Mayhem Officially Name Ryan Michel Head Coach
December 20, 2019 - SPHL (SPHL)
Macon Mayhem News Release
MACON, GA - The Mayhem have removed the "Interim" label from Ryan Michel's job title, officially naming him the third Head Coach in franchise history.
Michel has been the lone coach behind the Mayhem bench for the past four weeks, taking over exactly one month ago on November 19th of 2019. Through eight games, Michel has led the Mayhem to a 3-5-0 record and helped the team earn its first sweep and first shutout of the season last weekend against the Quad City Storm.
"We're excited to have Ryan as our Head Coach," General Manager Blair Floyd said. "We received over 100 résumés. After interviewing some of the applicants and talking to them, we determined Ryan is best-suited for this position. Watching the improvement over the past few weeks in team morale, along with the product on the ice, we felt this was the best option for the long term success of the team. Ryan is dedicated to the craft of coaching. It is his passion. We know this will be a stepping stone for him in a long career to come."
The former Mayhem defenseman excelled on special teams, which has seen a marked improvement since Michel took over. Both the power play and penalty kill have flourished in recent weeks. In his tenure, the Camillus, NY native has yielded a 6% increase on the man-advantage and a 5% increase on the penalty kill. The Mayhem are currently on their longest penalty-killing streak of the season, having fought off 16 straight shorthanded situations.
"I'm incredibly honored and appreciative of this opportunity," Michel said. "I loved my time in Macon as a player and consider this place to be a second home. There is a great deal of work to be done and I look forward to the challenge ahead."
A plan is in the works to search for an Assistant Coach to aid Michel for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.
The final home weekend of 2019 will take place for the Mayhem this Friday and Saturday night, when the Mayhem host the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs and the Birmingham Bulls, respectively. Friday will be Mac's 5th Birthday Party, while Saturday will be Faith & Family Night.
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