Monday, Sep. 01, 2008

New coach ready to see Fever office for first time

By Ben Reynolds, Herald staff writer

Richard Davis isn't quite sure if he has come to complete grips that he is the new head coach of the Tri-Cities Fever.

Davis, an arenafootball2 league veteran coach, was named the team's new coach last Thursday, but has yet to see his office, the arena, or even meet his general manager.

Instead, he is back in Oklahoma tending to his new-born twins and having to mow his yard in between long-distance phone calls to the Tri-Cities.

Davis will put his household chores on hold for a few days when he arrives in the Tri-Cities sometime this afternoon. He is expected to stay through Thursday and his schedule is packed during his four-day stay in the place that he and his family will call home later this year.

"I'm excited to get up there and get a feel for it," said Davis, who coach has six years of af2 coaching experience.

Davis is the third coach for the Fever in three seasons, and he is looking to be the first to guide the franchise to its first winning record in the af2.

Tri-Cities finished 8-9 in its inaugural season of 2007 and then was a disappointing 4-12 under coach Cedric Walker this past season.

Among Davis' first items of business is to see where his office is and meet general manager Randy Schillinger, with whom he has only talked on the phone the past 10 days.

He says he plans on visiting the hotel where the players call home for six months out of the year and getting a look at the team's practice facility and the arena.

"I need to get my hands on the jerseys and helmets," Davis said. "I want to see the whole area and just take a look around."

On his tour, he said he'd like to sit down and meet with some of the players from last year's team and also place a few phone calls for some prospective new players for 2009.

One of the requirements for a Davis-led team is a word those who followed the team last year heard a lot: character.

But that's just one of the requirements.

"Tri-Cities needs (players) that can help it win games," said Davis, who has a 46-34 af2 coaching record.

Davis last coached in the af2 in 2006 with Stockton, where he posted a 5-11 record in one season.

* Ben Reynolds: 582-1509; breynolds@tricityherald.com