Looking at the Cobras 2004 Season from the Coaches’ Eyes
Chuck DiLullo
Saturday July 3, 2004
The season quickly deteriorated from there. The Cobras returned home and quickly lost four games in a row, costing popular head coach Eddie Khayat his job. Veteran coach John Gregory took over but was unable to change the team’s course and was fired after four games. The Cobras were left no other choice but to turn to Ron Selesky to guide the team through the last six games on an interim basis.
Ron Selesky immediately embraced the challenge and made some very tough personnel changes to swing the momentum in a direction that would end the season in a positive direction. Coach Selesky’s decisions and his conviction to stand by those decisions led to a team that was in utter disarray to pull together and end the season 3-3 under his guidance while proving that the Cobras had a core group of players that were capable of challenging in the Arena Football League. In fact, Ron Selesky is the only head coach in the team’s history that does not have a losing record.
The core includes quarterback Ricky Foggie and team MVP Damien Groce, defensive specialists Fred Vinson, Henry Baker and Glenn Davis, and veteran ironman Jarrick Hillery, along with a number of young players that emerged during the course of the 2004 season, including lineman Brian Ray, who started the season on the practice squad, fullback/linebacker Chris Pope and lineman Troy Pelshak, who suffered a season ending injury late in the year.
I had a chance to sit down with Selesky and defensive coordinator Mo Blanding to garner their thoughts on the 2004 season.
ArenaFan: What is your impression of this past season and what are you taking away from it to build on for the 2005 season?
Selesky: When you look at everything we have gone through, with the turmoil, change and turnover, going 3-3 over the final six games was definitely something we can carry over as a positive considering where we were after ten games and how we ended the season.
Blanding: This was a very challenging season. The season started off with such promise, but changes had to be made and I am so proud of the guys in the way they responded and proud of coach Selesky in having the courage to make the needed changes to give the team a chance to win.
ArenaFan: What did you learn during this volatile season that will improve you as a coach in the future?
Selesky: It proved to me that I definitely have the leadership skills to put a team in a position to win football games no matter what the circumstances are. I know I can build a team and put it in a direction where it can be competitive. One of things I am most proud of was the ability to gage where our team was at when I took over and to make the changes to put the team in the best position to win and, to their credit, they responded.
Blanding: As a coach, I can say I went through a lot, but I can also say I learned a lot, which will strengthen me as a coach in seasons to come. I have learned a great deal of how to handle adversity, but more importantly I have learned a lot about defensive play calling and personnel issues, especially from Ron. The turnover in coaches is something I have been around as a player in college where I went through four different head coaches in four seasons, but it is different when you are around that type of change when a member of the coaching staff.
ArenaFan: Who was your biggest surprise on the field this season?
Selesky: There were a lot of guys that I can point to because most of the guys did what we expected them to, it was just a change in putting them in a better position to win. One of the most pleasant surprises was the play of DS Fred Vinson. Fred developed a true feel for this game, playing one of the toughest spots. He never had played in the AFL before and quickly elevated his game, and his upside is tremendous.
Blanding: One guy that sticks out in my mind that played better and better every game was fullback/linebacker Chris Pope. He is a guy that I fell in love with. He is truly a football player that just found a way to make plays. He didn’t have the gaudy stats but he has to be one of the top three fullbacks in the league right now.
ArenaFan: Who was your team MVP?
Selesky: The team voted for Damien Groce as MVP and Jarrick Hillery as Ironman of the Year. My choice for Ironman would probably have been Chris Pope. My MVP would have been Todd Doxzon, and I say this not because he was a leader in receptions and touchdowns, but because when I made changes as head coach I benched him and put him back as a two-way player as opposed to the offensive specialist and he did nothing but continue to do what he always did: be productive and lead by example.
Blanding: I think Groce was the MVP but I agree with Ron that Doxzon was not far behind. I definitely would have selected Pope as my Ironman.
ArenaFan: What is your plan during the off-season to build this team for the 2005 season?
Selesky: I have never been around a collective group of guys that were as genuinely excited to come back and play as this group. My top priority is to identify who is our core that we can build on and right now that consists of about 18 to 20 guys, which is a pretty significant number. Coach Blanding and I want them back and we feel we have the financial capability to get them back.
Blanding: We actually drew up our list of the core players separately and when we came together we only differed on one guy, so Ron and I are definitely on the same page on the foundation we have to build on during the off-season.
ArenaFan: Are there any injuries from the season that will linger into next year?
Selesky: As of right now everyone should be back at 100% and should be ready to go next season.
ArenaFan: What has to be done differently to bring the Cobras more into the consciousness of the Charlotte community to build on the fan base?
Selesky: We need to establish continuity and stability and that will establish an identity. We need to utilize the players that are here. The fans want to see the players and the coaches and that is one of the key ways you are going to build a loyal fan base. You look at teams like Tampa, San Jose and Arizona where they have a presence in the community, a big part of that is that they win on a perennial basis and they win because they bring back the same core group of players that contribute both to success on the field but also to an identity in the community off the field.
Blanding: I think the best thing that can be done is to move as quickly as possible to sign the core group of players we have identified and get them integrated into the community as soon as possible. I would like to see us get more exposure in the local press and radio but we have to win to gain their attention and we know that.
ArenaFan: Who do you see as the Cobras main rivalry with the new makeup of the league?
Selesky: I think our best rivalry will wind up being Philly. They are a divisional team and we beat them twice in their first season. They will definitely be looking to atone for that in 2005. During our visit to Philly, their fans were all over me and that was a really fun place to play.
ArenaFan: Do you want to see the divisional playoff format change now that a divisional champion has been precluded from post-season play?
Selesky: I feel personally that the reason you have divisions in the first place is to reward the winner of the division with a post-season appearance. I also thought it was counter-productive to drop the number of playoff teams down to eight.
Blanding: You have to have the divisional champions in the playoffs. There is no other professional sport where this happens, everyone who winds up on top of their division, regardless of their record, is rewarded and I hope that is what happens in our league.
ArenaFan: Mo, what is the attraction to returning to the Cobras having been here through two difficult seasons?
Blanding: Knowing that I’ll be able to coach under a head coach that has a unique understanding of putting players in a position to win and has proven personnel experience, and to do so with a core group of players who have the talent and desire to do nothing but win is going to be exciting.
ArenaFan: Grade the offense this past season both overall and under your direction.
Selesky: Overall, I’d say probably a “D”. There were times when we were very good, but there were also times we were terrible and that lack of continuity hurt us. Over the last six games I would grade us at a “B-“. We were able to establish continuity even with the changes at key positions to be productive enough to win half our games.
ArenaFan: Grade the line play on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
Selesky: The play was fairly consistent, I’d grade their play at a “B”.
Blanding: I’d also grade their play at a “B”. They played well even in the face of some injuries.
ArenaFan: Grade the play of the defense this past season.
Selesky: Overall, I would grade our performance at a “D”. We did improve over the last part of the season to a “C+”. We were challenged all year in developing continuity because of injuries, personnel changes and changes in coaches and philosophies. When John [Gregory] took over he wanted us to play a certain coverage scheme that was not very well suited to the personnel we had in the secondary, but when Mo and I changed the defensive specialist personnel and scheme we saw not spectacular play but steady play that contributed to us improving our overall level of defensive play.
Blanding: Overall, I would grade our play at a “D”. We did improve over the last couple of games, but we had too much turnover and too many injuries to have any chance on developing the continuity needed to play good defense in this league.
The Cobras enter the off-season knowing they have a core group of players to build on and coaches who have the ability to identify personnel and to develop schemes that will allow the team to challenge in the 2005 season. I look forward to monitoring the progress of the team in the off-season and to witnessing the building of a team and staff that will provide the Cobras with the first winning season in team history.
Chuck DiLullo works for a manufacturer of process control instrumentation as a sales engineer. He has been a fan of professional, college and high school football since he could walk. Chuck is originally from Philadelphia and he became a huge Arena Football League fan while living in Buffalo. Chuck has lived in Charlotte since 2000 with his wife & three children.
