charlotte, Kay served as a defensive coordinator for the Arizona Rattlers for four seasons (1996-99). He also was the defensive coordinator for two other AFL teams, working one-year stints with the Tampa Bay Storm (1993) and Albany Firebirds (1994).
Kay is the owner of two ArenaBowl championship rings, having won the world title in 1993 with the Storm and 1997 with the Rattlers.
"I'm proud to join an extremely professional organization headed in the right direction," Kay said. "Ed Hodgkiss has developed a team that is not only talented, but more importantly is made up of good people. I have really enjoyed the challenge of being a defensive coach in the AFL. It's one of the truest challenges in coaching, but it's evident that good teams become championship teams in this league because of excellent defensive efforts."
No stranger to Los Angeles, Kay was an assistant coach at UCLA for three seasons (1977-79), tutoring linebackers and the defensive line. In 1980, he moved on to the University of Hawai'i, serving as the associate head coach and defensive coordinator for three seasons (1980-82).
Kay's coaching career began in 1960, working with the quarterbacks and wide receivers at his alma mater of Western Illinois University (Macomb, Ill.). In 1961, he became a head coach for the first time, taking over at Deerfield (Ill.) High School until he moved on to become the defensive coordinator at Indiana State University (Terre Haute, Ind.) for three seasons (1967-69). Later, Kay was named head coach at Olivet (Mich.) College and spent six seasons (1970-75) at the helm of the Comets, before moving west to San Jose State, where he served as offensive coordinator in 1976.
Kay's professional coaching career began in 1983 with two seasons as the defensive coordinator of United States Football League's Boston Breakers (who moved to New Orleans for the 1984 season). He also served as the defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL for two years (1985-86) and was the defensive coordinator for the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks of the World Football League in 1991.
A native of Chicago, Ill., Kay served in the U.S. Army for two years between 1954 and 1956. He received a bachelor's degree in physical education from Western Illinois in 1961, where he played both football and baseball. On the gridiron, he played under the tutelage of Lou Saban as a quarterback, defensive back, tight end and punter. Kay earned a master's degree in physical education at Indiana State in 1966.
He and his wife Dawn, who reside in Tampa, Fla., have two children, Kimber and Bart.
Avenger season tickets for the 2003 campaign, which begins in February, are now on sale and can be purchased by calling 1-888-AVENGERS or online at www.laavengers.com.
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