WASHINGTON — A new coach always brings a sense of optimism and excitement to a franchise. But there’s nothing like being the inaugural coach.
We don’t know much yet about the new Washington Arena Football Team, part of the Monumental Sports and Entertainment family. But we know they’ll play at Verizon Center starting in 2017, and now we know their new head coach — AFL veteran Dean Cokinos.
A college running back at University of Massachusetts Boston, he went undrafted and went back to his alma mater as an assistant. He made his AFL coaching debut in 2003 and won the ArenaCup in 2008. Now a veteran of the indoor, high-speed, high-intensity format, he’s right at home identifying talent and is looking forward to his fresh start in D.C.
“Yeah, it’s awesome on so many different levels,” Cokinos (pronounced co-KEEN-ose) told WTOP in a visit to the station Monday. “Getting in early and having the opportunity to use this time wisely to set up is a huge advantage for us to do it right.”
Many times, the process for the first season is rushed. But Cokinos has a full year to hire his staff and begin scouting players for the 2017 season. He hopes the draw of a big city and a venue like the Verizon Center will help sell prospective players on joining him.
“That’s a huge part of the attraction,” he said. “It’s a great place for entertainment.”
In addition to the smaller field, rosters are also condensed in the AFL, as the team carries just 21 gameday players, compared to 53 in the NFL. That means some players in the 8-on-8 format play both offense and defense. But it doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities out there for players looking for a shot to play professional ball.
“For us, it’s all about going out to these NFL camps, these CFL camps,” Cokinos said. “Those bubble guys? Those are our guys.”
But they also plan to take players from an open tryout this fall. Out of an initial group of maybe 10 who will get invited to camp, Cokinos expects two or three to make the final cut from the open tryout.
“We always grab guys out of those open tryouts who end up making our roster,” he said.
Listen in to our full chat with Coach Cokinos above, which will also serve as recorded history that we are holding Monumental Sports & Entertainment CCO Kurt Kehl to his word to announce the name of the new franchise, once decided, live on WTOP.