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Outlawz or headless horsemen

April 4, 2006 - Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL)
Lehigh Valley Outlawz News Release


The Lehigh Valley Outlawz Indoor football team thought they would face their first challenge in Marion, OH on Saturday. But, actually the entire Pre-Season has been a challenge. The Outlawz welcome the challenge of reviving Professional sports in the Valley. But it has not been without setbacks, the latest of which is the loss of two members of the coaching staff.

GM Mike DePaul announced the departure of Head Coach Bob Kohler and volunteer coach Al Forsythe. In a statement released, "through a mutual agreement of all parties, the contracts of both coaches were never endorsed." The dynamics behind the moves were complicated by two major issues.

First, a GLIFL league ruling for contracts to be submitted into the league office no later than April 1st. The Outlawz will be without 4 players and two coaches on Opening Day due to agents and/or players not submitting the paperwork to the league in time to meet the roster deadline. "It is a shame, because we know the players are anxious to play and missing the deadline means they sit for another week," said DePaul, " we will also be without two coaches."

Second, a school rule which does not allow coaches on Professional staffs to coach at High School and Collegiate level. This proves to be bittersweet for Kohler, who, by not signing, allows himself to continue his passion of the past 30 years, coaching at Muhlenberg College. Forsythe also leaves his options open for coaching at Salisbury High this season.

These departure may open a paid position for volunteer coach Trevor Marcks, a teacher in the Allentown School District. "This came as a shock to the entire team, but it was not without it's warnings," said DePaul, referring to some recent conversations with the coaches. The Outlawz Captains were told the news while attending a dinner at the Meadows in Hellertown on Monday, and looking over today's two-page spead on the Outlawz in the Express Times sports section. The reaction was surprising as they were actually excited about the news.

QB Chad Schwenk, a Whitehall product who played at Rutgers and Lehigh, before spending last season playing professionally in Germany, will get the chance to put that Patriot League education to work. He gets the green light to call his own plays this week. And he is thrilled at the opportunity. "This is something that only the elite QB in the NFL ever get to do," said Chad, "I think it will be fun," on his way home to go gameplan for this weekend.

As Owner, Jim DePaul stated, "under the circumstances it was the best option we had. I am confident in Chad's intelligence and ability. I must also be careful in the selection process of a new Head Coach to find one that can fit into our system. It is not the time to attempt too many changes. We have developed a chemistry with this team that we do not want disturbed."

As coaches too often we get caught up in our egos and must remember that coaches can only put players into positions to make plays. But, it is the players who make the plays which win or lose games. When asked about the vacancies, DePaul stated that he is the most qualified to take the role on an interim basis but has no plans to keep the role permanently. "We will miss Al and Bob and I wish them the very best in their future endeavors."

He continued, "the news had not been released and I already had three requests for the position. I will post notice and conduct interviews when we return from Ohio next week. Obviously, I have not been able to make other arrangements with such short notice. But don't worry, Mike and I are football guys and we have laid this foundation for the past two years. I was actually the interim head coach up until Feb 1st anyway. We are very comfortable in our captains on-field leadership and our defensive staff (John Johnson and Clayton Cargil) and Dr. Dan Reyes. We have a system in place that the players are familiar, so there should not be any surprises."

In our conversation, it was apparent that Kohler struggled on several fronts; failing to meet deadlines, adjusting from kids to adults and the transition from a position coach to a head coach. "I was leery when initially approached by Bob to be Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator. It was met with my resistance but ultimately I placed a lot of trust and faith in Bob's abilities. My past experience proves and now is reinforced that a Head coach should not also be a coordinator. The roles of each are totally different and not always aligned."

Good position coaches or coordinators do not always make good head coaches. Being a head coach and coordinator never works. And coaching professional adults is nothing like coaching kids in high school or college. These are men and must be treated as men, while directed properly. There is no comparison for the speed of the game and the talent is significantly increased while practice time is limited, making the process much more difficult.

Mike stated, "it was apparent that Bob struggled with the transition, never settled in and became comfortable. That feeling found it's way down to the players". The question was put, "is the team now actually better off?" The reply was no comment.

I guess we all find out on Saturday in Marion. Let the Mayhem Begin. Stay tuned as the 2006 final roster will be announced on April 5th. Yu can find all the information on the Outlawz at www.LV2006.com

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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