Pat Sperduto
Encyclopedia
Pat Sperduto is an American football
coach and executive who was the final head coach
of the Columbus Destroyers
of the Arena Football League
as well as a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs
of the National Football League
. Sperduto played his entire three-year Arena career as an active player with Tampa Bay Storm
, and was also the final head coach of the Nashville Kats
.
and linebacker
. He earned All-New England Conference honors from 1987-1989.
from until . While playing for Tampa Bay, he won two ArenaBowl
s. For his career, he recorded 24 tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
General Manager
Scott Pioli
. Then, in 1992, Sperduto took over football operations for the American Sports Foundation of Macelatta in Tolentino
, Italy
.
. The next season he served as defensive coordinator
for the Connecticut Coyotes
. He then joined the Nashville Kats
where, in , he served as defensive coordinator and the Director of Player Personnel. and was promoted to Assistant Head coach/Defensive coordinator in . At the end of that season, he was named head coach of the Kats and coached them to an 8-6 record in . The next season the team finished 9-5 and earned a spot in ArenaBowl XIV
. Then in , the Kats finished 10-5 and won the National Conference Southern Division and earned a spot in another ArenaBowl
losing a second time. After the season, the franchise was sold to Atlanta Falcons
owner Arthur Blank
and moved to Georgia
and became the Georgia Force
.
in September 2001, and served on the coaching and scouting staffs until June 2008. While working for the Titans, in , he was charged to oversee the startup process of a new AFL franchise to be placed in Nashville
.
On June 15, 2008, he was hired as the fourth head coach of the Columbus Destroyers
. However, the 2009 AFL season was cancelled due to economic concerns regarding the league.
.
and college football
games on local Middle Tennessee
television, as well as the Tennessee Titans.
, with their son Cosmo, and daughters Roseann and Sofia.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach and executive who was the final head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
of the Columbus Destroyers
Columbus Destroyers
The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They folded along with the original incarnation of the AFL following the 2008 season, after a total of...
of the Arena Football League
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League is the highest level of professional indoor American football in the United States. It is currently the second longest running professional football league in the United States, after the National Football League. It was founded in 1987 by Jim Foster...
as well as a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. Sperduto played his entire three-year Arena career as an active player with Tampa Bay Storm
Tampa Bay Storm
The Tampa Bay Storm are an Arena Football League team based in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. They play their home games in the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa....
, and was also the final head coach of the Nashville Kats
Nashville Kats
The Nashville Kats were an Arena Football League team, located in Nashville, Tennessee. They were last coached by Pat Sperduto, who coached the team's original incarnation to two ArenaBowl appearances prior to the original franchise's move to Atlanta in 2002...
.
College career
Sperduto attended the UMass Boston. While there, he was both a fullbackFullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
and linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
. He earned All-New England Conference honors from 1987-1989.
Professional playing career
Sperduto was an Offensive lineman / Defensive lineman for the Tampa Bay StormTampa Bay Storm
The Tampa Bay Storm are an Arena Football League team based in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. They play their home games in the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa....
from until . While playing for Tampa Bay, he won two ArenaBowl
ArenaBowl
The ArenaBowl is the Arena Football League's championship game. From 1987 to 2004, the ArenaBowl was hosted by either the team with the better regular-season record or the higher seeding in the playoffs. From ArenaBowl XIX in 2005 until ArenaBowl XXII in 2008, the game was played at a neutral site...
s. For his career, he recorded 24 tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Early career
While playing for the Storm, Sperduto also served as a coach at Murray State University, along with National Football LeagueNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
Scott Pioli
Scott Pioli
Scott Pioli is a professional American football executive, currently serving as the general manager for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League . Pioli was previously a front office executive for the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, and New England Patriots...
. Then, in 1992, Sperduto took over football operations for the American Sports Foundation of Macelatta in Tolentino
Tolentino
Tolentino is a town and comune of about 20,000 inhabitants, in the province of Macerata in the Marche region of central Italy.It is located in the middle of the valley of the Chienti.-History:...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Arena Football League (1995–2001)
Sperduto joined the Storm as an assistant coach in and helped them win the ArenaBowl in 1995ArenaBowl IX
ArenaBowl IX was the Arena Football League's ninth Arena Bowl. The game featured the #6 Orlando Predators of the National Conference against the #1 Tampa Bay Storm , also of the National Conference. This would be the very first ArenaBowl to have the "War On I-4" rivalry featured in it...
. The next season he served as defensive coordinator
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
for the Connecticut Coyotes
Connecticut Coyotes
The Connecticut Coyotes were a franchise in the Arena Football League.-History:They competed in the 1995 and 1996 AFL seasons. They played their home games at the Hartford Civic Center....
. He then joined the Nashville Kats
Nashville Kats
The Nashville Kats were an Arena Football League team, located in Nashville, Tennessee. They were last coached by Pat Sperduto, who coached the team's original incarnation to two ArenaBowl appearances prior to the original franchise's move to Atlanta in 2002...
where, in , he served as defensive coordinator and the Director of Player Personnel. and was promoted to Assistant Head coach/Defensive coordinator in . At the end of that season, he was named head coach of the Kats and coached them to an 8-6 record in . The next season the team finished 9-5 and earned a spot in ArenaBowl XIV
ArenaBowl XIV
ArenaBowl XIV is widely hailed as one of the most exciting games in ArenaBowl history, ranking alongside classics such as ArenaBowl XVIII and ArenaBowl XIX. Featuring two teams from the Arena Football League's Southern Division, the game went as a Southern Division game might be expected to: a...
. Then in , the Kats finished 10-5 and won the National Conference Southern Division and earned a spot in another ArenaBowl
ArenaBowl XV
- Game summary :The Grand Rapids Rampage scored an ArenaBowl-record 64 points as they sent a sellout crowd home from Van Andel Arena happy with a 64-42 victory over the Nashville Kats to claim their first ArenaBowl title in team history....
losing a second time. After the season, the franchise was sold to Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
owner Arthur Blank
Arthur Blank
Arthur M. Blank is an American businessman and a co-founder of The Home Depot. Today he is known for his philanthropy and his ownership of the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League.-Early life:...
and moved to Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and became the Georgia Force
Georgia Force
The Georgia Force are an Arena Football League team based in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States that plays in the South Division of the American Conference. The team is owned by Doug MacGregor and Donn Jennings...
.
National Football League
Sperduto was hired by the Tennessee TitansTennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
in September 2001, and served on the coaching and scouting staffs until June 2008. While working for the Titans, in , he was charged to oversee the startup process of a new AFL franchise to be placed in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
Arena Football League (2005–present)
In , Sperduto returned to coaching in the Arena Football League as Head coach and Director of football operations for the "new" Nashville Kats franchise. That season, the Kats went 6-9-1 and finished third in the Central Division. The next season the team went 8-8 en route to a second place finish in the division and spot in the playoffs. The season saw Nashville go 7-9 and miss the playoffs by one game. After the season the team folded, once again.On June 15, 2008, he was hired as the fourth head coach of the Columbus Destroyers
Columbus Destroyers
The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They folded along with the original incarnation of the AFL following the 2008 season, after a total of...
. However, the 2009 AFL season was cancelled due to economic concerns regarding the league.
National Football League (2009–present)
On May 1, 2009, Sperduto was hired by his friend, Pioli, as a scout for the Kansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
.
Broadcasting
Sperduto has also done some broadcasting work, acting as a color analyst for high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
games on local Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....
television, as well as the Tennessee Titans.
Personal
Sperduto and his wife, Laura, reside in Brentwood, TennesseeBrentwood, Tennessee
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,445 people, 7,693 households, and 6,808 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 7,889 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.63% European American, 1.89% African American,...
, with their son Cosmo, and daughters Roseann and Sofia.