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Shake up on Thunder sidelines
Thunder vs. Iron
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af2 teams Mahoning Valley Thunder and Milwaukee Iron compete Saturday, April 4 at the Chevrolet Centre. The Thunder lost, 59-39. Both teams moved to 1-1 on the season. Wide Receiver CJ Brewer caught 10 passes for 101 yards in front of 3,465 fans in attendance.
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Mahoning Valley Thunder coach Mike Hold
Talons at Thunder
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Clips from the Tulsa Talons vs. Mahoning Valley Thunder game at the Chevrolet Centre Saturday, April 25.
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The Mahoning Valley Thunder practice at the Chevey Centre on Tuesday March 25, 2009.
Defensive coordinator Brennen Booth is named interim
By JOHN BASSETTI
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
Brennen Booth said it was bittersweet when he was elevated to replace Mike Hold as coach of the Mahoning Valley Thunder on Tuesday.
“You want the opportunity, but you never want it to happen at the expense of a friend,” Booth said of assuming Hold’s position.
“Taking the place of the person who brought you here and trusted you and thought you’d do a good job is bittersweet. We were good friends and still are good friends.”
Dr. Jon Saadey, one of the tri-owners of the Thunder, said the decision to fire Hold was a unanimous decision, along with Dr. Michael Slyk and Tim Chesney.
“We all agreed that it was the right thing to do at this time,” Saadey said. “When you start 1-4, that’s not the way you want to start. The good thing is that Mike Hold has put together a fairly good group of guys with good talent and I think we can win with it. He hasn’t won, so that falls on him.”
Saadey said the move was not on the owners’ minds entering the season.
“It was not done quickly or lightly, but we finally realized that we have to get this ship going in a different direction. We’re all pretty comfortable with the decision though.”
Hold’s record since the team’s inception in March 2007 was 11-26. He did not return a call requesting comment.
Although interim, this is the first head coaching position — college or arena — for the 36-year-old Booth, who coached the Thunder’s fullbacks and linebackers, as well as its offensive and defensive lines. He also coordinated the defense.
Booth arrived in the Valley on March 1 after three years with the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League.
With the Force, Booth also coached the fullbacks, linebackers and offensive and defensive lines. He also was also special teams coordinator.
The Kennesaw (Ga.) State graduate started coaching in the AFL with the Nashville Kats and Carolina Cobras.
Booth also spent several seasons coaching at the college level, including a stint with at the University of Louisville.
Although Booth’s playing days were as an offensive lineman, he developed a preference for the defensive side of the ball.
He was an offensive line coach in college, but once he moved into Arena ball, six of the eight positions, at the time, had to do double duty.
“That’s when I learned how to coach the defensive line, too, and I liked that side a lot.”
His last 11-man coaching position was as defensive line coach for the University of Arkansas-Monticello.
“I still love coaching the offensive line, but, overall, my forte has kind of become the defensive side. I ended up going in that direction.”
Brennen, a native of Louisville, Ky., lives in Duluth Ga.
As Mahoning Valley’s head coach, Booth has two areas of immediate concern.
“The emphasis will be on certain things like [prevention of] extending series on defense and taking care of ball on offense,” he said.
When Hold was released, he was the team’s offensive coordinator, so Booth responded by bringing in Andy Kelly.
“He’s going to help these guys develop,” Booth said of the new assistant’s role for quarterbacks Davon Vinson and Blake Powers. “He played 15 seasons in Arena 1 and he’s got a lot of records — like No. 4 all-time in touchdown passes and No. 1 in completions,” Booth said of Kelly. “He’s played in Arena Bowls and he’s got a lot of experience.”
Kelly was going to be the Force’s offensive coordinator until the AFL suspended play for one year.
“Andy would have thrown a lot of passes in the stands if a play didn’t develop as planned,” Booth said, giving a hint of what nuances might be in store. “In Arena, it’s so fast that there’s five or six seconds to decide where to throw. If a play’s not there, don’t try to make something spectacular happen — just throw it in the stands and we’ll play another down.”
Booth said his personality, alone, may have an impact.
“Me being more demanding of them [players] will, hopefully, transpire into better performance on the field. If not, we’ve got to make moves.”
With a 1-4 record, the business part of the game becomes evident.
“The organization doesn’t want to put a product on the field that won’t perform. It’s got to live up to expectations.”
Timing was of the essence behind the firing of Hold, Thunder general manager Adam Tokash said.
“We felt now was the time to make a move before we got into the same situation as last year,” Tokash said of the Thunder, which went 3-13 in 2008.
“Now, we’re only five games into the season, so there’s still time to make changes so the season is not lost,” Tokash said. “We’re showing our commitment to winning and giving Mahoning Valley something they can be proud of on the field on Friday and Saturday nights at the Chevy Centre.”
Booth said that the responsibilities of his new position have kicked in, especially with Saturday’s game at Albany.
“I’ve never been in this position before, so it was a little awkward for me because I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. Now I’ve got to take all the phone calls and e-mails and deal with the personnel. I’m handling the whole thing. Now I’m putting together the full practice schedule.
“The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind, but we don’t have much time. I’m lucky I found Andy [Kelly]. That’s fortunate because I needed an offensive coordinator. I think we’ll be successful this weekend, but we’ve got to get into a groove in the next couple days.”
Tokash clarified Booth’s job title.
“We’re looking at some other people down the road, but Brennen is going to have an opportunity to show what he can do and show what kind of coach he could be. That was his goal.
“We’re hoping he’s the guy long-term, but he does have the interim tag because we’re looking at all our options and he’ll have the opportunity to succeed.
“We love his passion for the game and the players seem to rally around him, so we look forward to that change,” Tokash said.
bassetti@vindy.com