Post by Gene on Jun 9, 2007 6:57:06 GMT -5
Reading coach Kelly Logan, who had a tough act to follow, replacing Ollie Guidry, has guided his team to the No. 1 seed in the Northern Conference. By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle
6/9/2007
The departure of coach/general manager Ollie Guidry cast a cloud of doubt over the Reading Express prior to the team’s second season.
Would the Express be able to duplicate the 13-3 season it enjoyed during its 2006 expansion season? Would the team falter without the innovative offensive engineer who used his football contacts to build a division championship team in just one year?
Two people who never doubted the Express would continue to roll were Guidry and Kelly Logan, the coach Guidry hired as his last act as the team’s general manager.
Six months later, the Express is back in the American Indoor Football Association Northern Conference playoffs as the No. 1 seed.
Reading (14-2) will host the Pittsburgh RiverRats (7-7) tonight at 7 at the Sovereign Center in the conference semifinals.
Logan was the defensive coordinator under Guidry last season when the Express won the regular season Northern Conference title and advanced to the conference championship game.
“I’m glad that Ollie picked me to be the head coach for this team,” Logan said. “I guess he knew before he left that I would probably be the best person for this job.”
With the exception of seeing the burly Logan on the field discussing each play with quarterback Tom Stetzer instead of the slender Guidry, fans have seen little change.
Reading repeated as the regular season champ and continued to pile up big offensive numbers with Stetzer throwing to Carmelo Ocasio, Ian Cooper and Shawn Foxworth.
“For the most part there are a lot of similarities in their coaching styles,” Stetzer said. “The bottom line is both of them got the job done. Both guys I have a ton of respect for.”
Linebacker Matt Sola is among those not surprised Logan was able to keep the Express among the elite teams in the AIFA. In addition to working closely with Logan on the defensive side of the ball last year, Sola also played for a Team USA squad that Logan helped coach during a tour of Europe.
Logan was replaced as defensive coordinator by Steve Gaunt, last year’s defensive line coach.
“I miss him over on the defensive side,” Sola said. “But he’s taken care of our offense right. It’s been a little bit of a change, but for the most part we’re still running the same, basic stuff. We’ve got enough guys here that know the game well enough to be able to go out there and play.”
The biggest differences between Guidry and Logan are behind the scenes. Guidry, who lived in Reading, was responsible for the off-field operations in addition to his coaching duties.
Logan, 40, is focused on coaching. He lives in Burlington, N.J., and commutes to practices three to four night a week.
Bernie Nowotarski, who was assistant general manager to Guidry last year as well as defensive backs coach, took over the GM duties.
“There are some subtle personality differences,” Nowotarski said comparing the two coaches. “There’s not a whole lot different in the way we prepare and do things, some little changes here and there.”
The thing that has remained the same is the team’s commitment to winning and pursuit of the league championship.
“We’re just really excited about the playoff season,” Logan said.
•Contact Brian Rippey at 610-371-5070 or brippey@readingeagle.com.