Danny White came out of retirement to take on a major challenge. He accepted the assignment to put together an Arena Football League roster from scratch in a city unfamiliar with the game and then coach those players while trying to give the upstart franchise a strong foundation to build on.
Will White and the Utah Blaze be successful?
Even he isn't certain.
"I don't know (if the AFL is here to stay in Utah)," said White, the general manager/coach of the Blaze. "I hope so, but we'll have to wait and see."
While it may take years to see if the Blaze can make it in Utah, the waiting is almost over as far as seeing the Blaze take the field for an actual game. The season — and franchise — opener will be Saturday night in San Jose against the SaberCats. The home opener will be the following Saturday. The 16-game regular season will end in May.
While White is unsure if the AFL will ultimately take off in Utah, he is optimistic that it will.
"It's a perfect match. Salt Lake is a football town," said White. "They love their football here and they don't have professional football — or any football in the spring. So, if that means anything at all and if we can put a competitive team on the field, then I think it is here to stay."
White is best known nationwide for being a Pro Bowl quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys in the early 1980s. But in AFL hotbed cities, he's known as a coaching legend. White is the second-winningest coach in the 19-year history of the league with 141 victories. In 13 years leading the Arizona Rattlers, White guided his teams to 12 winning seasons, five ArenaBowls and two ArenaBowl titles. He's already been inducted to the AFL's Hall of Fame.
White took last season off from coaching but just couldn't stay away from the AFL. He accepted a job from Blaze owners Robert and John Garff to get the expansion Utah team off on the right foot.
To that end, he went out and acquired a handful of players he was familiar with from his days with the Rattlers. Siaha Burley was the biggest name — and highest paid — free agent the Blaze landed. Burley, an offensive specialist — which means he's a receiver that doesn't have to play defense — scored a league-high 46 touchdowns last season. In a 16-game season, that's just less than three TDs per game.
"Danny White is a great coach," Burley said. "He's why I'm here. He knows the arena game, inside and out."
White also brought in Joe Germaine, who was the Rattlers' backup quarterback last season. The former Ohio State star saw plenty of action, throwing 40 TD passes with just seven interceptions a year ago. Defensive specialist Kelvin Hunter and receiver/defensive back Orshawante Bryant are also former Rattlers. All of those players are expected to play key roles for the Blaze.
Hans Olsen, the colorful former BYU player who is the nephew of ex-NFL great Merlin Olsen, was picked up to anchor the lines when his team, the New Orleans Voodoo, ceased operations for the season due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Olsen, a three-year veteran in the AFL, feels the Blaze just may have what it takes to compete right from the start — especially since they have White on their side.
"We match up man-wise (to other AFL teams)," said Olsen. "We have a better match-up coaching wise. Now we just need to see how we match up team-wise."
While expansion teams generally take lumps in their first years, it's not uncommon for AFL newcomers to be decent right away. New Orleans, for instance, went 11-5 and won its division in its first year of existence in 2004.
"It takes awhile to get everything installed, but we're getting people on the same page and for the most part we are doing pretty well," said Germaine.
White likes the talent level of his team in the skill positions but is a little apprehensive due to his linemen's relative lack of experience.
"The play of our lines definitely will be the key to how far we go," said White. "Pass protection and rushing the passer are huge in this league."
One of the newcomers to the arena game is ex-Ute Garrett Smith, who went on to play in the Canadian Football League. A defensive lineman in college and the pros, Smith has been getting readjusted to having to block on offense since most AFL players play on both sides of the ball. He's not complaining, though.
"This is a much faster game," Smith said with a smile. "I like it."
Fans, without knowing a whole lot about it, seem to like it, too. The Blaze report that nearly 8,000 season tickets have been sold — which is well more than Real Salt Lake sold last season. Since the Delta Center was built for basketball — and not for indoor football or hockey — the sight-lines aren't the best. But the Delta Center will be configured to seat 13,200 fans. Sellouts to many of the eight home games this season — including the opener on Feb. 4 against the Dallas Desperadoes — are expected.
What should folks look to expect when they watch a game in the Delta Center or on TV?
"Fans will see a lot of collisions, some great plays — great passes, great catches, great tackles," said White. "This is just kind of compressed football. My experience in the league is that you will see more big plays in one game than you would see in two or three traditional football games. It's very fast paced and it will be nonstop action from when the game starts until when it ends."
AFL crowds are also right up on the action. So much so, that it's sometimes disconcerting.
"Last year we were in Dallas and we were lined up to cover a kick and a guy from the crowd actually reached back and grabbed my jersey as I started to run," Olsen said. "I turned around and looked at him and the ball was already kicked. The ref didn't even see it and the fan was just sitting there laughing. It was horrible."
Another time, Olsen said, a fan in Austin brought a blow horn. Olsen, as the offensive center, would step up to the ball while his QB was calling the signals and the fan would blow the horn. He got him to jump offsides three times.
"It was so annoying," Olsen said.
That being said, Olsen likes the fact the crowds get so into the games and are right in on the action. He said AFL crowds are "completely different" and "so much more active" than in the NFL.
White certainly enjoys the interaction with the fans — and with the players who make up the league. The Arizona native and former Arizona State star took the Rattlers job 15 years ago "because it was a chance to get into coaching and get back to Arizona."
He never expected to still be involved in the AFL a decade and a half later.
"I've just developed a passion for the game and the players," White explained. "And nothing has come along that I can get as excited about to replace it. So I'm going to continue to do it, enjoy it and continue coaching as long as I can."
And for now, at least, that will be with the Utah Blaze.
Blazing football
Utah Blaze at San Jose SaberCats
Saturday, 8:30 p.m.
TV: FSN
Radio: 1280 AM
E-mail: lojo@desnews.com