Tue Jul 8 22:31:12 2008

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Cleveland's Wilpolt named AFL Coach of the Year

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New York, NY (Sports Network) - Cleveland Gladiators head coach Mike Wilpolt was named the 2008 Arena Football League Coach of the Year, the league announced on Tuesday.

In his first year with the Gladiators, Wilpolt engineered a remarkable turnaround, taking a team that finished 2-14 in 2007 to a 9-7 regular season mark this season and the fourth seed in the National Conference playoffs.

Cleveland has since pulled off two straight wins to set up a National Conference Championship matchup with the league-best Philadelphia Soul on Saturday.

The Gladiators named Wilpolt head coach in September after he spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Avengers. Wilpolt's only previous AFL head coaching experience came in 2004, when he took over the Indiana Firebirds in Week 6 and led them to an 8-3 record down the stretch.

Other coaches receiving votes included Arizona's Kevin Guy, Chicago's Mike Hohensee and Philadelphia's Bret Munsey.