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Jobe can turn the Heat�s fortunes around By Kris Henry Forget professional wrestling or the XFL, the National Indoor Football League has replaced all challengers for the title of best soap opera in sports. From coaching defections to villainous road teams and P.T. Barnum-like promotions, the NIFL has shown in one year what it takes most leagues to develop in an entire decade. Lost in all the hoopla over this past week�s firing of Larry Jobe by Yakima and instant hiring by Southern Oregon, however, was the notion that the Heat actually shunned soap-opera tactics for sound business. Sure the timing was suspect, but the move wasn�t. If Southern Oregon has shown anything thus far this season, it�s that the Heat could use some guidance to the world of indoor football. Learning the game on the fly has put a wet blanket over the Heat�s potential early-season success. Jobe can help turn that around. Besides guiding Yakima to a 2-3 record, Jobe also coached Denver�s team in the Indoor Professional Football League two years ago. As a co-head coach with Eric Vanderwegen, he provides a nice check-and-balance factor for the 26-year-old quarterback and first-time coach. "I�m really looking forward to this relationship with Eric because I think I can take him under my wing and help him out," says Jobe, 42. "There�s nobody in the organization that can have a higher level of impact than Eric, provided that we just give him a little guidance and structure and move him in the right direction. "I think hopefully what I can impart on Eric is some patience and knowing when to be firm and when to have some flexibility." Hampering the Heat thus far has been a predictable, sometimes uninspired, game plan and an overall inability to make on-field adjustments. In three home games, Southern Oregon has only one field goal to show for its second-half efforts. Jobe can help turn that around too. He professes to spending 25 to 40 hours a week evaluating game film and preparing his game plan. That research time enabled Yakima to be in contention each week under Jobe, falling short three times by an average of 12 points. "We were in every football game that we played, and a lot of that had to do with plan," says Jobe. "You still have to have the athletes on the field though." Under Jobe, Yakima averaged 10 more points-scored than the Heat (32.6 to 22), although Southern Oregon allowed two points less per game in that same span. In the 18-team NIFL, only the River Cities Locomotives (0-4) have averaged fewer points-scored (20) than the Heat through the first five weeks of the season. "I value his input," Vanderwegen says of Jobe. "We haven�t had a chance to talk a lot of X�s and 0�s but I definitely am open to his input. I�m looking forward to this opportunity." Also looking forward to Jobe�s affect on the Heat is team owner Kevin Wells, who has worn himself thin this season as owner, general manager, on-field coach, field-crew member. If it�s been done by the Heat, there�s a very good chance Wells played a role in it. "We could use another experienced coach down here," says Wells. "I�m too drawn out as an owner and have too many responsibilities now to continue what we�ve been doing." THE RELATIONSHIP between Jobe and Wells is deep-rooted, with Jobe actually trying to talk Wells into becoming a part-owner of the Shockwave in its early stages of development. Wells declined the offer, and both left the door open to work together some day in the future. "The future just came a lot quicker than what I expected it to," says Jobe.If Jobe�s situation proves anything, it�s that the NIFL is a business � like any other professional organization. "If a guy becomes available and you feel he can help your organization, then you�re going to pick him up," says Jobe. "That�s just the way it is." And like any business, you constantly must evaluate strengths and weaknesses and do whatever you can to take care of the latter. To an extent. "Kevin�s made it pretty clear that while our goal is as much instantaneous success as we can get," says Jobe, "that won�t be done at the expense of the future of the organization." A desire for the quick fix is what Jobe says put him at odds with Shockwave officials. "I really had difficulty relating to them that building a football team is a process. It doesn�t happen overnight," he says. JOBE DOES HAVE an idea of where the Heat needs to start in its rebuilding process. "The biggest obstacle right now is getting these people in Medford to realize that they have a professional football team that needs their support," he says. "I think (the Heat�s) deserving of their support because they�ve been through some tough times and they continue to hang in there." To wit, Jobe has only one request for Thursday�s game against the Ohio Valley Greyhounds at the Inferno. "I�d like to see that place full on Thursday night," he says. "And I can promise you this, when everybody shows up Thursday night they�re going to see a different Southern Oregon Heat team." As P.T. Barnum might have said during his days, "You�ll have to see it to believe it." And although it may not be the greatest show on Earth, at least the Heat is working toward that goal. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.