(I’ll start with a side note, when I was going through the coaching staff this season, I ended up doing a little more research and have re-evaluated how old coaches are when they retire. I have decided that some of the older coaches should probably retire at this point so over the next couple of seasons there is going to be a bit of a wave of retirements expected. As for my in-story reason, at this point, running a professional football team has become an increasingly demanding job and many of the older coaches are beginning to get tired from the job and are deciding to retire.)
As the 1969 NAAF offseason started to roll on, there was a lot of movement in the coaching carousel. Of course, Minnesota would need to hire an entire staff, while some others would be making some changes. Boston, after another disappointing season, are hitting the reset button yet again and have let go of their entire main staff, this includes GM Allen Hutchinson, HC Dean Reed, OC Charlie Shepard, and DC Hugo Martinez. These two seemed to be the only teams looking for new staff members, but then the rest of the league was hit with a flurry of retirements. It appears that the level of competition in the NAAF has made the coaching jobs in the NAAF a very high-demand job. So several of the older coaches have decided to put down the clipboard. The first was Roy Aguirre. The 3-time coach of the year winner and 2-time McCallister Cup winner, has finally stepped away from the sport after 11 seasons with the London Tigers. After Aguirre, came the retirement of Jimmy Sargent. Sargent was not very happy following a very disappointing 1968 season with Montreal and felt that he couldn’t put the same energy into the team that he felt was necessary. The last major coach was Indiana’s, Dannell Willis. Willis’ retirement is a bit of a surprise considering the team was in the McCallister Cup, but it was reportedly talked about at the start of the year that it might be Willis’ last. Dean Reed and Hugo Martinez also joined the other coaches in retirement, along with several other coaches not in the NAAF.
The sudden retirements spiked the number of teams in need of new staff members. The first hires would come with the Boston and Minnesota General Managers. Boston would elevate Assistant GM Richard Price to the GM role, a move that some thought might happen back when Boston was looking to replace Earnest Bryan but had instead hired Allen Hutchinson. Price is a strong scout, so a boost of young talent is expected, however, there are some concerns that Price is awfully familiar to the pretty conservative/passive Earnest Bryan.
As for Minnesota, they would hire Calvin Carpenter as their GM. Carpenter was last employed by the Louisville Thunder, where he had been for 10 seasons. Carpenter has experience managing an expansion team, having been Louisville’s first GM, which certainly is a plus for the Serpents, not to mention, Carpenter was able to get the Thunder a McCallister Cup victory by year 6. There are still concerns over Carpenter’s below-average negotiation skills, but when building a young team, a former scout may be the best thing for them.
Moving on to the head coaches, there were 5 spots to fill and plenty of candidates. Urick Wilkins was easily the most talked about candidate. He had previously been the head coach of the Mariners and was a well-liked coach for players. Buffalo OC, Soni Dionne, was also among the conversation, having built a stellar offence with the Blue Wings as well as having past experience under Joseph Curry and the Royals. There was also talk about Raiders DC Kenneth Chaney, who has continuously put out one of the league’s best defences. Recently fired Boston coach, Levi Bray, and Thunder DC, Carroll Moss, also have head coaching experience and could easily be candidates.
Wilkins was scheduled to interview with all 5 teams and was likely the top candidate for all of them. While Wilkins made the rounds, the teams would also look for a plan B, interviewing other candidates. The news about any hirings went quiet for about a week and a half as the teams waited on Wilkins’ decision. Finally, news would break and it came out of London. However, it was both expected and unexpected news. The Tigers announced that they have promoted Offensive Coordinator, Dewey Doyle to Head Coach. Doyle had been with the team for 9 seasons already and GM Joesph Johnson felt confident in keeping it within the organization. The move was expected of the Tigers, however, the unexpected was that the team never actually interviewed with Wilkins and had said Doyle was their top choice from the get-go.
It would be another couple of days, but finally, the big domino would fall. The Indiana Victors announced that Urick Wilkins had agreed to an extension with the club that would make him the Head Coach of the team. Wilkins decided to stay with Indy, considering it was probably the best situation of the bunch being the only true contender, while it also remained relatively close to his hometown of Detroit.
After the Wilkins news, the rest of the teams started to find their coaches. Minnesota would be the next to hire a coach, outbidding the Rouge for Blue Wings’ OC, Soni Dionne. Dionne hasn’t been a head coach since 1959, but has gained a lot of experience since then and should be a great addition to the young team. Montreal would fall back into plan B, hiring Halifax Mariners’ OC Alfred Deniau. It appears the Rouge wanted to return to having a French Canadian coach again and were pursuing both Dionne and Deniau. Being in Halifax, Deniau had flown under the radar, but Montreal GM Martin Gagneaux had noticed the strong offensive play from the Mariners throughout their playoff run.
Boston was the only team yet to hire a Head Coach and the rumours had them in talks with former Boston DC Carroll Moss, and Raider DC, Kenneth Chaney. In the end, the Independents would take the gamble and go with Kenneth Chaney as the next head coach, making their last two major hirings, both of the former Raiders coordinators (Levi Bray being the other). Chaney should make a difference on defence, the clear weakness of the Independents over the last couple of seasons.
With all the GMs and Head Coaches in place, the coordinator spots would end up being filled. Boston would hire a pair of veteran coaches in OC Theodore Ortiz and DC George Mitchell. Mitchell had previously coached with Providence in 1965, while Ortiz hadn’t been employed in the NAAF since 1958, but had a strong showing at Majeure Montreal University this season.
Buffalo would end up hiring Levi Bray as their new OC, which might be the steal of the offseason, as Bray, despite not getting along with Braddock in Boston, is still a very smart coach and could make the Blue Wings even tougher to beat next season.
Halifax would replace Alfred Deniau with Don Neuman. Neuman had connections with Mariners’ HC Ben McMillan from his time in Boston before he had taken on a job with the Boston Shamrocks (ACFL). Neuman lost his job and was able to find a new one with McMillan. Neuman is a tactician and should bring a new spin on the Mariners’ offence next season, however, there are concerns over his somewhat cold communication style.
Indiana would add Haynes University Coach, Colton Forrest, to replace the promoted Wilkins as Defensive Coordinator. Forrest’s expertise is in coverage which should balance well with Wilkins’ strength as a run-stopper.
London would hire former Boston OC Charlie Shepard. Dewey Doyle is still expected to be the primary play caller, while Shepard, a former ACFL QB, will be a great addition for younger players, especially QBs.
Long Island would fill the gap left by Kenneth Chaney with up-and-coming coach Theo Espinoza. Espinoza had been on a lot of team’s radars at Brooklyn Metropolitan University, including the ACFL’s. However, his connection to Wayne Tillman lands him with the Raiders. Espinoza is believed to have the potential of being a head coach at some point in his career and might be a move for the future by the Raiders.
Minnesota would add to Dionne with a pair of interesting hires. At offensive coordinator, they would hire Tim Bakersfield away from Montreal. The Rouge had decided to look around at other options for coordinators but had reportedly asked Bakersfield to inevitably come back, but he didn’t like that he was potentially going to be replaced and left for Minnesota. Along with Bakersfield also came former NAAF Safety, Frazier Brooks, who would become the team’s DC. Brooks is a very intelligent player that knows defences inside and out. Sure he needs some experience, but he could be a very strong hire by the Serpents. Brooks also has connections with Bakersfield, having been with the Blue Wings when Bakersfield was coaching there.
With Bakersfield gone, Montreal would end up hiring Louis Jonsson, a semi-pro coach for the Quebec City Knights. Jonsson is a strong teacher and development coach while Deniau will deal with the offence. Montreal didn’t stop there, they also let go of DC Louis Batteau and replaced him with Majeure Montreal DC, Jordan Sauveterre. Sauveterre is not the strongest coach but has helped a lot of Majeure Montreal students get to the next level, so should help with the younger talent on defence.
Overview
Boston
OUT
GM Allen Hutchinson
IHC Dean Reed - Retire
OC Charlie Shepard
DC Hugo Martinez - Retire
IN
GM Richard Price - From BOS Assistant GM
HC Kenneth Chaney - From LI DC
OC Theodore Ortiz - From Majeure Montreal HC
DC George Mitchell - From RISU DC
Buffalo
OUT
OC Soni Dionne
IN
OC Levi Bray
Halifax
OUT
OC Alfred Deniau
IN
DC Don Neuman
Indiana
OUT
HC Dannell Willis - Retire
IN
HC Urick Wilkins - From IND DC
DC Colton Forrest - From Haynes HC
London
OUT
HC Roy Aquirre - Retire
IN
HC Dewey Doyle - From LDN OC
OC Charlie Shepard - From BOS OC
Long Island
OUT
DC Kenneth Chaney
IN
DC Theo Espinoza
Minnesota
IN
GM Calvin Carpenter - From Daniel Boone Athletic Director
HC Soni Dionne - From BUF OC
OC Tim Bakersfield - From MTL OC
DC Frazier Brooks - From Haynes DC
Montreal
OUT
HC Jimmy Sargent - Retire
OC Tim Bakersfield
DC Louis Batteau
IN
HC Alfred Deniau - From HFX OC
OC Louis Jonsson - From Quebec City Knights (ECSFL)
DC Jordan Sauveterre - From Majeur Montreal DC
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