Wallflower wrote:

Yea I've thought about it before but didn't really know much of the history about it, I mean this is the first time I've heard of the Reds ever having to change their name. I have just avoided referring them to anything related to the Red Scare, but I'm not going super in-depth with the political history or anything, so I doubt I'll change much.
 

That's what I figured, just curious. As for the Reds, they were the Redlegs from 1953-58 because the Soviets were sometimes called "Reds" and they wanted to avoid any comparison.

1960 Coaching Changes 

The NAAF saw a few changes around the league this offseason. The first to make major moves was Montreal. After a season that the team was supposed to break through, Owner Jean Beaulieu had enough and scrapped the whole staff. While he typically likes bringing in Quebecois coaches, he knew that they would need something different. His idea of different was very different, as he would sign the sometimes unorthodox GM Virgil Gross to take over. Gross was known for some very drastic moves in his time in Providence, but there were certainly some that worked out, like the pick of QB Connor O’Rourke, when no one expected it.  

As for the coaches, Boston has to be brought into the equation. HC Dean Reed of the Independents was the successor to the ever great Peter McDuffin. He has been fine over the last 7 seasons, but the Independents have been debating changing things up. While they still were likely to go back with Reed and were offering him deals, he also received deals from Gross and the Rouge. Seeing the uncertainty in his job in Boston and the higher pay in Montreal, Reed made the jump and became Montreal’s head coach for the 1960 season. Montreal would also go on to hire Patrick Taylor, a recently fired Gold Stars Defensive Coordinator as the new DC, and former Providence and Louisville Head Coach Perry Powell as the Offensive Coordinator. Both Taylor and Powell worked with Gross in the past in Providence.  

Boston would need to fill their spots and they would go with London Offensive Coordinator, Ben McMillan. The Boston native had been on the Independents radar for a while, and after helping the Tigers to the McCallister Cup, certainly, put Boston in the place to go after him. They would also add Montreal’s Defensive Coordinator, Carroll Moss, also a Boston native, as their new DC.  London would have to find a new OC to replace McMillan. They would ultimately go with former Tigers WR and Worcester OC, Dewey Doyle. Doyle played one year with the Tigers, but he spent many seasons as a coach in Worcester working with QB Riley Kiernan. 

One of the last hires would be Providence giving young Louisville DC Jerome Morris a chance to take on the role. The college coach had a shot with the Thunder, but that ended with Emil Riddle coming to the team. Ottawa would also make an addition with HC/OC Joseph Curry lowering his responsibilities to just HC and adding former Montreal HC Soni Dionne as the OC. Dionne has been heralded to have lots of talent as a coach, but he might have been thrust into the HC role too soon. Curry sees the promise and decided to bring him into Ottawa to give him a better opportunity. 

Last edited by Wallflower (1/05/2021 6:04 pm)

What happened to the draft list you posted?

The Gains Report - 1960 NAAF Draft Top 25 Prospect Rankings 

1 - WR Alexei Dubois - Lawrence Gainsborough - Darknes
2 - OL Kurt Booker - Johnny Singleton - Captain Mort 3D
3 - RB Johnny Golden - Johnny Armando - Stickman
4 - DB Joe Robinson - Dewey Thomas - Rugrat
5 - DL Craig White - Johnny Singleton - Captain Mort 3D
6 - DL Dale Rothery - Brad Cumberland - DireBear
7 - WR Ed Edwards - Johnny Armando - Stickman
8 - WR Joshua Lafleur - Lawrence Gainsborough - Darknes
9 - LB Calvin Hardy - Johnny Singleton - Captain Mort 3D
10 - LB Gideon Jura - Lawrence Gainsborough - Darknes
11 - OL Reynold Gilbertson - Johnny Armando - Stickman
12 - OL Fabrice Beaufort - Vincent Desjardins - Kingsfan11
13 - OL Wally McRose - Cameron Gordon - QCS
14 - QB Charles Lemieux - Vincent Desjardins - Kingsfan11
15 - WR Russell Wilcox - Wally Flowers - Wallflower
16 - S Frankie Munster - Ronald Wilke - ThisIsFine
17 - DB Jayson Klyde - Wally Flowers - Wallflower
18 - WR Denis Langlois - Vincent Desjardins - Kingsfan11
19 - LB Willis Patrick - Wally Flowers - Wallflower
20 - WR Bernard Sandeirs - Cameron Gordon - QCS
21 - TE Tobias Lindholm - Lawrence Gainsborough - Darknes
22 - DL Allen St. Benson - Johnny Armando - Stickman
23 - QB Mike Key - Ronald Wilke - ThisIsFine
24 - DB Jacques Gaul - Ronald Wilke - ThisIsFine
25 - RB Greg Dix - Ivan di Marco - ItDoesntMatter 

The 1960 draft pool is shaping up to be a deep one. The draft is headlined by one of the most dominant college offences to be playing in the new Hybrid Football Conference that plays with NAAF rules and contains both Canadian and American schools from the Northeast.  

Université du Saint-Laurent (St. Lawrence University), located in Quebec City had an unbelievable unbeaten season. Many of the players were in their senior years and will be entering the draft. WR Alexei Dubois and RB Johnny Golden are the headliners, both being top of the conference in their respective categories. Both are expected to go early in the draft though there are some concerns over Golden and some personality issues. The team’s QB Charles Lemieux was often overshadowed by the two players, and he could be a steal for a team willing to take a shot on the QB. Other notable players would be WR Denis Langlois and OL Fabrice Beaufort. 

As for other top players, OL Kurt Booker is one of the top OL to come into a draft in recent years. DB Joe Robinson’s no quit, high effort attitude and play puts him up near the top as the top defensive prospect. He also was headlined to be a top prospect in the ACFL but decided to take a different route. DL Craig White and DL Dale Rothery will likely draw lots of comparisons due to their position. Both players are strong and fast and could create lots of trouble for teams in the backfield. WR Joshua Lafleur and WR Ed Edwards join what is shaping up to be a deep WR draft both have solid hands and size. Edwards might have a slight advantage with a sneaky good route running ability. 

Joe Robinson certainly already made waves by deciding to go to the NAAF over the ACFL, but another player made a bit more of a statement. LB Gideon Jura decided very quickly he would go to the NAAF, despite his father playing for the Brooklyn Guardians of the NYFL (now ACFL). His father was not treated the best in the NYFL due to being African American and he took many cheap shots that were often let go. He certainly wasn’t the only player to have that type of experience, but with the option of the NAAF which has not had similar issues, he is looking to stand against the potentially corrupt leadership of the former NYFL. While there are many others that have similar experiences to Jura, he’s the first to be truly vocal about it, which is starting to look worse on the reputation of the ACFL, specifically the New York City Bulls Football Club. The team and the ACFL have denied anything they’ve been asked about, and have mainly ignored Jura’s comments. 

Draft Order and Needs
1 - Indiana Victors - WR, LB, DB, OL, DL
Picks: 1, 11, 17, 21, 31
2 - Worcester Athletics - OL, DL, WR, LB, DB, RB
Picks: 2, 12, 32
3 - Buffalo Blue Wings - DB, OL, QB, DL, RB
Picks: 3, 13, 23, 30, 33
4 - Montreal Rouge - OL, QB, DB, DL
Picks: 4, 14, 24, 34
5 - Louisville Thunder - DL, LB, OL, RB
Picks: 5, 15, 22, 25, 35
6 - Providence Gold Stars - DB, LB, DL, OL, RB
Picks: 6, 16, 26, 36
7 - Boston Independents - DL, DB, OL
Picks: 7, 27, 37
8 - Long Island Raiders - DB, OL
Picks: 8, 18, 28, 38
9 - London Tigers - LB, DL, WR
Picks: 9, 19, 29, 39 
10 - Ottawa Royals - OL, DL, DB, RB, WR
Picks: 10, 20, 40 

Who's Indy taking #1? How will the rest of the first round shake out?

NEXT: 1960 NAAF Draft - Round 1

The Victor's SHOULD draft #25 Greg Dix. Guaranteed championship if they do.