BREAKING: Thunder fire Coach Sauk

[DiamondThief]

In a surprise move just two days prior to the start of free agency, the Thunder announced they have let go Coach Matthew Sauk, citing the team is looking for a "fresh face" to lead the franchise beginning with its second season. The announcement was made by Team President Brian Sandy.

Sauk led the Thunder to a 5-13 record and playoff berth -- the first ever playoff berth for an arena football team from Portland. No announcement has been made regarding the fates of Defensive Coordinator Will Mulder and Line Coach Clay Harrell.

From the Thunder's official press release:

Clackamas, Ore. – Portland Thunder President Brian Sandy announced today that Head Coach Matthew Sauk has been relieved of his duties.

“We are thankful for the contributions Matt made to our organization in our inaugural season. However, at this time, we feel we need a fresh face and voice to lead our team moving forward” explained Sandy. “We wish Matt and his family the very best as he moves on in his football career.”

In his singular season with the club, Sauk guided the expansion Portland Thunder to a 5-13 regular season record and a franchise first playoff appearance against the Arizona Rattlers.

The Thunder will issue a media alert regarding the franchise’s coaching situation Wednesday morning.

To read the entire article, click here


UPDATE: Sources are telling me that Sauk's successor will be Mike Hohensee, who just finished a three-year head coaching stint with the Iowa Barnstormers (who, incidentally, have left the AFL to compete in the IFL beginning in the 2015 season). If this rumor is true, the Thunder would be the ninth arena football team to call Hohensee its head coach. He has an overall head coaching record of 153-147 in the regular season and 12-12 in the playoffs. He was head coach of the Chicago Rush in 2006 when they won ArenaBowl XX. He also had a six-season playing career.

[newellbrian]

Wow, this came straight outta left field. A "fresh face" though? Sorry, but I don't buy it. How do you get more fresh after a single season for a BRAND NEW FRANCHISE!? I think something happened between Sauk and ownership.

[DiamondThief]

It sounds like they think Hohensee is going to do a better job than Sauk. Sauk is growing the team and they're getting better. Almost beat Arizona in the playoffs. Hohensee was given a good team in Chicago or else his coaching record would be much worse. What concerns me is that is Sauk goes, so might Kyle Rowley. That would be disastrous to the team at this point.

[Yeseeka]

This makes me really sad. What happened to the long-term plan? This is a terrible decision by the Thunder. Really terrible.

[DiamondThief]

Here are a couple tidbits from facebook.

Sauk announces his firing




Defensive back Eric Crocker responds 




Sauk throws out a little humor amidst the situation

[Kasey]

it seems no one is happy with this move, and they shouldn't be. this is just absolutely amazing. i feel for Matthew Sauk and his family right now. he did nothing wrong. the ship was headed in the right direction and now its sprung a leak. just a really dumb move.

[Deleted]

Test

[Deleted]

Looks like an offer of an assistant's job with San Jose or Los Angeles, perhaps?

[Kasey]

Sept 24, 2014 14:36:44 GMT -8 voodoonut said:

Looks like an offer of an assistant's job with San Jose or Los Angeles, perhaps?

that's what i'm thinking, with either of those teams.

welcome to the forum. i'm Kasey, the DiamondThief's sister. we look forward to hearing more from you!

[reff]

San Jose or L.A. will add to the rivalry between Portland and those teams! What fun those games will be! It will be fantastic to greet one of our own on the other bench! I look forward to it!!!

[DiamondThief]

Sept 25, 2014 11:55:37 GMT -8 reff said:

San Jose or L.A. will add to the rivalry between Portland and those teams! What fun those games will be! It will be fantastic to greet one of our own on the other bench! I look forward to it!!!

Maybe. I will always hold Sauk in high regard. I think he was doing a great job.

[SurferGirl]

I hope he ends up in San Jose. I don't see him as a great fit with the Kiss.

[Yeseeka]

I know I'm a little late to the party here but I HATE this. Coach Sauk is a huge reason why I became a Thunder fan and started following the team. His interview with Kasey went a long way for that. I don't care who they got as the new head coach, firing Coach Sauk is a huge mistake. We have a lot of rookies coming back and adding a couple veterans could easily put us with a winning record and playoffs again. This really really makes me sad.