Cedar Rapids Titans experience ‘growing pains’ after offseason changes

CEDAR RAPIDS - With a rookie head coach and an overhauled roster, it was easy to predict an uphill climb for the Cedar Rapids Titans.

With one win in 16 games, up is the only direction left for the sixth-year Indoor Football League franchise.

'I expected some growing pains,” Cedar Rapids General Manager Chris Kokalis said after the Titans closed the season with a 56-25 loss Sunday at Arizona, their 10th loss in a row. 'While people might look at the record on paper and say, ‘Wow, 1-15,' I look at it a little bit differently. I think if you look at the football games across the board that we've played, we're just so close to being there.”

In 15 defeats, six were by 12 points or less, including five of the final eight contests. It was a steep decline for an organization that had made four consecutive appearances in the conference championship game with a veteran roster under former coach Mark Stoute.

At the start of this season, no players remained from the squad that won the franchise's first playoff game in 2016.

'Players, especially at this league, will basically sign with coaches that they know and feel comfortable with,” Kokalis said. 'While I think organization is a factor ... when you announce that you're having a relatively-young head coach (Marvin McNutt) come in and guys are getting courted by some of the other coaches in the league, some followed Coach Stoute and some went off on their own way. With some, it just wasn't a fit for Marvin or for the organization.”

When Stoute left for Jacksonville, Fla., in the new National Arena League, the club had the opportunity to maintain staff and roster continuity by promoting Stoute's offensive coordinator Dixie Wooten.

Kokalis elected to hand the reins to McNutt, 27, a former University of Iowa wide receiver who lacked experience, but possessed an eagerness to inject his passion for the game and the state into his first coaching job.

Wooten moved on to Iowa, where his Barnstormers are 13-2 and can win the United Conference with a victory over league juggernaut Sioux Falls on Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena.

'I'm not one of those people that play the what-if game,” Kokalis said. 'His timeline didn't necessarily work out with our timeline. I'm proud of him and happy for him, but at the same time I'm happy with Marvin with the things that he accomplished. ... This is a tough gig. This is a tough role to make that transition from player to coach.”

Off the field, the hiring of McNutt brought a year-round presence in the community, which keeps the franchise in the local eye throughout the offseason through football camps, appearances and charity work.

Between the lines, former Northern Iowa quarterback Brion Carnes established a franchise record with 55 touchdown passes, while McNutt tutored receivers Damond Powell, Tre Parmalee and Connor Hollenbeck, who are statistically ranked among the top dozen receivers in the IFL.

McNutt is halfway through a two-year contract.

'The thing that impressed me the most with him and watching him progress this season, he's always learning and he's always looking to improve as a coach,” Kokalis said. 'He realizes he has a lot to learn and he's doing the little things. He's talking to other coaches, he's spending extra time in the film room, spending extra time with players ... You've got to look at the positives and I think for Marvin being responsible for stepping into the shoes of a team that had been to the conference championship the last three years, has done a good job. There's always areas for improvement.”

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com