Troy Biladeau Introduced as Quad City Steamwheelers Defensive Coordinator
November 6, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
(Davenport, IA) - The Quad City Steamwheelers announced today that head coach Sean Ponder has hired Troy Biladeau as the defensive coordinator for the team.
"I am really excited that Troy Biladeau has decided to join our staff," said Ponder. "He is one of the best defensive coaches in the af2. He has been in the Quad Cities before and I know he will work hard to return this team to their all of their championship glory."
Biladeau joins the Steamwheelers after spending last season as the defensive coordinator for the ArenaCup Champion Spokane Shock. Under Biladeau's leadership, the defense led the af2 in scoring defense (37.0) during the playoffs and held the Green Bay Blizzard, a team that averaged 53.7 points in the playoffs, to just 34 points in the ArenaCup Championship game. During the regular season Biladeau's defense was ninth in total defense, allowing only 258.6 yards per game and 11th in scoring defense allowing 47.4 points per game.
"I'm glad to be back in the Quad Cities," said Biladeau. "I love this community and I am 100% dedicated to working with Sean Ponder and the rest of this staff to bring back an ArenaCup Championship in 2007. I know coach Ponder from when we have coached together in the past and also from when he played under me. He is a great individual and is dedicated to not only winning, but getting the most out of everyone around him. I can't wait for us to get on the field in March."
Biladeau was reunited with Ponder originally in 2004 with the Wichita Stealth. His appearance in Wichita was sandwiched between appearances with the South Georgia Wildcats. The return to Wichita was also a homecoming of sorts as Biladeau was previously a head coach with a Wichita team in another indoor league in 2000. As the Stealth's defensive coordinator in 2004, the defense was ranked seventh in the league in points allowed (43.4) and fourth in total defense (229.6) on their way to an 8-8 finish, just missing a playoff berth.
Biladeau spent a total of three seasons with the Wildcats franchise as the defensive coordinator, with the first two seasons coming in 2002 and 2003 when the Wildcats were known as the Cape Fear Wildcats. During those two seasons the team went 23-9 and won the Atlantic Division championship in both years thanks in part to Biladeau's stifling defense. In 2002 the defensive unit allowed an average of 29.8 points a game and was the only team in the league to hold opponents to under 200 yards a game (186.3). The defensive coordinator rejoined the Wildcats in 2005 when they were known as the South Georgia Wildcats until the team switched coaching staff midseason.
The Silver Lake, Kan., native's previous tenure with the Quad City Steamwheeleres was in 2001. At the time, Biladeau was responsible for coaching the defensive backs on the defending af2 champion squad. While with the Steamwheelers, Biladeau helped coach a defense that pitched Arena Football's first-ever shutout, led the league in scoring defense (28.3), pass defensive rating (56.4), fumbles recovered (34) and interceptions (36) while on the way to a second consecutive ArenaCup title.
Biladeau's first and only position as a head coach came in 2000 as a 27-year old, when he took the reigns of the Wichita Warlords, a team playing in another indoor football league. Biladeau and Ponder met for the first time as Ponder was the quarterback for the Warlords that season.
Before making his jump to professional football in 2000, Biladeau played for and was a student coach for Fort Hays State in Kansas. Following his graduation, he took a position at Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., where he was a graduate assistant for three seasons.
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