Rebirth of a Bandit

Sioux City's indoor league franchise announced in November it would be one of 12 teams in the newly organized United Indoor Football League.

The Bandits are competing in a four-team North Division that consists of two former rivals from the National Indoor Football League's Pacific Conference North Division, the Sioux Falls Storm and the Omaha Beef, along with a team from Pacific Conference West, the Rapid City Red Dogs.

"I'm excited about this league from an owner's standpoint," said Bob Scott, managing general partner of the Bandits, when the announcement was made. "The owners felt that over the years we have strayed away from being an owner's league to a centralized, controlled league. This hopefully, will be an owner's league that will be a benefit to our fans."

All teams are playing a 15-game schedule that started in March. When the Bandits took to the home turf at the Tyson Events Center for their first game March 19, a familiar face to indoor football fans led the Sioux City team onto the field.

In December the team announced Jose Jefferson would be removed from the Bandits' enemy list. Why? Jefferson, the former skipper of the Lincoln Capitals, was named the new head coach of the Sioux City Bandits.

"We haven't even won a game yet and the treatment I've received from the community, the media and the organization has been great," Jefferson said in February.

Jefferson replaced Ervin Bryson, who left in October to become the head coach of the NIFL expansion franchise in Daytona Beach, Fla.

A 1993 University of South Dakota graduate, Jefferson has head coaching experience in several indoor football leagues. After four years as an assistant coach at Omaha Westside High School, Jefferson directed the Lincoln Lightning of the now-defunct Indoor Football League.

The Lightning moved up to the af2 league in 2001 and Jefferson remained at the helm for an 8-8 campaign. But in 2002, the team ceased operations without playing a game. During the same year, the team reorganized as the NIFL's Lincoln Capitols.

Jefferson went 11-4 in 2002 and won his second coach of the year award. He returned to the af2 with the Green Bay Blizzards in 2003, posting a 4-12 record, then returned for six games with the Capitols in 2004. After a 3-0 start the team lost three in a row, including a 51-19 loss in Sioux City, and he was dismissed.

The 34-year-old was an assistant coach last fall at Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, Neb. Rounding out the coaching staff are Roger Jansen, Tom Luxford and Stephan Pearson, a former Morningside College wide receiver.

Coming off an 8-6 season where the Bandits made its first playoff appearance in its five years in existence, Jefferson likes their chances of once again making the playoffs in 2005. He said recruiting went well and the team was able to add height, speed and strength, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Quarterback may prove to be an interesting position to watch this season, the coach said. Jarrod DeGeorgia, who passed for 4,900 yards and 56 touchdowns during the 2002 and 2003 seasons, returned to the Bandits. He faces competition from Willie Simmons, a backup QB from the 1999 to 2002 at Clemson University.

"I only have two quarterbacks in camp, but between those two guys I've got everything I could want," Jefferson said.

Mark Carley, sales manager, said the excitement on the field will be matched by the entertainment around the field. All the fan favorite contests and giveaways returned for 2005. New this season are the "Bandit Babes," who act as ball girls, and "Community Night Out with the Bandits," a new program where businesses in area communities can purchase 100 tickets to a game to give to residents of their town.

"We feel we have really established the Bandits games as fun and exciting for the whole family," Carley said.

A new logo was also been unveiled for this season. It was designed by Sioux City artist Kent McCuddin and is meant to convey a more aggressive message.

"The new logo is part of our fresh start," Carley said.

"We think the new logo is exciting and we think this will be an exciting team," Scott said.