The Mahoning Valley Thunder have named Chris MacKeown (Mack-Cue-Win ) as their new Head Coach.  Interim Coach Brennan Booth will retain his position as Defensive Coordinator.  The move comes just a few days away from a home game with Lexington at The Covelli Centre.

MacKeown has a surplus of coaching experience in both AFL and AF2.  In his ten years as a head coach, his teams have made the playoffs seven times.  He has led teams to conference finals four times and to the championship game once. 

Thunder GM Adam Tokash thinks Coach MacKeown brings the chance of turning things around faster than most other candidates would.  “Chris brings a tremendous amount of arena experience and a history of winning along with a track record of turning teams around.  We appreciate the effort of Coach Booth who did a nice job of righting the ship and getting the team headed in a positive direction. We’re confident the hiring of Coach MacKeown will result in a winning product for several seasons to come.”

I am happy Coach Booth was retained and thank him for his accessibility and demeanor whenever I had a question.  With MacKeown, Booth and Andy Kelly form a dangerous coaching triangle that will be tough to outsmart. 

The Thunder host Kentucky Horsemen this Saturday.  The Horsemen are coming off of a 83-48 win against Florida.  They have a quarterback named Jared Lorenzen, a former Kentucky starter, who is built like a tackle.  The Horsemen bring a 4-4 record to Youngstown.  Kickoff is at 7:05 at The Covelli Centre.

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