Soul's new leader Hohensee seeking old results

Friday, February 25, 2011
Posted: 7:50 p.m.

By Jabari Young
For CSNPhilly.com

Not one time did Mike Hohensee yell during practice on Friday morning at the NovaCare Complex. He was cool and calm.

After practice was a different story. The coach could be heard raising his voice and seen making hand gestures to his players while telling them what he expects to see on the field.

If Im just running out here screaming at everybody, Hohensee said, its non-productive.

This is the way things are for the new Philadelphia Soul. New head coachHohenseenew stating quarterback, new offensive threats, new ownership (Jon Bon Jovi is no longer part owner), just new everything. Ron Jaworski is still around, though.

But, for now, Hohensee is the new face of the Soul, at least until fans get acclimated with the new players, and then maybe that will change.

If you last recall, the Soul left the Arena Football League with a 13-3 record on their way to an ArenaBowl XXII championship in 2008. But the AFL canceled the 2009 season because of revenue problems, as teams were reportedly losing over 1.5 million a season. Hence, the Soul never got a chance to defend their title.

Until now. And Hohensee is the man leading the way.

Hes no stranger to the AFL, as he has been with the league for more than 20 years as a coach and player. In fact, he was the first quarterback to throw an AFL touchdown, the feat coming on June 19, 1987.

But thats history. The present challenge: resurrecting a Soul team that was last seen by Philadelphia fans hoisting a trophy. Its the challenge that Hohensee was looking for when he resigned last year as head coach of the Chicago Rush.

No doubt about it, Hohensee said, agreeing to the notion that this is the challenge he was looking for. Were expansion. We got Mike Brown, and we may get a couple other guys, but we dont have a bulk of the guys that were here.

Those guys Hohensee may be referring to include quarterbacks Matt DOrazio and Tony Garaziani, running back Wes Ours, linebacker Rod Davis and head coach Bret Munsey.

Two members of that Soul team, Brown and former offensive lineman turned line coach, Phil Bogle, have returned to the team.

Hohensee said he feels no pressure to try and duplicate that 2008 championship year. If he did feel any pressure, its the pressure he puts on himself to succeed.

Ive been in the league a long timeI go into ever year wanting to win a championship, he said. I put pressure on myself every single year, theres no added pressure just because of where we are. The added pressure is to make sure that these guys are prepared to succeed.

Hohensee has had experience leading an expansion team to success. He led the Rush to a 7-7 season during Chicagos first year in 2001 and finished with a 93-64 overall record, including nine playoff appearances, four division titles and a conference championship while leading the Rush to a 69-61 victory over the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl XX.

His overall coaching record is 140-112, good for third in AFL history.

The veteran head coach could be seen sporting a smile while talking to players and his coaching staff, leaving one to believe he could be a players coach, far from the Mike Ditka type.

When it was suggested that he was just thata players coachHohensee didnt confirm, but said, I dont know, it depends if Im talking to you or not. He laughed before continuing. It depends on if you can take honesty. A lot of people say they want honesty, but they dont want to hear it. What I am is brutally honest the majority of the time, but at least they know where Im coming from. They know I care.

Bogle said Hohensee is more of an offensive coach than defensive, like his predecessor Munsey.

Very, very organized, Bogle said of Hohensee. Hes lived it. He knows all the ins and outs of the game.

The new line coach admitted it was hard to compare this years team to the 2008 team, but weve got a lot of guys here that are working and building to accomplish those same things.

Brown noticed that calm and cool demeanor, too. He mentioned it when asked to compare his former coach to his new coach.

Munsey is more of a rah-rah guy; running around the field, chasing receivers. Hohensee is more calm. Hes not rah-rah. He doesnt say a lot during practice, but when he says something after practice it has a lot of meaning to it.

Hohensees credibility was probably increased among his players when it became known that he served as a quarterback of the 1987 Spare Bears. That was the name given to the Chicago Bears team filled with replacement players during the NFL labor strike in 1987 that lasted 24 days.

Hohensee was a teammate of New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton, who he said he taught during their brief stay with Chicago.

Recalling that short period where he was an NFL player, Hohensee said, It was tough. We were all learning a new system and expectation was high there, too. Even though you were a Spare Bear, they expected to win.

And his teaching to Payton, I remember staying up with him to 12, one oclock in the morning trying to get the offense right. Going out there, playing and having the time of our life and talking about that; this being the time of our life. Having that insight that already, that you know what, It aint going to get any better than this. For him, for both of us, it actually did.

It was that time in his life that he learned from one of the best, Ditka, on what it takes to be a success football coach on the professional level.

I remember coach Ditka having the knowledge to step into any meeting and taking it over, Hohensee said. Special teams, tight ends, defensive line, didnt matter what the position was, that man knew what he wanted.I was very aware of that. I said If I ever get a head coaching job, thats how Im going to be. Im going to have a complete understanding of what can be done. That way when I talk, everyone will listen.

Thats how it was when Mike Ditka talkedeverybody listened.

As of right now, Hohensee has the Souls undivided attention.

Jabari Young is a production assistant at Comcast SportsNet. E-mail him at jabariyoung@hotmail.com