The Dallas Desperados
are a professional Arena Football team in the Southern Division of the Arena Football League. They are coached by Will McClay.
The franchise began play in 2002 as an expansion team, and have posted a winning record in all but one of their seasons in existence. The team is owned by Jerry Jones, who also owns the Dallas Cowboys. Jones' son-in-law Shy Anderson is the COO of the team, and oversees the day-to-day operations of the franchise.
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DALLAS DESPERADOS TICKETS
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History
During a halftime interview at a Cowboys preseason game on August 12, 2000, Jerry Jones revealed to
Babe Laufenberg that the AFL had granted him an expansion franchise to begin play in 2002. The team was originally going to be named the "Dallas Texans", following in the footsteps of Dallas’ former
AFL franchise which existed from 1990-1993. However, that same year he sold the rights to the name "Texans" for a reported
$10 million to the upstart
Houston franchise. After a contest in which fans voted via the team’s official website, the new Dallas team was eventually named the Desperados. Jones appointed Cowboys special teams coach
Joe Avezzano as head coach, and on November 21, 2001 in the AFL expansion draft, they acquired their first player, lineman Aaron Hamilton.
Avezzano, along with starting
quarterback Andy Kelly, led the team to a respectable 7-7 record and a playoff appearance in the teams first season of play, and a 10-6 record and a second consecutive playoff berth in 2003 under new quarterback Jim Kubiak. However, Avezzano was fired from the Cowboys staff that season, and subsequently resigned as Desperados head coach when he accepted a job with the
Oakland Raiders.
Before the 2004 season, Jones hired
Will McClay to replace Avezzano, and McClay struggled to a 6-10 record his rookie season as coach. The team improved to 8-7-1 the following season and barely missed making the playoffs, and under the helm of quarterback/offensive coordinator
Clint Dolezel, posted a 13-3 record in 2006 and made their first appearance in an AFL conference championship game, losing to the
Orlando Predators. The following season saw the Desperados post an AFL record fifteen wins and the team appeared destined to make their first ArenaBowl appearance, but they were shocked by the
Columbus Destroyers, who had entered the playoffs with a 7-9 record, in the first round. The upset is ranked by many among the greatest of all time. The following season saw no relief to the postseason failure as the Desperados at 12-4 lost to the 8-8
New York Dragons in
Dallas. After the
New Orleans Voodoo folded, the league placed the Desperados in the South Division after the team had spent five seasons as an Eastern Division powerhouse.
With the exception of one playoff game and the entirety of the 2003 season, the Desperados have played all of their home games at
American Airlines Center, and the team’s official mascot is
Kid Coyote
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Memorable Desperados Moments
On June 9, 2007 the Desperados faced the 4-9
New Orleans VooDoo, Dallas at 13-1 found themselves losing late in the game. But Dallas Quarterback
Clint Dolezel threw a beautiful pass into the endzone with 30 seconds left on the clock to give the Desperados the lead. On the ensuing kickoff, the VooDoo fielded the ball off the net and found themselves looking at a long way to the endzone from their own one-yard line. They managed to put together a lengthy drive and were able to score on an amazing play with 1.7 seconds left to make the score 80 - 79. Rather than tie the game with an extra point they elected to go for the win with a two-point conversion. VooDoo Quarterback
Steve Bellisari dropped back and was sacked by 2007 AFL lineman of the year
Colston Weatherington on the ten. The game was over along with the VooDoo playoff hopes. Final Score: 80-79 Dallas.
The game was voted 2007 "Game of the Year" leaguewide in July 2007.
Season-by-season
Note:
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties''
| Season
| W
| L
| T
| Finish
| Playoff results
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| 2002
| 7
| 7
| 0
| 4th AC Western
| Won Week 1 (Indiana 47-46)
Lost Week 2 (Chicago 60-47)
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| 2003
| 10
| 6
| 0
| 1st AC Central
| Lost Week 1 (Georgia 49-45)
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| 2004
| 6
| 10
| 0
| 3rd NC Eastern
| --
|
| 2005
| 8
| 7
| 1
| 2nd NC Eastern
| --
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| 2006
| 13
| 3
| 0
| 1st NC Eastern
| Won Divisional (Georgia 62-27)
Lost NC Championship (Orlando 45-28)
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| 2007
| 15
| 1
| 0
| 1st NC Eastern
| Lost Divisional (Columbus 66-59)
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| 2008
| 12
| 4
| 0
| 2nd NC Eastern
| Lost Wild Card (New York 77-63)
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| 2009
| Did Not Play
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| Totals
| 73
| 43
| 1
| (including playoffs)
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Coaches
| Head coach
| Tenure
| Regular season
record (W-L)
| Post season
record (W-L)
| Most recent coaching staff
| Notes
|
| Joe Avezzano
| 2002 - 2003
| 17-13
| 1-2
| DC: Will McClay (2002 - 2006)
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| Will McClay
| 2004 - 2008
| 54-24-1
| 1-3
| Offensive Line:
Steve Criswell Special Teams:
Adriel Fenton Coordinator:
James Fuller (2007 - 2008)
| Continued as DC
for three seasons.
2006 Arena Football League
Coach of the Year
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Notable past players
- Caleb Cannida - OL/DL
- Aaron Hamilton - DL\OL (First player in franchise history)
- Jermaine Jones - DS
- Marcus Nash - WR
- Duke Pettijohn - FB/LB
- Colston Weatherington - DL
Awards and honors
2002
Individual Award Winners
Commissioner's Award
- Shy Anderson, Jerry Jones, Jr. - Dallas Desperados
All-Rookie Team
- WR/LB Andy McCullough
- OL/DL Shante Carver
- DS Kareem Larrimore
2003
Individual Award Winners
- Lineman of the Year
Tom Briggs
First Team All-Arena Team
Second Team All-Arena Team
- QB Jim Kubiak
- WR/DB Will Pettis
All-Ironman Team
All-Rookie Team
- FB/LB Ja'Mar Toombs
- WR/DB Will Pettis
- DS Jermaine Jones
Notes
- Dallas Desperados - Kid Coyote