Rampage Aflutter with Offseason Moves
Randy Snow
Friday September 12, 2003
 Exit Michael Trigg Image courtesy of Michael Wright |
Enter new Rampage head coach Bob Cortese, who was formerly the head coach of the Oklahoma Wranglers and also the Wichita Stealth of the af2. While assembling his new coaching staff, Cortese wanted to retain Rampage offensive coordinator Sparky McEwen, who had been with the team since 2000. But McEwen turned down the offer, wanting to pursue other coaching opportunities in the league.
Next, Cortese named Michael “The Touchdown Maker” Baker as the team’s new wide receiver coach and director of player personnel. Baker was a popular wide receiver/linebacker for the Rampage for five seasons from 1998-2002. He also has over 5,000 career yards on kick returns. This will be his first coaching job in the Arena league.
 Enter Bob Cortese Image courtesy of Ryan McGhee |
At a recent gathering of Rampage season ticket holders, Bob Sack, senior vice president of sales and marketing for the team said, “The winds of change for the team really began last May when it became evident that the team was not going to have the success on the field that we had hoped.”
He was referring to the team’s five-game losing streak to end the regular season and eventual ouster in the first round of the playoffs.
“These are changes that happen in pro sports. They happen because there is a commitment on the part of those organizations, ours included, that you need to make change to win. We are committed to winning and that’s why these changes were made over the course of the summer.”
I guess that when a team has two straight years of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, some changes are inevitably called for.
OK, everyone. Take a deep breath!
30 days that changed the team
August 7 – Head coach Michael Trigg resigns
August 13 – Assistant head coach Robert Smith resigns
August 21 – New head coach Bob Cortese is introduced
August 26 – Sparky McEwen declines offensive coordinator position
August 29 – Michael Baker named wide receiver coach and director of player personnel
September 2 – Quarterback Clint Dolezel is traded to Las Vegas
Randy Snow covered the Grand Rapids Rampage of the Arena Football League for ArenaFan from 2003-2008. He also covered the Fort Wayne Fusion of arenafootball2 in 2007. From 2004-2008 and in 2010, he was a member of the Arena Football League Writer’s Association and, since 2011, has been a member of the Professional Football Researchers Association. Randy lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan but will travel just about anywhere for a football game or a great football story. He runs the web site www.theworldoffootball.com and hosts a podcast with his son, Adam, called “This Week in The World of Football.”
