Building Experience in Cape Fear
Michael Vergane
Monday January 7, 2002
To take it a step further, the same could be said of expansion franchises. A look back to last season shows that most af2 expansion teams, save Columbus, improved as the season progressed.
The goal of the 2002 af2 expansion franchises are to accelerate the learning curve and play like an experienced franchise in April and May. After all, there are eight divisions to be won.
With that in mind, Cape Fear (Fayetteville, NC) Wildcats Owner Roddy Jones appointed Wilbur Christy as the G.M. of his new af2 franchise. Christy previously served as the Director of Football Operations for Jones’ AFL Carolina Cobras.
The 25-year old Christy quickly assembled an experienced staff beginning with the Director of Ticket Operations, Johnathan Mitchell.
Mitchell returns to his native Fayetteville with two years experience at Augusta and Carolina (AFL).
Media Relations Director, Emerson Phillips, is also an af2 veteran in his third season. He spent the 2000 season in Augusta as the Stallions play-by-play voice and moved to Macon last season in a similar role.
Obviously, the major hiring for Christy would be that of the Wildcats new head coach. He had one particular coach in mind, as did Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and others. But on November 8th, Christy got his coach.
Only one expansion team, the Macon Knights, made the af2 playoffs in 2001. It should be no surprise that GM Wilbur Christy chose the Offensive Coordinator of the high scoring Knights as the man to lead the Wildcats.
From player to head coach.
If there is one head coach in the af2 that knows the psyche of the af2 player, it is the new head coach of the Cape Fear Wildcats, Chris Siegfried.
Siegfried was a WR/DB with the 13-3 Augusta Stallions in 2000. Last season, he made the transition to the bench as the Offensive Coordinator of the 10-6 Macon Knights.
As the first former af2 player to become head coach, Siegfried appears to be the perfect fit for GM Wilbur Christy. Along with knowing the game as a player and coach, Christy also has someone who has been associated with winning franchises, and knows what it takes to get there in the af2.
So what kind of demeanor will Siegfried display as a head coach?
He has two good examples to draw from.
“The two people I learned from are Kevin Porter and Mike Neu”, said Siegfried of his bosses the past two seasons. “I like a lot of what both of those guys do. Mike is real strict; no earrings and no hats. Kevin is a bit different in that regard, but still demands respect.”
“I believe that the main thing is to be honest with your players. I’ll probably be more strict than the average coach only because I hate it when players are late for meetings.”
And being a former player, Siegfried knows the $200 a week lifestyle, but doesn’t want to hear it as an excuse from his players.
“If I hear them complaining about the money and needing to make more, I’ll tell them that I’ve been there and done that. In fact I’ve done it with a wife and son at home.”
“If you believe in this system you’ll realize as a player that you’re here to develop your talents and to get to the next level. And if a player tells me he should be making more, I’ll tell him, “If you should, you would. And if you’re not making more, you need to get yourself in a position to.”
The tough road ahead.
Cape Fear has been placed into the Atlantic Division of the American Conference; a 5-team division where the Wildcats find themselves as the lone expansion team. Their rivals include Greensboro, Roanoke, Norfolk and Richmond who are all members of the ‘original 15’ class of 2000.
This puts added emphasis on the experience factor, and the ability to keep the team righted in the early season. Chris Siegfried saw that first-hand as an assistant with Macon last season.
In Macon’s debut season, the Knights began their season with a tough schedule of six games against non-expansion teams. By beginning the year with a 3-3 record, the Knights were in a position to make a run for the playoffs in the second half of the season.
Obviously, the addition of quarterback Mike Gluski had much to do with the 10-6 regular season record, but the pieces were already put in place by the coaching staff.
The job of Chris Siegfried is to put the pieces together in the pre-season and hope the Wildcats can stay in contention until the rookies no longer play like rookies.
Michael Vergane was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2002.
