Keefe Excited About New Challenge
September 30, 2022 – Indoor Football League (IFL) – Bay Area Panthers News Release
Bay Area Panthers defensive coordinator Rob Keefe embraces the challenge of turning around the franchise from last place to championship contender. Coming off a worst-to-first renaissance with Northern Arizona, Keefe joins Darren Arbet’s staff in San Jose. TV play-by-play announcer Dave Lewis caught up with the team’s new DC about the move to the Bay Area, history with Arbet, his coaching philosophy and team’s title aspirations.
You’re coming off a championship with Northern Arizona working with Les Moss and a dramatic turnaround there. What made this situation for you coming to the Bay Area the right one for you right now?
For me, it’s all about growth. I did everything I could for the Northern Arizona Wranglers and we won the championship. We had great players, great ownership and a great staff. But there’s a new challenge now I think with Bay Area being 1-15 and Coach Arbet is someone I’ve always wanted to work with. There are more resources in a bigger community and just the ability to do a little bit more in terms of my vision. I love continuing to challenge myself.
What was that conversation like with owner Roy Choi to get you to make that jump from Prescott?
I’m always up for a challenge and, for me personally, Prescott Valley was a great experience. Now, the Bay Area Panthers are saying, “Hey, look. We want to win a championship. And you know what it takes to win a championship. How to get a great coaching staff together? How do we get great players? How can we get 15,000 people back in the building?” And so that’s all the stuff that I really like hearing. Working with really great coaches and that was kind of the deciding factor to me in terms of putting all the pieces together and knowing I have the ability to win another championship with a new group.
What was your first remembrance of dealing with Coach Arbet? I know in 2008 you were a player with Philadelphia and the Soul beat the Sabercats to win the championship. Did you think way back then that someday you’d work with that guy?
I’ve always respected Coach Arbet. He’s synonymous with arena football and in the Arena Football League Hall of Fame. What an amazing coach to learn from and to be around. When I was a player, San Jose was the team that you had to beat. And the last game I ever played as an athlete was when I was with the Philadelphia Soul and we played the San Jose Sabercats in ArenaBowl XXII in New Orleans. Coach Arbet kept up with me the last two years and I just had a feeling through text messages and phone calls he was keeping tabs on me. I’m honored that he kind of recognized me as a person that he wanted to work with as well and I knew it was eventually going to get to the stage.
You never know how these relationships are going to transpire. Darren was the color commentator doing radio and TV for the team-bringing him to the Panthers and that eventually circles back to bring you in.
And that’s another thing that intrigued me. From a guy who is just so organized as a head coach and he’s a great manager of people. You know he was really kind of taking notes of what could be better with Bay Area. He said this is something that he was thinking about and he really wanted me to be a part of the staff. He knew that getting together was going to recharge the Bay Area indoor football world and I know his name means so much to the people in the community-being able to get people back in the building. That’s something that really excited me as well.
You’ve had a lot of success in the old Arena Football League and AF2. In fact, you’re the only person to win a championship as both a player and coach in both leagues. What’s the difference when you go to the IFL? What’s the adjustment like when people say it’s different?
Well, for me that that was a major challenge. I’m very fortunate to have been on a lot of great teams and been a part of six championships. It’s a different game from the AFL with different rules and different concepts and different personnel groupings. With some people, they say, “You’re just an AFL guy” or “You’re just an IFL guy.” Well for me, I’m a football guy and so regardless of the board game I’m playing, I feel like if as long as I read the rules, I’ll figure that game out. I feel that I’m able to teach it at a high level and so I was inspired to jump into the IFL when the AFL unfortunately ceased operations. No matter what the league, I just think it’s an awesome experience to give players an opportunity to continue their careers and I’m very fortunate to be able to do this at a high level. The IFL is a really cool game-it really is. The run concepts and what can do defensively are what separates the IFL from the AFL. You can do a lot more and everything’s different. It’s very unique and I love teaching it.
How long do you take you to get used to the whole idea from switching to that jack in the box in the AFL to the one guy in the belt?
That’s a great question. You have the belt, the alley and all these cool different rules. Coach Moss took the head coaching job with the Iowa Barnstormers and he called me literally to two weeks before the season started. For me, it was like a crash course. They were coming back from COVID and didn’t know they were going to play and then he called me to see if this is something I’d want to do. I said “absolutely” and was literally reading the rulebook almost every single day to kind of figure this out with a lot of trial and error. I was really proud that we were able to make the playoffs our first year and lost on the last play of the game in the first-round. I felt we did a great job with a group of guys that we put together so quickly and I was teaching on the fly. But I think that experience of that first year understanding took maybe the first four to six games to determine what can be done and what can’t be done. Those guys had a lot of patience with me and I really put in the work. So this last off season, I just went really hard at it. I think I finally figured it out and kind of saw the light. It all came to fruition this year with a championship.
There has to be a special mentality for a guy that works with defense in indoor football because the game is set for you to get beat. It’s designed for you to give up 45-50 points and how guys respond after giving up big plays.
Yeah, you’re exactly right? I mean you definitely have a short memory when you’re playing in these leagues. How are you able to bounce back? I think it’s about how teams score and I think that’s really a big thing as a player that can keep you focused. You know, the more opportunities they have the ball in their hands, there’s more chances to score. Our job it to limit those possessions and make sure they earn everything they get. We don’t just give it to them for free. I think there’s a way from a mental aspect that you can really teach the players that they are going to get scored on. But I think it’s about how you get scored on and at the frequency that can make you continue to be positive. You’re able to win football games because of that strong, tough mentality.
You were part of that great turnaround from one win to a championship. How long do you think it will take for Bay Area from being just a one-win team to being really good to get to the playoffs and make a deep run?
Well, I think this year we can make it happen. I really do and that’s the same vision Roy Choi has, which really excited me. He saw what we did in Northern Arizona and he wants to replicate it here on a bigger scale in a bigger community. In a league where there are only one-year contracts for your players, everyone’s starting over now. Maybe some teams can retain their players but realistically, players can go anywhere. There’s a new group of recruits that just left college. There’s a new group of guys who were cut from the NFL. All this leads to being able to put together a team very quickly. So, I can’t see how we won’t be able to vie for the title and that’s the goal for everybody on this team. Our goal is to win a championship.
• Discuss this story on the Indoor Football League message board…
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
