ROB KEEFE TO ATHENS IS A HIRE 22 YEARS IN THE MAKING

They say timing is everything.

For Mike Sammond and the ownership group of the Indoor Football League's expansion team in Athens, Georgia, time sort of stood still on Sunday, April 12th. That's the day that the entire IFL world was stunned to find out that Rob Keefe had stepped down as Head Coach of the Orlando Pirates.

Sammond, like many people, learned of the news when it was delivered on the Yahoo Sports telecast prior to the game.

"I couldn't believe it," said Sammond, the President and CEO of the Athens IFL expansion team.

About a year ago, Sammond huddled up with his ownership group, long before the franchise was even announced, when Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis, a part of that group, asked him if he had anyone in mind for the head coaching position.

Sammond then reminisced back to 2004 when he was the President of the Columbus Wardogs of af2. There was a defensive back on that team who had earned a roster spot through a tryout.

His name was Rob Keefe.

Over the years, Sammond followed Keefe's career watching him win championship after championship…a combined seven of them as both a player and a coach.

Sammond brought up Keefe's name in that meeting, but he never thought that Keefe would be available…he had just been named the Head Coach of the Orlando Pirates. But after he heard the news that Keefe had resigned, he began to try and track him down. 

"The power of relationships is really an important thing to me," said Keefe. "When I became available, Mike called me and to hear that Mike was leading the Athens group, my eyes lit up." 

They had not spoken in 22 years, but they had a great conversation that day catching up and talking about the new team in Athens. A few weeks later, Keefe drove from his home in Orlando to meet Sammond and other members of the ownership group at an IFL game in Jacksonville. 

By the end of that night, a hire more than two decades in the making was taking shape.

"We knew we had identified the right person to build our franchise from the ground up," said Sammond.

In May, the franchise was introduced to the community at a lavish event at the Akins Ford Arena and last Friday, the team made it official naming Keefe Head Coach and Director of Football Operations. 

"Rob's championship pedigree, leadership, passion, and vision made him the perfect fit to establish the culture we want Athens Indoor Football to be known for," said Sammond.

This was a match made in Indoor Football League heaven.

"I'm very excited," said Keefe. "I'm honored and I'm thrilled to begin an amazing chapter in the Indoor Football League. I was very fortunate that they wanted me as much as I wanted them."

There were a number of things that attracted Keefe to Athens.

He was impressed with the ownership group that included Sammond, Bettis, former NFL/MLB player Brian Jordan, and former University of Georgia football player David Pollack. There was also a strong attachment to the community and a plan for extensive fan engagement.

And there's also this thing called a commitment to winning championships, so this was an opportunity with a new franchise that checked all of the boxes. 

"I feel like I do have a good knack of where new organizations are going to pop and I really do believe that this is going to be big," said Keefe. "With all respect to all of the Indoor Football League teams, this is going to set the bar in terms of sellout crowds, fan engagement, community experience, and a product on the field. When you put all of that stuff together, you're just naturally going to have a winner and I'm very excited for it."

While the 2026 season is still going, Keefe is already busy at work putting together the Athens franchise that will launch in 2027.

In many sports, it takes a while for a new franchise to build a winner. There are exceptions to that rule, but for the most part expansion teams aren't very good when they get started. But the IFL is unique in the fact that all players are under one-year contracts so that leads to extensive roster turnover around the league. Good players are going to become available and they are going to want to play for a coach that has a championship resume.

Keefe believes that it won't take long to build a winner in Athens.

"You can win very quickly if you do things the right way," said Keefe. "When you're involved in an ownership group that has a great vision, when you're involved in a community that will support your franchise both on and off the field, the sky is the limit. I go into every situation, whether it's a new team or an existing team, that it's a championship mindset and we are going to fight for a championship."

For Keefe, the process of identifying the right people who will help make Athens a championship franchise has already begun. Recruiting of players will begin this offseason when it is legally allowed by the IFL but the wheels are in motion to hit the ground running once the 2026 season comes to an end.

Keefe, who led the Bay Area Panthers to the 2023 IFL National Championship, is busy at work putting together a franchise that the fans in Athens will be proud of.

"I've been thinking about coaching staff, front office, and players since the moment I got that first phone call (in April)," said Keefe. "There's going to be a lot of opportunity for coaches. At the same time, I have my eyes on players who are not even in this league who are going to want to play in the IFL. When that championship game hits in Tucson (on August 16th) and the minute that's over, we'll be full steam ahead but right now it's really about sponsorships and it's about getting things organized." 

Throughout his career, Keefe has been with some very special franchises and has helped bring championships to those markets. But with the new franchise in Athens, Keefe is expecting an explosion that he has never seen before. Georgia is a football-crazy state and the University of Georgia is literally right down the street from Akins Ford Arena. Atlanta is just 70 miles away and there is football talent all over the state.

This is going to be off the charts.

"There's such a rich history of football from Pop Warner all the way up to professional sports," said Keefe. "It's going to be a really special place for me."

Athens will not be the only new franchise in the IFL next season.

Not long after Athens was announced as the first expansion team for 2027, it was announced during the IFL Cup in May that Austin, Texas will be joining the league as well in 2027. That will bring the total number of franchises in the Indoor Football League next season to at least 16, as there are rumors of more potential new teams.

The league is growing and Keefe is excited to be a part of it. 

"I'm very proud of how the league is being represented," said Keefe. "I'm grateful to Commissioner (Todd) Tryon and I'm very grateful for President of Business Operations Jared Widman. These guys are leading the charge in terms of creating a special brand in the IFL. This is just the beginning of how far we're going to take this."

It's certainly been an interesting few months for Keefe with emotions on both ends of the spectrum.

On April 12th, he was no longer a coach in the Indoor Football League. A few days later, a phone call from an old friend changed everything. Everyone around the IFL knew that there was going to be another opportunity for the indoor football legend to build another championship team and he now has that opportunity in Athens.

"I'm very fortunate," said Keefe. "I really am. I'm a person who really believes that everything happens for a reason. When it comes to Athens, when I got the phone call, I knew it was going to be perfect. I knew exactly what I wanted and what I didn't want. I know that Athens is going to be very special."

Timing is everything and that was the case for Rob Keefe and the IFL expansion team in Athens.