When Rik Richards made Richmond a Championship town

October 27, 2011 - Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) News Release


At an age when most men are graduating from college or starting families, Rik Richards took his first head coaching job of a professional indoor football team. In 2002 at the age of 26 Rik became the Head Coach and Director of Football Operations for the Charleston Swamp Foxes. In his three season with the Swamp Foxes, he sent ten players to the NFL, and so began his long and successful indoor football coaching career.

In the summer of 2005 a new team came to Richmond as part of the American Indoor Football League. That team was the Bandits and Rik was offered the job of Head Coach. He accepted, and accomplished something great for our town, he gave Richmond a championship.

The roster had talent with names that any Richmond indoor football fan would recognize. Law Lew. Redd Thompson. Robbie Jenkins. Rodney Sledge. Bryan Still. Guys that played hard every down and wanted to win more than anything else.

The Bandits cruised through the regular season, only losing one game that year, a loss to the Erie Freeze. The Bandits even put 94 points on the board against Johnstown. They were unstoppable.

The Bandits entered the playoffs with one thing on their collective minds. Get to the American Bowl and shut down the Erie Freeze.

When the Bandits did make it to the championship game, the defense completely destroyed Erie. Erie threw six interceptions and scored zero points in the second half. It was a victory Rik will never forget. When asked what his most relished memory of that 2005 season was, he answered "Getting fitted for the rings."

Rik left Richmond after that season and took various head coaching positions in the UIFL and IFL. The championship title opened doors of opportunity for him in the Mid-West. Most recently, he left his position as Head Coach of the IFL's Green Bay Blizzard where he spent the past two seasons. Rik is walking away from the sport to pursue a career in Pharmaceutical Sales, but he leaves behind a record of 82-36 and a division title every year since 2005. He was never able to replicate a championship with any other team, but that just makes his time in Richmond even more special.

He still keeps in touch with former Bandits from that magical season, including Law Lew, and even compared it to watching your own children growing up and starting their own family.

The indoor football fans of Richmond thank Rik for what he did for this city and wish him all the luck as he starts a new chapter of his life.

"I will be a Richmond Bandit for life" - Rik Richards



Professional Indoor Football League Stories from October 27, 2011


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