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Clint Dolezel

Clint Dolezel (born March 25, 1970) is an American football coach and former professional arena football player in the Arena Football League (AFL).

Clint Dolezel
refer to caption
Dolezel in 2017
East Texas A&M Lions
Position:Head coach
Personal information
Born: (1970-03-25) March 25, 1970 (age 54)
Waco, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Robinson (TX)
College:East Texas State
Undrafted:1994
Career history
As a player:
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
Career Arena League statistics
Comp. / Att.:3,749 / 5,698
Passing yards:44,564
TD-INT:931–155
Passer rating:117.75
Rushing touchdowns:41
Stats at ArenaFan.com
Head coaching record
Regular season:106–61 (.635)
Postseason:12–7 (.632)
Career:118–68 (.634)

Dolezel was a quarterback in the AFL before becoming the head coach of the AFL's Philadelphia Soul from 2013 until the league folded in 2019. He played college football at East Texas State, and was in the AFL for 13 seasons from 1995 to 2008. Dolezel first became a head coach in 2010 with the San Angelo Stampede Express of the Indoor Football League (IFL). After just a single season, Dolezel returned to the AFL as the head coach of the Dallas Vigilantes. After the Vigilantes franchise suspended operations, Dolezel joined the Philadelphia Soul as their offensive coordinator under head coach Doug Plank. Plank left the Soul following the 2012 season, and the Soul promoted Dolezel to head coach. He was named the inaugural head coach of the Frisco Fighters in the Indoor Football League before the 2020 season. On December 7, 2022, it was announced that Dolezel would return to his alma mater, East Texas A&M University, to serve as the school's head football coach.[1]

As an AFL player, he was originally signed by the Milwaukee Mustangs. In his career, he also played for the Texas Terror/Houston Thunderbears, Grand Rapids Rampage, Las Vegas Gladiators, and the Dallas Desperados. Dolezel was also a scout for the Dallas Cowboys 2007.

Early life

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Born in Waco, Texas, to Johnnie and Judy Dolezel, Clint attended Robinson High School in Robinson, Texas, where he was a standout quarterback and golfer.

College career

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After graduating from Robinson, Dolezel attended Cisco College and was a student and a letterman in football. In football, he was a second-team All-Conference selection as a sophomore. After graduating from Cisco, he committed to the University of Southern Mississippi. However, a coaching change landed Dolezel at East Texas State University to play for coach Eddie Vowell. Dolezel was a letterman in football, golf, and track and field at East Texas State, becoming one of just three documented three-sport athletes in the history of the university. He quarterbacked the Lions in 1992 and 1993 and ended his career as a Lion throwing for 3,152 yards and 23 touchdowns over 2 seasons. The Lions finished 8–2 during his junior year and finished second in the Lone Star Conference.

Professional career

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After establishing himself as one of the best young quarterbacks in the AFL, Dolezel signed with the Chicago Bears in 2000.[2]

Dolezel, along with wide receiver Terrill Shaw, helped the Grand Rapids Rampage win the 2001 ArenaBowl. Dolezel and Shaw became teammates again playing for the Dallas Desperados in 2006.

In September 2003, the Rampage traded Dolezel to the Las Vegas Gladiators for Sedrick Robinson, Paul LaQuerre and Hardy Mitchell.[3]

On March 12, 2006, Dolezel threw his 700th career touchdown, becoming just the third quarterback in AFL history to do so. The Desperados won that game versus the Tampa Bay Storm 64–35.

On April 16, 2007, in a 51–41 home win against the Philadelphia Soul, Dolezel became the first professional quarterback to throw 800 touchdown passes.[4] In 2007, Dolezel became the first quarterback in league history to lead his team to 15 wins in a season. Despite the 15–1 record, Dallas lost to the 7–9 Columbus Destroyers in the first round of the playoffs. In a 2008 game versus the Grand Rapids Rampage, Dolezel became the first quarterback in league history to throw for 900 touchdown passes in a career.

Statistics

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Year Team Passing Rushing
Cmp Att Pct Yds TD Int Rtg Att Yds TD
1995 Milwaukee 10 12 83.3 121 2 1 113.5 3 5 1
1996 Milwaukee 9 16 56.3 103 2 1 80.9 2 3 1
1997 Texas 259 388 66.8 3,377 69 15 117.4 19 7 7
1998 Houston 343 558 61.5 4,228 81 17 108.4 17 16 5
1999 Houston 374 556 67.3 4,336 80 19 112.3 22 4 3
2001 Grand Rapids 364 574 63.4 3,952 80 10 111.2 8 14 2
2002 Grand Rapids 339 505 67.1 3,878 79 19 113.4 7 −9 1
2003 Grand Rapids 361 545 66.2 4,431 89 15 119.2 10 8 2
2004 Las Vegas 381 585 65.1 4,428 93 12 118.9 22 48 9
2005 Las Vegas 302 465 64.9 3,505 78 16 112.8 6 1 0
2006 Dallas 375 573 65.4 4,685 105 11 122.2 22 21 3
2007 Dallas 375 533 70.4 4,474 107 9 128.2 10 −2 1
2008 Dallas 257 388 66.2 3,046 66 10 118.8 11 12 6
Career 3,749 5,698 65.8 44,564 931 155 117.75 159 128 41

Stats from ArenaFan:[5]

Coaching career

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Dolezel had said that he would like to be a coach after his career is over.[6] It was announced that on January 19, Dolezel would become the offensive coordinator for the Florida Firecats' 2009 season (due to the Arena Football League suspending operations for 2009).[7] He was the head coach of the San Angelo Stampede Express of the Indoor Football League in 2010.

Dolezel was announced as the head coach for the Dallas Vigilantes for the 2011 season. The team did not play in 2012 for unknown reasons.

On August 21, 2012, Dolezel was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach of the Philadelphia Soul.[8]

On September 16, 2014, Dolezel re-signed with the Soul for two more seasons.[9]

In June 2016, Dolezel was announced as the first head coach of the China Arena Football League's Beijing Lions.[10] He was named an All-Pro North Division All-Star as a head coach.[11] On November 6, 2016, the Lions won the first China Bowl and finished the season undefeated.

 
Dolezel in 2017

On August 25, 2016, Dolezel was named the 2016 Marcum-Moss Head Coach of the Year.[12] A day later, he won his first ArenaBowl championship as a coach when the Soul defeated the Arizona Rattlers, 56–42, in ArenaBowl XXIX in Glendale, Arizona.[13]

On August 26, 2017, the Soul beat the Tampa Bay Storm in ArenaBowl XXX by a score of 44–40.[14]

In 2019, the AFL folded and Dolezel was hired as the inaugural head coach of the Frisco Fighters in the Indoor Football League before the 2020 season.[15] However, the 2020 season was cancelled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned to Frisco for the 2021 season, leading the team to a 10–3 record and made it to the league semifinal. Near the end 2021 season, Dolezel was signed to a multi-year extension,[16] but ultimately chose to leave the team to pursue other opportunities.[17]

Dolezel served as a quarterback coach consultant for Zachary Levi in preparation for the 2021 film, American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story.[18] Levi starred as Kurt Warner, the Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame NFL quarterback, in the film. Dolezel assisted in training Levi with mechanics, physical training and throwing. Dolezel played against Warner when the duo played in the Arena Football League.

Dolezel was named the 21st head coach in the history of the football program at East Texas A&M University, his alma mater, on December 7, 2022. He became just the third alum to take the reins of the Lion football program, and the first since 1930. In his first year, the Lions went 1–9.

Head coaching record

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Arena football

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Team Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
SAS 2010 10 4 .714 2nd in Intense Lonestar East 1 1 .500 Lost Divisionals II (Billings)
IFL total 10 4 .714 1 1 .500
DAL 2011 11 7 .611 2nd in AC Central 0 1 .000 Lost to Chicago Rush in Conference Semifinals.
PHI 2013 12 6 .667 2nd in AC Central 2 1 .667 Lost to Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XXVI
PHI 2014 9 9 .500 3rd in AC Central 0 1 .000 Lost to Cleveland Gladiators in Conference Semifinals
PHI 2015 15 3 .833 1st in AC Central 1 1 .500 Lost to Jacksonville Sharks in AC Championship
PHI 2016 13 3 .813 1st in AC 3 0 1.000 Won ArenaBowl XXIX
PHI 2017 13 1 .929 1st in AFL 2 0 1.000 Won ArenaBowl XXX
PHI 2018 7 5 .583 3rd in AFL 0 2 .000 Lost to Baltimore Brigade in Semifinals
PHI 2019 7 5 .583 3rd in AFL 2 1 .667 Lost to Albany Empire in ArenaBowl XXXII
AFL total 87 39 .690 10 6 .625
BEI 2016 5 0 1.000 1st in CAFL 1 0 1.000 Won China Bowl
CAFL total 5 0 1.000 1 0 1.000
FRI 2021 10 3 .769 3rd in IFL 1 1 .500 Lost to Massachusetts Pirates in Semifinals
IFL total 10 3 .769 1 1 .500
Career total 112 46 .709 13 8 .619

College

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Texas A&M–Commerce / East Texas A&M Lions (Southland Conference) (2023–present)
2023 Texas A&M–Commerce 1–9 2–5 6th
2024 East Texas A&M 3–9 2–4 7th
Texas A&M–Commerce / East Texas A&M: 4–18 4–9
Total: 4–18

References

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  1. ^ "Clint Dolezel hired as A&M-Commerce Football coach".
  2. ^ "Dolezel Signs with Chicago Bears". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. March 22, 2000. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  3. ^ "Rampage Acquire Three Veterans for Dolezel". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. September 2, 2003. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  4. ^ Stephen Hawkins (July 5, 2007). "Record-setting Dallas QB Dolezel looking for 2nd AFL title". www.myplainview.com. My Plainview. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  5. ^ "Clint Dolezel". arenafan.com. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  6. ^ Adam Candee (September 24, 2004). "Dolezel ready to throw himself into new assignment". www.lasvegassun.com. Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  7. ^ "af2: Florida Firecats name Dolezel as offensive coordinator". www.naplesnews.com. Naples Daily News. January 13, 2009. Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  8. ^ "Philadelphia Soul Promote Clint Dolezel to Head Coach". www.philadelphiasoul.com. Philadelphia Soul. August 21, 2012. Archived from the original on April 10, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  9. ^ Ed Barkowitz (September 17, 2014). "Dolezel re-ups to coach the Soul". www.philly.com. Interstate General Media, LLC. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  10. ^ "Six-Shooters – China's First Coaches Set for Action". arenafan.com. June 3, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  11. ^ "The CAFL has announced their 2016 All-Pro North division All-Stars". caflfootball.com. November 4, 2016. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  12. ^ "Dolezel Awarded Marcum Moss Coach of the Year". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. August 25, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  13. ^ "Soul Defeat Rattlers, 56–42, to Claim AFL Crown". arenafootball.com. August 26, 2016. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. ^ "Soul Snare Second Straight Foster Trophy in ArenaBowl XXX". arenafootball.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ^ "'Frisco Fighters' named Indoor Football League team for the city". Community Impact Newspaper. December 11, 2019.
  16. ^ "FIGHTERS SIGN DOLEZEL TO MULTI-YEAR EXTENSION". IFL. August 21, 2021.
  17. ^ "FIGHTERS HAVE A NEW LEADER". Frisco Fighters. November 9, 2021.
  18. ^ American Underdog Soundbites CLINT DOLEZEL QUARTERBACK OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR, retrieved January 11, 2022
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