Iron Name Stoute As Assistant Head Coach
December 21, 2009 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Milwaukee Mustangs News Release
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Iron announced today that Mark Stoute will hold a dual role as the Assistant Head Coach and Director of Player Personnel for the Iron. Stoute brings 16 years of AFL and af2 experience to the Iron while holding various roles at each level as a coach and also as a part of the front office.
"My very first game I ever coached back in 1995 was in Milwaukee. They had 14,000 fans and the fan base was phenomenal. I'm looking forward to bringing that kind of magic back to the city," said Stoute. "I am thankful that the management and Coach Landsee have brought me here and made me a part of the revival of arena football in Milwaukee."
Stoute and Head Coach Bob Landsee will reunite this season after they spent the last two seasons with the Green Bay Blizzard where Stoute was Assistant Head Coach and Director of Player Personnel and in both 2006 and 2008 helped lead the Blizzard to a Division Championship and a trip to the AreanaCup in 2006. In 2007, Stoute spent one season as the Laredo Lobos Head Coach before returning to Green Bay.
Stoute has long been known for his development of players and advancing players in their careers. Over his 16 years Stoute has developed players on all levels. Prior to his stint with Green Bay, Stoute served as the Fullback/Linebackers Coach and Special Teams Coordinator for the Tampa Bay Storm of the AFL in 2005. Before the Storm, Stoute spent 2004 as the Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator for the Indiana Firebirds of the AFL where he also grooved QB Adrian McPherson into the league's Rookie of the Year as the Director of Player Personnel.
"We have quite a few players in Milwaukee that have played for me in the past and we have a great group of young guys that we're bringing in as well as some young guys who were part of NFL camps that we think can make an easy transition to the arena game. I think we can put great athletes in and teach them the game and become a really good football team," said Stoute.
In 2003, Stoute was named the Head Coach of the Manchester Wolves. That season he took a team that won just three games the previous season and turned it into a postseason threat, sending the franchise to its first trip to the postseason after finishing 10-6. That same season the Wolves won the first postseason game in franchise history.
As the Director of Football Operations and Player Personnel for the New England Sea Wolves in 1999, Stoute followed the franchise when it moved to Toronto and became the Phantoms. He was named the Phantoms' Head Coach and General Manager in 2001 and led them to a 13-15 record over two seasons, including an Eastern Division Championship in 2001.
Stoute's AFL career began in 1995 when he was offered the job with the Connecticut Coyotes as Assistant Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Backs Coach. A year later he took over as Offensive Coordinator and Receivers Coach for the Charlotte Rage. In 1997, Stoute spent his first season in the front office with the Florida Bobcats of the AFL where he was an Offensive Assistant as well as the team's Director of Player Personnel.
A native of Barbados, Stoute earned his first coaching job in 1992 when he was hired to work with special teams for Southern Connecticut State University. As a place kicker, Stoute was a four-year letter winner at Kentucky State University and after graduating went onto play in the USFL for the Boston Breakers and New Jersey Generals.
The Milwaukee Iron has ascended to the highest level of Arena Football as a member of Arena Football One. Downtown Milwaukee and the Bradley Center will come alive in 2010 as the Iron host legendary Arena Football League opponents such as the Arizona Rattlers, Cleveland Gladiators, Iowa Barnstormers, Orlando Predators, Tampa Bay Storm and more.
Iron season tickets are currently on sale, starting as low as $50.
For ticket information, please contact the Iron ticket sales office at 1-888-MKE-IRON (653-4766).
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