Document text
Heat goes through more changes By Tim Trower The Heat could not be a more appropriate nickname for the Southern Oregon indoor football team that is moving, albeit in fits and starts, to the official opening of practice and its first game. Apropos as in, "If you can�t stand the Heat, get out of the kitchen." Another round of change has hit the team, further challenging the soundness of the fledgling organization, and this time it comes spiced with a pinch of controversy. The Heat�s second head coach, Jeff King, left the team earlier this month without notice, says owner Kevin Wells. Defensive coordinator Brett Wells, a former all-league player at Oregon Tech, has been chosen to replace him and will be introduced at a press conference today. As the case of the missing coach unfolded, Kevin Wells was further taken aback when a couple of messages appeared on the team�s Web site calling into question his morals and his ability to run a football team given his primary business venture � Scandals � a Medford nightclub that features nude dancing. Despite the turmoil, the Heat and Kevin Wells are moving forward. "One of the things I�ve learned over the years is you have to adapt and adapt quickly if you�re going to be successful," says the owner. "The kids we�ve picked to play and the group we have to coach will be fine. We�ll get through it. We�ll get bumped up once or twice, but we�ll be OK." To that end comes today�s announcements. In addition to the promotion of Brett Wells, who is no relation to Kevin, the team will report a partnership with Marathon Media, which will broadcast all 14 games, and the signing of three former Southern Oregon University players. The games will air on KTMT-AM (580), with Bill Jacobs calling the action. The players recently signed are Jon Chamberlin, a three-year all-conference defensive lineman for the Raiders who was an All-American in 1997 and played in the Hula Bowl all-star game; former North Medford player William Salade, an all-conference defensive back in 1998; and receiver David Douglas, who holds the school record for receptions in a game with 14, set in 1996. They will now play for another new head coach. King had replaced Al Burrell, who ran the Heat�s first tryout last fall but soon after was let go because he and the owner didn�t see eye-to-eye. King was promoted and seemed to understand the team would operate on a shoestring budget as it got its legs. Then he bolted. "It was the most bizarre thing," says Kevin Wells. He and King visited prior to an owners meeting in Kansas City Feb. 2-4. King hadn�t been feeling well and was going to go to Fresno, Calif., his hometown, to visit his mother and see a doctor. When Wells returned, he found King had cleaned out his apartment. Repeated phone calls and messages have not been returned, says Kevin Wells. He doesn�t know specifically why King left but says the coach was stressed out the past month over the financial status of the team. "I told him it would not be a pretty situation for 30 to 60 days," says Kevin Wells. "He knew that. We�re paying bills and getting through things step by step. Right now, we�re sitting better than we were 30 days ago. I don�t know why he couldn�t understand that. I�m the one who has to worry about paying the bills, not him." Kevin Wells also suggested King was used to finer things when he coached in Germany and France. For instance, the owner says, King had use of Mercedes Benz vehicles in Germany. Here, Kevin Wells says, King was paid $2,000 a month and had his rent and utilities paid. "That�s pretty good for Medford, Ore.," he says. Brett Wells, who was hired by King, believes his predecessor will end up overseas, where he�s already made a name for himself. As for the Web site fuss, Kevin Wells believes, based on the wording of the missives before they were removed from the site, that they were the work of a couple of players bitter about not making the team. He was heartened that others came to his defense and were able to see a distinction between the two entities. "I�ve been in the community long enough that a lot of people know what I do for a living," he says. "One of the things I�ve never done is try to shove it down peoples� throats unless I got pushed and shoved on it. I don�t bring it out to the forefront. "One doesn�t have anything to do with the other. They�re two separate businesses, and we�re not crossing them over." Kevin Wells hopes to have all of his players signed by March 1, when practice starts in earnest. In the meantime, players � signed and unsigned � are holding conditioning sessions three times a week. The first game is March 28 at home against San Francisco. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.