Cobras Name John Gregory Head Coach
March 15, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Carolina Cobras News Release
CHARLOTTE - The Carolina Cobras announced today that John Gregory has been promoted to head coach and director of football operations for the remainder of the 2004 Arena Football League season. The move ends the tenure of Eddie Khayat, who has been relieved of his duties following the Cobras 2-4 start to the campaign.
"I am grateful for all that Eddie Khayat has brought to this team," said Cobras owner Pete Loftin. "However, with the best interests of the Cobras organization and its fans in mind, I felt a change needed to be made."
Khayat originally joined the Cobras organization as the senior advisor of football operations in February 2003 before being named as the interim head coach for the final three games of the season. A 42-year veteran of professional football, Khayat remained with the team as head coach and director of football operations for the 2004 campaign. He led the team to two road wins to begin the season, ending the club's AFL-record 17-game losing streak. The team has struggles in recent weeks, however, dropping four straight games, including three home contests.
"I appreciate being given the opportunity to be a member of the Carolina Cobras organization and to play a part in building what I believe will be a winning team," said Khayat.
A two-time AFL Coach of the Year, Gregory guided the New York Dragons/Iowa Barnstormers franchise to two ArenaBowl berths and four division titles from 1995 to 2003. He currently ranks among the all-time coaching leaders in AFL history with 72 career wins (6th), 126 games coached (5th) and six postseason victories (5th). Gregory's teams have qualified for the playoffs on six occasions and advanced to the ArenaBowl in 1996 and 1997.
"I have the highest regards for Eddie Khayat and he has certainly been a first-class person," Gregory said. "Having said that, I am going to do the absolute best for this football organization. I look forward to showing the fans of Charlotte what kind of team we can be."
A native of Webster, IA, Gregory is widely recognized as one of the innovative offensive minds in Arena Football. Over his nine-year head coaching tenure, his offenses have averaged 52.8 points per game. In 2001, Gregory directed the Dragons to a league-record 64.1 points per game, including a 99-point effort on July 7 against the Cobras.
Prior to joining the AFL, Gregory spent eight seasons as a head coach in the Canadian Football League, leading the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a Grey Cut title in 1989. He has served as head coach for 10 seasons at South Dakota State, where he currently ranks second in all-time victories.
Gregory will make his head coaching debut for Carolina this Sunday, March 21 against the defending ArenaBowl champion Tampa Bay Storm. The Cobras will look to snap their current four-game slide, and the team's AFL-record 16-game home losing streak. Kickoff is slated for 3:00 p.m. at the Charlotte Coliseum.
Cobras' flex plans and group tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 877-4-COBRAS or visiting www.cobrasfootball.com. Individual game tickets are available at the Charlotte Coliseum box office or at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 704-522-6500.
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