Ewart Ends Tenure as Storm Coach with a Winning Record
Joe Kauffman
Saturday February 11, 2006
And it came down to a Georgia Force two-point conversion attempt.
With no time remaining on the clock and the Storm up 61-60, the Force lined up at the 2-1/2 yard line to go for two. But motion-man Chris Jackson clipped his fullback Robert Thomas as he approached the line of scrimmage prior to the snap of the ball, causing Thomas to come out of his stance. Before the officials could even think about finding their whistle, Ewart was screaming for a false start penalty.
"A lot of times [the officials] are not paying attention [back there], so you have to help them out when you can," Ewart remarked after the game.
He got the call, and it moved the Force back five yards. Even with the added distance, Georgia still chose to go for the win rather than risk overtime in a game that turned into a shootout. Nagy dropped back to pass, but overthrew his receiver in the corner of the end zone.
The conversion was no good, and the Storm got the one point victory.
But even as Ewart’s record as the team’s head coach improved to 3-2, he was ready for Marcum to return to the sidelines.
"I can retire now," said Ewart. "You’ve always got another game in you, but I want to get back to what I do. We want to get Coach [Marcum] back. We’re in this thing to win a championship, no matter how many coaches we’ve got."
Being a head coach is not new to Ewart, but he never had the kind of support from owners and staff that he has with the Storm. In 1996, he took over mid-season as the St. Louis Stampede’s coach after the departure of Earle Bruce and led the team to the playoffs, where they fell to the Iowa Barnstormers in the first round. That may have been the high point in his career as a head coach. The Stampede folded after the season.
Ewart moved on and became coach of the Texas Terror in 1997 and held the top job with the Florida Bobcats in their final two seasons. Not exactly the type of owner support that is going to get you into the playoffs. Having three losing seasons with the two franchises dropped his overall record to 21-30.
With a winning record, Ewart can be proud to have his name on the coaching list of the most storied franchise in Arena Football League history. The team is in its 16th year in Tampa Bay, and in that time, there have only been four coaches with their names on the list. Ewart’s name will forever be alongside Fran Curci, Lary Kuharich and Marcum.
It’s a real honor," said Ewart. "Those are some great coaches."
Joe Kauffman is President and Editor in Chief of Arenafan Online, having joined the staff in 2000. He graduated from Florida State University in 1998 with a degree in communications andbuilds ecommerce sites for a day job. Joe has enjoyed Arena Football since 1991 and has been a member of the Arena Football Internet community since 1995. Prior to Joining Arenafan, he was a co-founder and Technical Editor of the Storm Shelter, which covered the Tampa Bay Storm from 1996-99. Joe and his wife Erika live in Hackettstown, New Jersey with their two daughters.
