SIFL Coaches Recall Their NFL Draft Day
Published on April 24, 2009 under Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) News Release
As outdoor football fans and experts gather for this weekend for the biggest non-playing days of football - the media exercise known as the NFL draft, two Southern Indoor Football League coaches also take the time to remember the day their name was called.
CHRIS DULIBAN, AUSTIN TURFCATS
Chris Duliban went to bed a free agent and woke up as a Dallas Cowboy the next morning.
Times were a little different back in 1986 when the Austin Turfcats coach's name was in the draft mix. ESPN's coverage ended around 8 p.m. on Saturday - hmm, less Mel Kiper, Jr. - and the remaining rounds droned into the wee hours of Sunday morning.
Duliban resigned himself and moved away from the phone, went out with some friends for a while and crashed around 2 a.m.
The Cowboys selected the former Texas Longhorn around 2:45 a.m. in the 12th round with the 306th pick.
``My agent woke me up the next morning at 8 a.m. and congratulated me on being on a Dallas Cowboy,'' Duliban. ``I thought it would be okay to be a free agent because I could go where I wanted, but I grew up a Cowboy fans and had a tremendous amount of respect for [the late Cowboys coach] Tom Landry, so I was thrilled.''
Duliban played for the Cowboys in 1987 and also saw time in Buffalo.
FRANKLIN THOMAS, HOUMA CONQUERORS
The owner and head coach of the Houma Conquerors couldn't have asked for a better birthday present when the Detroit Lions took him in the seventh round in 1991.
The second day of the draft fell on April 22nd that year, and as a result, the birthday party turned into a dual celebration.
``That made it really special,'' said Thomas, a former Grambling State star. ``Of course, I would have prefer to gone on the first day for the prestige and especially the money, but it was still was a great experience that still means a lot to me.''
Thomas spent one season with the Lions and would later play with the Barcelona (Spain) Dragons of NFL Europe.
Southern Indoor Football League Stories from April 24, 2009
- Indoor Football This Week - OSC Original by Danny Burnham
- SIFL Coaches Recall Their NFL Draft Day - SIFL
- Week 2 Too Early For Big Game? - SIFL
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