Shackleford leaving Tri-Cities Fever to coach Spokane Shock

Adam Shackleford confirmed Tuesday that he is leaving the Tri-Cities Fever to become head coach of the Spokane Shock.

The Shock, which was eliminated from the Arena Football League playoffs last weekend, is reportedly leaving the AFL to play in the Indoor Football League -- the same league the Fever is in.

Recent foldings of the New Orleans and Las Vegas franchises have made the AFL unstable. If Spokane leaves, that would leave the AFL with just nine teams.

Spokane ownership hasn't officially announced its move to the IFL.

It has until Sept. 1 to notify the IFL of its intent.

The Spokesman-Review reported Tuesday morning that Shock coach Andy Olson said he probably coached his last game for Spokane.

Shackleford confirmed by the afternoon that he was coming back to the Shock, a team he coached to playoff success before.

In Spokane, he led the teams there to a 49-8 record in the arenafootball2 league from 2007-09, including a league title.

Shackleford’s Spokane deal is apparently for three years.

The move also makes sense because Shackleford has a home in Spokane with his wife and two sons.

When he coached the Fever, he lived half the year in a Kennewick apartment while his family lived in Spokane.

In six seasons, Shackleford coached the Fever to a 51-33 regular-season record, and appearances in the United Bowl (the IFL championship game) in 2011 and 2012.

Fever owner Teri Carr is out of the country and unavailable for comment.

“Teri and I had a long, three-hour conversation about this the other night,” said Shackleford.

He has a 1-year option that he would have had to exercise with the Fever by Sept. 1.

Spokane was likely the only job Shackleford would take in indoor football.

He said he would never want to go to an AFL team again since there was no security in those jobs.

He also loved working for the Carr family, who liked the way they ran a franchise.

But the pull of working in the city he lives in, with his family by his side, was too much to pass up.

This story was originally published August 18, 2015 at 7:12 PM with the headline "Shackleford leaving Tri-Cities Fever to coach Spokane Shock."