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McClay's experience aids Desperados

by Fran Stuchbury
January 11, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Dallas Desperados


Will McClay was a WR/LB for the Detroit Drive from 1989 to 1992 before entering coaching as an assistant for several teams including the Milwaukee Mustangs, Anaheim Piranhas, Florida Bobcats, Grand Rapids Rampage and Dallas Desperados. McClay is now entering his second season as head coach of the Dallas Desperados. He became the head man in Dallas in 2004 after former coach Joe Avezzano left to be the special teams coach of the Oakland Raiders. I recently had the chance to interview McClay about his career in Arena Football.

Q. How did you get interested in playing Arena Football? Was it a tough transition to learn how to play both offense and defense? Did you enjoy the time you spent playing for the Detroit Drive, it must have been fun winning three ArenaBowl titles in four seasons.

A. Coach Tim Marcum contacted me in 1989 after a few failed attempts to get a shot in the NFL. Marcum had coached at Rice before I went there and had contacts all over the place.

He was looking for a guy to play football for not a lot of money. I wanted to continue playing so I showed up in Indiana, Rensiler or something like that, and had the most fun since High School.

The Detroit Drive was a great place to be. It was a great organization with very good football players. I got a chance to play with several guys that are in the AFL Hall of Fame.

It all started at the top. Mr. Illitch owned the team and treated us like pros. He kept the league afloat in the early days. The late Gary Vitto took care of all of his guys like we were his kids.

I grew to love the game and the excitement it generated in Detroit. It was a Detroit kind of game. The fans loved the team and the way we played the game.

I was surrounded by different guys from all over the place and we had the common goal of winning so that is what we did. Being a champion at any level is the greatest feeling in the World. I gave my dad my first championship ring. Now I am getting the opportunity, thanks to Shy Anderson and Mr. Jones, to achieve another goal of mine: to win a championship as a head coach.

Q. What coach helped you the most in making a transition from being a player to being a coach?

A. Tim Marcum gave me a shot at being a coach. When I retired in '93 he gave me my first shot at coaching in the AFL. He knew that I was a smart player and had been around him and knew his system.

I could also imitate anyone so I think he kept me around for laughs then found out I could coach football. I learned so much from the vets I was around when I played about how to be a pro no matter what you were being paid.

I wanted to relay that to the young men that were hungry and wanted a chance to play. I took some stuff from all the great coaches I had been around - Tim Marcum, Perry Moss and Mouse Davis.

I also knew I wanted to be a coach when I was in college. I learned from coaches that are now very prominent figures in coaching. Tyrone Willingham who is now at Univ. of Washington coached at Rice when I was there, and I strive to be the man of principle that he is.

Mike Nolan, defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, recruited me to Rice and I try to relate to players the way he does. Galen Hall, who is now the OC at Penn State and a great coach, showed me in the XFL how to have patience when coaching.

I have also had the fortune to be around Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin. All of these guys as well as guys that I have coached with in the AFL have helped me continue to grow in this profession.

Mike Trigg gave me my first defensive coordinator job and Mike Hohensee really pushed me over the hump by showing me his work ethic and how to balance this crazy game and be a good family man.

Q. You served as a defensive coordinator for the Anaheim Piranhas and the Milwaukee Mustangs. Did you have a good experience working for those franchises? With the proper ownership could AFL franchises be successful there?

A. I had great experiences in both Anaheim and Milwaukee. Milwaukee has all the makings of a great AFL town. The people are enthusiastic and love their sports. The loyalest sports fans I have ever been around are from the Midwest. I would love to see Milwaukee back in the AFL with the proper ownership. Anaheim was also a great experience because of the people I worked with and for, but as far as an AFL town it was different.

Anaheim has so much going on at the time we were in season when I was there. There was a lot to compete against.

Q. You had the opportunity to be part of coach Michael Trigg's staff on two occasions. (at Milwaukee in 1995 and Grand Rapids in 1998-1999) How did you like working with him?

A. Michael Trigg and I played together and he gave me my first shot at being a defensive coordinator. We were rookies in this league together and got to be close because the vets used to make the rookies get breakfast.

We grew up in this league together and Mike has gone on to become a fixture in this league. We have built teams together and brought a lot of quality players in this league.

Q. Did you enjoy the time you spent as player personnel director for the XFL's Orlando Rage? Should the league have lasted more than one season?

A. The XFL was a great experience for me. I was around some great football minds on that staff in Orlando. There were also some very good football people in that league.

I had the opportunity to be there from the day it started and was in on formulating the player personnel system, the purchasing of equipment, the hiring process of the coaches, I even got to be in meetings with the colorful Vince McMahon.

He had a wonderful league that was a very good brand of football, but the league got caught up in the hype. We spent more time bashing the NFL and doing stuff on the edge when people really just wanted to see football.

If you ask almost any football person that is involved in the business of players and x's and o's and they will tell you there was some pretty good football.

The XFL also opened doors for me because I was able to develop another skill set in administration and personnel that have helped me grow in the football business. Even with all the money and promotion and WWE name, it still couldn't outlast the AFL!!

Q. When you served as defensive coordinator for the Desperados did you have to help out coach Avezzano get more familiar with Arena Football because he had no prior AFL coaching experience?

A. Joe was great to be around. He gave me a lot of opportunity to structure things the way I felt they needed to be done. He put a lot of faith in his AFL coaches because he was still doing the NFL job when we started.

It was a huge learning curve for him, but in the end it was still football and he was the head coach. He served more as a generalist and let his coaches do their job. He also continued to enlighten all of us with some of his experience through all of his years of coaching. We learned from him and he learned from us.

Q. In training camp you have three quarterbacks battling for roster spots (Scott Dreisbach, Clint Stoener and Chris Greisen). What do all three quarterbacks bring to the table? Whoever is the starter, you must be very happy with the receivers you have?

A. All three QB's bring something different but they all three can play. It is a benefit to have Rich Ingold on staff because he has been a QB and a QB coach in college.

He has a great feel for what it takes to be successful as a QB in this league. He is working with each guy and we are evaluating every drop, every read and every throw to make sure we have the right guys. It has been very competitive in camp and that will only make us a better team. The QB's have a lot of weapons around them.

We have to develop chemistry but if and when we do, we will have a core of skill players that will make any QB's job easier.

Q. Is the rivalry with the Philadelphia Soul going to develop into a good one, similar to the Eagles/Cowboys rivalry in the NFL?

A. There is a rivalry and it will only get better. The people from Philly don't like people from Dallas, and people from Dallas don't like any sports team north of Oklahoma. It should be that way. We are in the same division, and we have strong teams, strong ownership and the Soul Sucks!! Did I say that out loud?

Q. How do you like the fan base in Dallas? Are they very supportive of their team?

A. The fans in Dallas have been great. Once people see the game, they love it. We have a great core of fans and are striving to grow that everyday in every way.

Shy Anderson is continuing to find creative ways to attract the football fans of this area to our games. One thing always stands true, every time I talk to a fan that has been to a game for the first time, they love it and say they are coming back.

The best part about the support we get in Dallas is the media. The media has been great with us. They are giving the Desperados and the AFL great exposure in a big market and that will only help the league grow and become more credible. The more people that know about us will come see us and find out what this crazy fast paced game in a box is all about and fall in love with the game.

There will be no bigger Desperado fans than Jim Draucker (Jstorm) and Kris Carter but we will try to develop some that will push them for there titles of number one Desperado supporters.

If you have any questions or comments about this interview feel free to drop me an email at arenazone@yahoo.com.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from January 11, 2005


The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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