The Kent Predators new pro indoor football team hired Brian Brents Thursday as vice president of operations.
In the industry, he’s a known quantity, not to mention a major coup for Kent.
He was the 2009 Indoor Football League coach of the year for the expansion El Paso Generals last season.
Brents will help select a head coach for the Predators. Team officials expect to name a coach later this month.
“Not only is Brian well-regarded amongst his peers within the sport, he also has experience establishing an expansion franchise into a proven winner,” said Predators president and co-owner Chris Kokalis, in a media release. “We are confident that he will continue his success and bring a winning attitude to the organization.”
The Predators make their home debut in the Indoor Football League March 12 against the Fairbanks Grizzlies at the ShoWare Center. Kent opens the season Feb. 28 at Billings, Mont.
The league started last spring with 19 teams and plans to field 26 teams in 2010. The league, based in Richmond, Va., was created in 2008 with the merger of the Intense Football League and the United Indoor Football League. The 14-game regular season runs from March through June.
Brents, a native of Crane, Texas, led El Paso to a top-three league ranking in passing yards, total offense and points per game. The Generals had a 12-2 record.
“I am really excited to get this thing going with Chris and (co-owner) Ken (Moninski),” Brents said. “We have a lot of work to do in the next month, and fans should expect the announcement of a coach and additional player signings very soon.”
Kent has signed 15 players so far to compete at training camp in February.
The Predators plan to conduct more tryouts this month in an effort to form a 45-man roster for training camp. The dates and places of those tryouts remain to be determined.
Twenty-five players, including four inactive members, will make the roster for the eight-on-eight games played on a 50-yard field with no punting. Players who make the team will receive $225 per game and a $25 bonus if the Predators win.
For more information, go to www.kentpredators.com.
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