Former Cyclone Weylan Harding Signs Contract
Harding and his record-setting coaching staff have signed with the New York Dragons.
June 27, 2006
NEW YORK - Every member of the Arena Football League's New York Dragons' record-setting coaching staff, including former Iowa State cornerback and current New York head coach Weylan Harding, has signed multi-year contracts with the franchise. Terms of the contracts were not disclosed.
The staff -- Weylan Harding, line coach/co-special teams coordinator Jerome Brown, offensive coordinator Tony Kimbrough and wide receiver-linebackers coach/co-special teams coordinator Chad L. Lindsey -- became the first coaching staff in Arena Football League history to record twenty wins over their first two seasons, with ten wins in 2005 and another ten wins in 2006.
Harding made 109 career tackles at Iowa State from 1991-93. His interception of a two-point conversion pass in the closing seconds of Iowa State's 1991 game at Missouri, saved the contest for
ISU, which left Columbia with a 23-22 victory.
"We are appreciative of the opportunity this organization has afforded us, to seek to the end what the coaching staff and I have started," said Harding. "I'm very happy to be here in New York, we are going to be here for a while, and we will see it through to the end."
Harding has an all-time coaching record of 20-14. Before coming to the Dragons in 2005, Harding spent the previous three seasons as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Columbus/Buffalo franchise where he was also the defensive backs coach in the 2000 season. Under his guidance, the 2003 Destroyers' defense finished as the top-ranked unit in the AFL. At 34, Harding is currently the youngest coach in the AFL.
"We work in a business of a fast-changing environment," said Kimbrough. "It's exciting to know that the organization has confidence in you to finish what you started here."
