Sports stats

NAL Lehigh Valley Steelhawks

STEELHAWKS NAME KOHLER HEAD COACH

November 29, 2017 - National Arena League (NAL)
Lehigh Valley Steelhawks News Release


Allentown, PA : At a press conference today from the PPL Center the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks were excited to announce the position of Head Coach and Assistant General Manager has been filled following a three-week vacancy. Bob Kohler, a native of the Lehigh Valley, has been chosen to take the reins. Kohler has been on staff with the Steelhawks for six of their seven years, and spent the last two seasons as the Defensive Coordinator.

After Chris Thompson announced his resignation and promotion to the AFL, the Steelhawks began a nationwide search to find their next Head Coach and Assistant General Manager. Kohler, a person with more than 40 years of coaching experience, was the consensus choice to become the team's third leading man in the team's existence. As the team's Defensive Coordinator the last two seasons, the Steelhawks have been ranked among the league's top units. Specializing on the secondary, the team has been dangerous in pass defense; the team had a +19 turnover margin in 2017 behind 22 interceptions.

Kohler has coached in the Lehigh Valley, at every level of football for the past 45 years. He spent his first three years at the High School level with William Allen and then 40 years at the collegiate level (Kutztown University - Division II, Muhlenberg College - Division III, and Moravian College - Division III); coaching all positions throughout his career. He has coached 12 All-Americans, scores of All-Conference players, coached in nine NCAA Division III National Championship Tournaments, and four Eastern Collegiate Conference Division III Bowl games. In addition to his time with the Steelhawks, Kohler has spent three years at the professional arena level with the Lehigh Valley Outlawz, New Jersey Revolution, and Trenton Freedom where he was Defensive Coordinator.

In 2013 and 2014, he also served as the Head Coach for the Lehigh Valley Storm Minor League football team where he amassed a 22-5 record, two Conference Championships, and advanced to the National Championship game in Memphis, TN. Kohler was inducted into the Lehigh Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. He has a son and daughter, as well as three grand children; and he is a retired Public School Teacher/Administrator from the Allentown School District.

The consummate football coach, Kohler already is looking at shaping the 2018 season, "This is quite a humbling appointment. To be considered worthy of being the Third Head Coach of the Steelhawks and working with the Clark family and staff is a unique honor at this point in my coaching career, especially in my home town. Our main objective starting out is to continue to travel on the same road that the Clark family and Coach Thompson have paved for the Steelhawks over the first seven years; as an organization built on integrity and doing things the right way. As for our team, the goal is to enhance our visibility and respect within the arena football world and even more important our local community, the Lehigh Valley and beyond. We will work hard to be competitive through consistent and persistent effort on and off the field."

After having Kohler on his staff for so many years, Thompson couldn't be happier to see him take over, "First off, I want to thank Glenn and Mike Clark and the Clark family again for the last six seasons. I am leaving with so many wonderful memories with great fans, partners, players, and coaches. I was not surprised to hear of the interest from coaches all over the country to be a part of this elite professional franchise but I couldn't be more excited for Coach Kohler as we have worked together for so many years and he is without a doubt very deserving of it. I have always said it before, our success over the years is because of the great people we have surrounded ourselves with and Coach Kohler and the rest of the staff are definitely some of the best in the business. I can't wait to continue working with Coach Kohler and the Steelhawks organization as I now embark on my new awesome opportunity with the Albany AFL team."

Steelhawks 2018 season tickets are NOW ON SALE! Call 610-224-4625 to reserve your seats! Season ticket packages start as low as $56. All Steelhawks games are played on Embassy Bank Field inside the PPL Center.



National Arena League Stories from November 29, 2017


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.

Other Recent Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central