Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2004 | 10:25 a.m.
New coaches usually arrive with a plan to rebuild a team, a long-term outline of what a struggling franchise needs to do to become a champion someday.
For Ron James, though, someday is today. The Las Vegas Gladiators hired James as head coach on Tuesday with the mandate to shape up a roster that his general manager considers the league's best and win right now.
No pressure there, huh?
"There's an old saying that pressure makes diamonds," James said. "We're going to make a lot of diamonds this year."
James, an assistant for the past three years under deposed head coach Frank Haege, emerged from a monthlong search that general manager Dan Dolby said highlighted the leadership qualities of the Gladiators' top in-house candidate.
The team went deep into negotiations with former Arizona head coach Danny White, but broke off those talks over a number of issues and considered a list of what Dolby earlier termed "up-and-coming" finalists. That eight-man list was light on head coaching experience, but focused on coaches with a structured and professional approach.
Although this will be James' first head coaching position in his 18-year career, Dolby feels that James has the right personality and approach.
"We need somebody with some presence and I kept coming back to the same name," Dolby said.
That presence might need to come out quickly. The Gladiators did not have a losing season under Haege, but owner Jim Ferraro saw little return for his offseason investment in an upgraded roster in 2004 as Las Vegas struggled to a second consecutive 8-8 record and missed the playoffs.
Incessant penalties and last-second losses convinced Ferraro and Dolby that the team needed a new coach, but a late-season surge in which the Gladiators won five of six games also told them that the talent to win is in place.
"It's a team in need of direction," James said. "I'm going to provide that direction for this football team."
A number of Gladiators pushed Dolby to hire James, although Dolby said their influence was not a deciding factor. Return specialist Coco Blalock, reacquired from Columbus last season at the urging of James, attended Tuesday's news conference at the Thomas & Mack Center to support the coach he feels the team wanted.
"You'll find a way to play for coach James," Blalock said.
Blalock's returned to Las Vegas after leaving after the 2003 season, and his arrival back with the Gladiators coincided with the team's second-half resurgence. Even with that strong finish, the Gladiators still missed the postseason despite having the league's most prolific passing combination in quarterback Clint Dolezel and receiver Marcus Nash -- the league's offensive player of the year.
No team went into the offseason wondering what might have been more than the Gladiators.
James feels that the key to avoiding a second consecutive season of disappointment is the elimination of an attitude problem that Dolby said "showed sometimes" in the Gladiators' 3-7 start in 2004.
"An attitude and an attention to detail are the two most important factors," James said.
James said the team will likely hire at least one assistant coach to fill his roles of duties with the offensive and defensive lines, as well as special teams. The work begins soon for James -- who will have significant input in personnel decisions -- and the front office, as free agency opens Sept. 1.
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