Nashville Kats name Dean Cokinos as Head Coach and Vice President of Football Operations

To help lead the return of the Nashville Kats and the Arena Football League to the Music City, the Kats have tabbed veteran coach and administrator Dean Cokinos as Head Coach and Vice President of Football Operations.

Making the announcement today is Jeff Fisher, Nashville Kats Partner and President of Football Operations.

“As we went through the process, it became clear quite early on that Dean was the right person for the job,” said Fisher, the former Titans and Rams coach in the NFL. “He has for three-plus decades coached and worked in front offices on a variety of levels of football from high schools to colleges to internationally and, especially, a championship-winning pedigree in arena football. His experiences and knowledge will be invaluable from both a football and business perspective.”

Cokinos was assistant coach from 2005-07 for the prior Nashville Kats’ team under head coach Pat Sperduto. After the Kats, he later coached the Georgia Force, New Orleans VooDoo, Alabama Vipers and the Alabama Hammers. As a head coach, Cokinos boasts two League Championships, five Conference Championships, seven Semi-Final appearances and 13 playoff appearances. His overall record as a head coach is 185-61 with an 11-6 postseason record in four different leagues.

“With Nashville being home and knowing how popular the Nashville Kats were and will be again, I am excited to be part of helping return the Arena Football League to Nashville,” Cokinos said. “Obviously, getting to work with Jeff Fisher in launching the new Nashville Kats will be so much fun. I can’t wait to get started. We want to win Arena Football League championships.”

The franchise recently acquired the trademark for the team to be called the Nashville Kats, a nod to its groundbreaking run with the original AFL. The Kats will play five home games at historic Municipal Auditorium in downtown Nashville with the season opener versus the Minnesota Myth slated for Saturday, April 27. The Kats will also play the Georgia Force on Saturday, May 18 at the new F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville.