Rodney Blackshear promised more fun and more winning during his formal introduction Tuesday as interim head coach of the Abilene Ruff Riders.
The former Texas Tech player who said his dislike of kicking field goals comes from offensive minded former Red Raiders coach Mike Leach, said he wants practices to be fun and fans to see quick-strike touchdowns. Blackshear was student assistant coach at Tech while completing his degree in 2003.
Blackshear’s philosophy differs from that of Gerald Dockery, who was fired by the team’s ownership Sunday following the Riders’ fifth straight loss and most lopsided of the season. While Dockery talked up clock management, his team this season averaged 33 points a game. Only Bloomington, at 2-3, has scored fewer points in five games (152 to Riders’ 165).
Dockery was 8-12 overall as coach of the Riders for their first 20 games in Abilene. The team relocated from Katy for the 2009 season.
Blackshear believes his team can score more, can win and battle for a playoff spot.
“We have five home games left and we split on the road, that’s 7-2,” he said of how he believes the Riders can finish the season. “Changes needed to happen. We are going to start a winning streak.”
Said team general manager Paul Briscoe, “We’ve put it in his hands.”
“We like Black’s aggressiveness and the players have respect for him,” Briscoe said. “He is not sitting back on his heels. He is going to go for it.”
Blackshear said one key to scoring is simplifying the offense.
“You have to score points in this league and keep it exciting for the fans,” said Blackshear, who last played for the Red Raiders in 1991.
He was offensive coordinator of the af2 Rio Grande Valley Dorados in 2004, then was head coach of the Intense Football League CenTexas Barracudas in 2006, the af2 Lubbock Renegades for 2007 and 2008 seasons, and the af2 South Georgia Wildcats in 2009. An all-Southwest Conference receiver and kick returner at Tech, he was with the Miami Dolphins one season before going to arena football.
He said Riders players have accepted the firing of Dockery and none have left the team.
“They may leave by my choice,” he said, smiling. “The bottom line is these are grown men and if they can’t handle these things, they shouldn’t be playing. I’ve been released as a player and fired as a coach. They understand these things.”
If the Riders offense can put more points on the board, the defense won’t be under as much duress, he said. The 68 points the Riders surrendered in Saturday’s loss to the Austin TurfCats were the most since the franchise moved to Abilene.
“We’d hold them to fourth down and they still score. You can’t ask the defense to keep (opponents) out of the end zone” the whole game, he said. “We score points but then we bog down. And special teams isn’t doing its job.”
Blackshear said personnel changes probably would be made. Minutes before being introduced Tuesday, he took a cell phone call from an athlete inquiring about a tryout.
He said players could be switched from offense to defense, or vice versa, and that practices each week would be “open auditions” for starting positions.
The Riders, who went through three quarterbacks in 2009, are on their second of this season with recent acquisition Bart Gloyd. The team also was set back by the loss of defensive sparkplug Rico Brooks after he was shot outside his Abilene apartment.
The coaching staff has been pared to three. Barris Grant replaces Blackshear as defensive coordinator while Marco McGee will head the offense.
“To be honest, that was a change that Doc and I had been talking about,” Blackshear said. “Sometimes, players hear too many things from too many people.”
Blackshear said it’s vital the Ruff Riders win this weekend’s home game against Corpus Christi, which comes in 2-4.
“It’s huge. From the business side, the fans see a change and they expect positive results,” he said. “This is a huge game for us. They are like Austin, a team that has been struggling all year.
“But we are the ones that have been struggling the most.”
