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Arena football

Storm hoping veterans can lead journey back to the top

Offseason additions and returning starters give team experience.

By FRANK PASTOR
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 31, 2003

TAMPA -- Storm coach Tim Marcum took each one of his team's record nine losses last season personally.

And he didn't need anyone to remind him.

So, when a caller to his radio show, identifying himself as Al, claimed in the middle of the season that the game had passed Marcum by and that a movement was afoot to replace him with former Nashville coach Pat Sperduto, Marcum responded with the ferocity of a cornered dog.

"I'll tell you what you do, Al," Marcum said. "You go get yourself a football team, and I'll kick your a--."

This season, Marcum thinks he has the players to back up his words. And there is no better way to silence his critics than to take Tampa Bay back to the ArenaBowl, a journey that begins with tonight's home opener against Carolina.

"It's been a while since we won one around here," Marcum said. "It's time to do it."

Marcum has won six championships, including two of the Storm's four. He is the winningest coach in Arena Football League history (143-51) and is in the league's Hall of Fame.

But Tampa Bay hasn't won a championship since 1996 and hasn't played in the ArenaBowl since losing to Orlando in 1998. Last season's playoff loss to San Jose marked the fourth consecutive season the Storm failed to advance past the second round.

"It's been a long time since 1996," owner Peter "Woody" Kern said. "So, we're going to take a little run for the roses here."

The team is confident it has the right horses.

Quarterback John Kaleo is back after missing most of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Offensive specialist Freddie Solomon (Achilles' tendon) and defensive specialist Corey Sawyer (knee) also return from season-ending injuries.

Tampa Bay added about $100,000 in salary with an offseason barrage of free-agent signings and trades, focusing primarily on improving the pass rush and secondary.

Among the additions are former Orlando Predators Clif Dell (WR/LB), BJ Cohen (OL/DL) and Pat O'Hara (QB); three-time All-Star Gary Compton (WR/LB); ArenaBowl XVI Ironman Omarr Smith (DS); pass-rush specialist Kelvin Kinney (OL/DL); and a couple of players with NFL experience, Hurley Tarver (DS) and Al Lucas (OL/DL).

Cohen said he was swayed by a phone call from Marcum and the chance to win a championship.

"When he called me and told me all the guys that he signed and the guys we were bringing in, I said, "Man, it's a no-brainer. I've got to do this,' " Cohen said. "It's hard to go to a rival, but if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it with the purpose of getting a ring, and we've got the guys here to get it done."

Marcum was another selling point.

"He's very, very well respected, one of the most recognizable coaches in the league right now," said Dell, who played at the University of South Florida. The newcomers are expected to make an immediate impact. And in some ways, they already have.

With so many veterans in camp there was less need to work on fundamentals, and the emphasis was on execution.

"Last year, at the beginning of the year, we were doing a lot of teaching and telling guys what to run and what routes to look for and the coverages and different things," wide receiver/linebacker Lawrence Samuels said. "I think this year, due to free agency, we have some free agents that actually know the game."

It took nearly half of last season for the team to get up to speed. By then, it was in a 1-5 hole and needed to win five of its final eight games to sneak into the playoffs for a record 12th consecutive season.

An uncertain ownership situation made things worse.

Thomas Hopper was introduced as the Storm's new owner at a news conference before the season, but the Michigan businessman never came up with the money to buy the team. A deadline for Hopper to complete the purchase passed in December, leaving Kern as majority owner.

"The thing with Thom Hopper last year was a huge distraction," said Kern, who has taken the team off the market. "This year, it's business as usual."

Four times between 1991 and 1996, that business concluded with the raising of a championship banner. But free agency and expansion brought parity to the league and made it difficult to stay on top.

"Before, you were looking for one or two guys to come in and upgrade you," Marcum said. "Now you're looking for 10 to 12 guys, half your team, each year."

The Storm solved the problem, at least temporarily, by signing many of its free agents to two-year contracts. But not even that guarantees a return trip to the ArenaBowl.

So, what will it take?

A core of talented, veteran players committed to a common goal, which Tampa Bay appears to have. An ability to avoid injuries to key starters.

And luck, since games often are decided on the final play.

"San Jose won it all last year and had the same type of makeup that we have this year," Kaleo said. "A lot of Arena veteran-type linemen, defensive backs and receivers that know how to play. We have the same type of chemistry this year."

Coaching also plays a role. But that's one area where Kern would prefer to stand pat. Despite last season's problems, the Storm owner said Marcum can keep his job as long as he wants.

"I can't envision right now anything that would interrupt that," Kern said.

Not even another call from "Al."

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