Before the Power's most recent game, co-owner Matt Shaner praised coach Chris Siegfried for his work ethic and said the team's poor record didn't “reflect his abilities as a head coach.”Less than 48 hours later, Shaner lost patience with his last-place team Monday and fired Siegfried, who was 2-8 this year after missing the 2011 playoffs in the Power's expansion season. Siegfried, who was in his 11th season as an indoor football coach, was 11-17 with the Power.
“It just didn't work out,” Shaner said. “We aren't in a position I feel we need to be in.”Siegfried will be replaced by defensive coordinator Derek Stingley, who was 3-15 last season as head coach of the AFL's New Orleans VooDoo. In addition, the Power hired former Steelers quarterback Mike Tomczak as offensive coordinator. Siegfried had called all of the offensive plays for the Power.
Tomczak, 49, played 15 seasons in the NFL, retiring after the 2001 season, but his only coaching experience was in 2010 as a volunteer at Division II Ohio Dominican.
“I am pumped to get in front of the projector and break down some film, like in the old days,” said Tomczak, who lives in Sewickley.
But he admitted, “This will be all new to me.”
Before he fired Siegfried, Shaner said he was speaking to Tomczak about joining the staff as a consultant to help work on timing and recognition issues in the passing game. The team's losing streak reached five games Saturday in a 43-37 loss to the previously winless Kansas City Command.
“This is a quarterback-driven league and the defenses are at a disadvantage most of the time,” Tomczak said. “The bottom line is you have to make plays.”The Power has gone through nine quarterbacks in the first 28 games of its existence, thanks to injuries, ineffectiveness and labor-management strife.
Siegfried was eager to work with veteran Kyle Rowley, but he was fired March 9 along with the rest of the team when the players' union threatened to strike during the Power's opener in Orlando, Fla. Most players were asked to return, but Rowley, who was the Power's union representative, was not among them.
Subsequently, the Power lost quarterbacks Andrico Hines and Bill Stull to injuries and struggled with Derek Cassidy and Bryan Randall running the offense.
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at jdipaola@tribweb.com or 412-320-7997.
