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Greyhounds tab Siani as head coach

January 13, 2005 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Ohio Valley Greyhounds News Release


WHEELING, WV – The Ohio Valley Greyhounds of the United Indoor Football Association are proud to announce the hiring of Mr. Mike Siani as their third head coach, following former grid leaders Wilkie Perez and Mark Bonar.

Siani has coached two years of indoor football, including seasons with the Myrtle Beach Stingrays and the Atlantic City Cardsharks. Mike compiled a 14-7 record in those two seasons, featuring a 10-4 record with the Cardsharks in 2004 that led to a playoff appearance in the team's expansion season. Mike's New Jersey-based squad finished the regular season winning six contests in a row and eight of their last nine, including a 33-31 upset victory over the Greyhounds in Atlantic City on May 29th. They bowed out in the playoffs to eventual league champion Lexington. Siani's defense ranked ninth in scoring last season as well as sixth in Total Defense. The former NFL star also led a defense that finished fifth in Pass Defense and tied for second in sacks with his new team, the Greyhounds.

In 2003, Siani added to his Director of Operations title for the Myrtle Beach Stingrays when he took over the duties on the sidelines midway through the season. Mike took the reigns of the 2-5 Stingrays and finished strong at 6-8, winning four of the last seven games. All three losses came against playoff participants, including two hard-fought losses to the Greyhounds. Siani's defense was formidable as always, finishing fourth in Scoring Defense as well as seventh in Total Defense.

The Oakland Raiders made Siani the 21st pick overall in the 1972 NFL draft, a first round that included Hall of Fame inductee and former Steeler great Franco Harris. With Ken Stabler at quarterback, Siani played alongside Fred Biletnikoff and Cliff Branch to produce the most prolific receiving corps of their time. Mike caught 158 passes for 2618 yards and 17 touchdowns in his ten-year career for the Raiders and Colts. In 3 playoff games, Mike caught nine passes for 127 yards and two TDs, with five of those receptions tallying 80 yards and the Raiders' only touchdown coming against the Steelers in the 1975 AFC Championship games against eventual Super Bowl X Champion Pittsburgh. He was a member of the 1976 Raiders team that defeated Minnesota in Super Bowl XI, a moment the New York native says was easily his biggest thrill of his career. Siani has collected a number of accolades in his NFL career, including a Pro Bowl nomination in 1973 after finishing ninth in the league in receiving yardage. In 1972, Mike started 13 games at wideout as a rookie. His 28 catches helped cap off a solid rookie campaign which saw him place on the All-Rookie Team and finish second behind Franco Harris for Rookie of the Year honors. He was also voted Baltimore's MVP by the Colts' fans in 1980 before eventually retiring in 1981.

Coach Siani played wideout for the Villanova Wildcats from 1969 to 1971. In those three years, he set three records that still stand: most career receiving touchdowns, single-game receiving yardage, and single-season receiving yardage. Mike is also 3rd all-time in career receiving yards; tied for 2nd in single season receptions; 3rd in career receptions; and tied for 3rd in single-game receptions, catching 12 passes twice in a game in his career. His stellar results on the gridiron earned him All-American status his junior year and a Consensus All-American nod his senior season.

Mike is a native of Staten Island, New York. He was a three-sport star at New Dorp High School and was named an All-City All-Star in all three sports. Siani was a baseball standout as well, being chosen in the MLB Amateur Draft after an All-American campaign on the diamond for Villanova.

Siani currently resides in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with his wife, Joy. He has three children: Dan, 25, currently enlisted in the United States Air Force; Danielle, 24; and Alexis, 21. An avid golfer, Mike is a member of the Celebrity Players Tour, playing in four events over the last four years. He is also a member to five different Halls of Fame: the Staten Island Hall of Fame; the New York City Hall of Fame; the Villanova University Hall of Fame; the Italian-American Hall of Fame; and the Havol Men's Club Hall of Fame. Mike has also done color commentary for ESPN's coverage of Big East football.

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