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Back Up: Standout Cincinnati indoor coach finds new home with Revolution
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
When the Allen Wranglers brought former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens on board for the 2012 season, it attracted plenty of attention both locally and nationally.
One who took notice was Billy Back, then in the midst of his third season with the Cincinnati Commandos of the United Indoor Football League.
Fast forward to present day and, while the team is without Owens and rebranded under a different name, that didn't deter Back's interest en route to being announced as the first head coach of the Texas Revolution last week.
Back initially expressed interest when the Wranglers parted ways with head coach Patrick Pimmel in May. That allowed Back to build a rapport with current Revolution president Tommy Benizio, whom Back was in touch with previously about bringing the Commandos to the IFL during Benizio's stint as league commissioner.
Retaining contact once Benizio came on board with the Wranglers and eventually Revolution, Back flew in over the summer and interviewed for the position.
He accepted the job Sept. 8.
"The City of Allen and this area in general is phenomenal for me," Back said. "The growth of it, the sponsorships that were coming on board and the people involved with the team; they were real people and told me the pros and cons of the company and what they had to overcome."
During the process, the IFL's Wyoming Calvary and the PIFL's Knoxville Nighthawks expressed interest.
"I was actually offered the job to go to Wyoming," Back said. "As I was getting off the airplane in Dallas, the e-mail with all the logistics came through, so that was kind of odd."
From the moment he was hired, Back began recruiting among a different talent pool.
"The talent base around here is great," he said. "I'm an Ohio guy and up there, football is king. Well, down here in Texas, it's God."
Back has been seeking out pieces that fit the high-octane system he implemented during his time with the Commandos, a program he helped build from scratch and won league championships with in all three seasons. Back amassed a 35-3 record in Cincinnati with an atypical offensive approach.
"Our offense is not what you normally see in indoor football," he said. "We snap the ball within 12 seconds every play and everything is based off hand signals, kind of like a run-and-shoot fastbreak offense. We practice that tempo, which means our defense is used to that pace and is in great shape as well."
That, plus character, have played heavy roles in the Revolution's recruiting process.
"Before we sign guys, I talked with them on the phone to get to know their personality," Back said. "We want them to be cordial to everybody. We don't want it to be like with T.O. last year where he's signing autographs with his head down and sunglasses on; we want our guys to get to know their fans."
The Revolution took one more step toward filling out their roster by holding a tryout last Sunday that drew more than 80 people.
"The interest level is really high for this team right now and they're doing it the right way," Back said. "I couldn't be happier with where I'm at."
From there, Texas will hold training camp Feb. 7-24, with a preseason game against the North Texas Crunch mixed in Feb. 21. The 2013 season takes from March 1 in a road tilt against the Cedar Rapids Titans.
"I hate losing more than I love to win," Back said. "I lost two games last year back-to-back against two teams we'd see in the playoffs and I was sick to my stomach. We wanted to play those guys again and make an example out of them. In reality, our goal is a championship and with the roster we have this season, there's no reason we shouldn't win a championship."
For continued news and coverage on the local sports scene, follow @MWelchSCN on Twitter.
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