Rattlers, head coach Kevin Guy look to avenge 2019 United Bowl loss
Feb 11, 2020, 6:15 AM | Updated: 10:42 am
PHOENIX - JUNE 30: Head coach Kevin Guy of the Arizona Rattlers talks during a game against the Grand Rapids Rampage at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona on June 30, 2008. (Photo by Gene Lower/Getty Images)
(Photo by Gene Lower/Getty Images)
Arizona Rattlers fans were left with a bad taste in their mouths after last year’s the team went a perfect 16-0 before their 56-53 loss to the Sioux Falls Storm in the 2019 United Bowl at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
“We’re excited about this upcoming season,” head coach Kevin Guy told 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Doug & Wolf during Newsmakers Week on Monday.
“I think we really have a chance to be better than we were last season. It’s going to be interesting to see the players that were on the team last year, how they’re going to come back (from) how we finished — to see how they’re going to attack this year and where their mindset is.”
The Rattlers have been one of the Valley’s most successful teams over the last decade.
In the last nine years, Arizona has made it to the championship game seven times and has a 4-3 record in those games.
Oddly enough, though, all of the team’s championships have come on the road.
Guy said that he is going to make changes to try to figure out why his side is 0-3 in championship games at home such as ditching the night-before hotel stay that most football teams do as well. He said that his team felt like they were on the road.
“We have to be mentally tougher and whatever we have to figure out, we have to figure it out and overcome it,” Guy said.
“We have to get better. We have to figure out how to get over the hump. Hopefully it’s this year.”
And with the addition of the XFL this spring — along with other football leagues (NFL, CFL, IFL) — the Rattlers face stiff competition when it comes to recruiting players.
“We’re all going after the same players and it really comes down to the best fit for the player,” Guy said.
“These guys love coming here to play in Arizona. It’s a great place to recruit, too. It’s an advantage for us. We haven’t had any problems signing players.”
In the head coach’s 11 years at the helm, 51 players have gone on to sign NFL contracts.
The Rattlers’ 2020 regular season kicks off on March 21, as Arizona takes on the Quad City Steamwheelers.
