Carolina Cobras (NAL)
Current season
Established 2017
Play in Greensboro, North Carolina
at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex
CarolinaCobras.com
League/conference affiliations
Current uniform
Team colorsBlack, silver, red, white
       
CheerleadersVenom Hunnies [1]
Personnel
Owner(s)National Sports Ventures[2]
Rob Storm (majority)
John Kane
Darren S. Hunter
Theron Davis
Paul C. Marquardt Sr.
General managerBrandon Negron
Head coachBrandon Negron
Team history
  • Carolina Cobras (2018–present)
Championships
League championships (1)
  • NAL: 2018
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (5)
Home arena(s)

The Carolina Cobras are a professional indoor football team in the National Arena League (NAL) and that began play for the 2018 season. Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Cobras play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.[3]

The Cobras is the third indoor/arena team to call Greensboro home, following the Greensboro Prowlers of the af2 (2000–2003) and the Greensboro Revolution of the National Indoor Football League (2006–2007). A previous team called the Carolina Cobras played in the Arena Football League from 2000 until 2004. The AFL Cobras played three seasons in Raleigh and two in Charlotte before folding. The NAL Cobras use a logo similar in style to the defunct AFL Cobras' logo, but otherwise has no direct connection to the AFL franchise.

History

The Cobras were officially announced as members of the National Arena League (NAL) on December 4, 2017.[3] In their introductory announcement, the team named former Cincinnati Commandos, Texas Revolution, Nashville Venom and Wichita Falls Nighthawks head coach Billy Back as their new coach.[4]

The Cobras inaugural season finished with a regular season record of 10–5, taking second place in the league. The Cobras then defeated the Jacksonville Sharks in the playoff semifinal and earned the right to host the 2018 NAL Championship game at home after the first place Massachusetts Pirates lost their semifinal to the Columbus Lions.[5] With the Lions missing several starting players including their quarterback Mason Espinosa and all running backs,[6] the Cobras dominated Columbus in the championship game 66–8.[7]

In their second season, the Cobras again made it to the championship game, where they lost to the Sharks 52–48. Following the season, head coach Billy Back and most of his staff left the team to coach the relaunched Spokane Shock in the Indoor Football League when the NAL was announced to merge with Champions Indoor Football for the 2020 season.[8] The Cobras initially hired Massachusetts Pirates' head coach Anthony Payton after the Pirates withdrew from the league due to the merger.[9] However, the merger fell apart[10] and the team then hired former defensive coordinator Josh Resignalo as head coach in December 2019.[11]

On September 22, 2022, head coach and general manager Josh Resignalo stepped down to "explore other opportunities". The next day, on September 13, the Cobras announced that their offensive coordinator and arena football veteran James Fuller would be tapped as only the team's third head coach in franchise history. [12]

Season-by-season results

League champions Playoff berth League leader
Season League Regular season Postseason results
Finish Wins Losses
2018 NAL 1st 10 5 Won Semifinal (Jacksonville) 73–48
Won NAL Championship (Columbus) 66–8
2019 NAL 2nd 9 5 Won Semifinal (Massachusetts) 30–26
Lost NAL Championship (Jacksonville) 48–52
2020 NAL Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 NAL 4th 3 5 Lost Semifinal (Albany) 41–55
2022 NAL 2nd 9 5 Won Semifinal (Columbus) 65–51
Lost NAL Championship (Albany) 20–47
2023 NAL 2nd 10 4 Won Semifinal (San Antonio) 52–36
Lost NAL Championship (Jacksonville) 45–54
2024 NAL 0 0
Totals 41 24 All-time regular season record
5 4 All-time postseason record
46 28 All-time regular season and postseason record

Current roster

Carolina Cobras roster
Quarterbacks
  •  9 Justin Arth
  • 12 Nick Eilers
  • 10 Guy Myers
  •  8 Giovanni Sanders

Running backs

  • 22 Adeolu Adeleke
  • 11 James Summers

Wide receivers

  • 89 Devonte Baker
  •  3 Alex Coleman
  • 16 Jarvai Flowers
  •  2 Julius Gregory
  • 17 Kendrick Ings
  • 19 Logan Meade
  • 80 Ky Priester
  • -- Donovan Rasberry
  •  4 Adam Smith
 Offensive linemen
  • 55 CJ Cain
  • 99 Tavin Fitzgerald
  • 98 John Kennedy

Defensive linemen

  • 88 Charles Brooks
  • 13 Caleb Lowery
  •  5 Shahaun Williams
  • 15 Gibson Ziah
 Linebackers
  • 26 Khalil Patterson
  • 45 Raphael Turner

Defensive backs

  •  0 Raymond Boone
  •  7 Jamarii Milliken
  • 24 Brian Price
  •  1 Joe Powell
  • 21 Kevin Simmons
  • 31 Charles Turner-Cox

Special teams

  •  6 Kevin Didio-Weber
 Reserve lists
  • Currently vacant
  • Rookies in italics
  • Roster updated March 1, 2024
  • 30 Active, 0 Inactive

Staff

Carolina Cobras (NAL) staff

Front office

  • General manager – Brandon Negron
  • Assistant general manager – Kerianne Johansen
  • Director of scouting – Julien Robinson
  • Director of business development – Darrel Moyd
  • Marketing advisor – Nicole Pruchnik
  • Marketing advisor – Steven Shotola

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Brandon Negron
  • Assistant head coach – Fred Price

Offensive coaches

  • Quarterbacks – Ray Isaac
  • Wide receivers – Julien Robinson
  • Offensive line/Defensive line – Brandon Sutton
  • Run game coordinator – Ray Flowers
 Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator – Mike Green



Head coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the 2023 National Arena League season.

Name Tenure Regular season Playoffs Awards
W L Win% W L
Billy Back 2018–2019 19 10 .655 3 1
Josh Resignalo 2021–2022 12 10 .545 1 2
James Fuller 2023 10 4 .714 1 1 NAL Coach of the Year (2023)
Brandon Negron 2024–present 0 0 – 0 0

References

  1. ^ "Official Website of the Carolina Cobras: Venom Hunnies".
  2. ^ "Arena football set to return to Greensboro Coliseum with Carolina Cobras". Greensboro.com. December 4, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "NAL Expansion Heads to North Carolina - Expansion Team in Carolina to be named Cobras". NationalArenaLeague.com. December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  4. ^ "Cobras name Billy Back Head Coach - 2016 IFL Coach of the Year set to lead Carolina in 2018". NationalArenaLeague.com. December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  5. ^ "Cobras Playoff Victory Over Sharks". NationalArenaLeague.com. August 15, 2018.
  6. ^ "Columbus Lions throttled in national championship game". Ledger-Enquirer. August 28, 2018.
  7. ^ "Carolina Cobras win National Arena League football championship". Greensboro.com. August 27, 2018.
  8. ^ "NAL and CIF merge to form new indoor football league". WTVM. September 26, 2019.
  9. ^ "Carolina Cobras Announce Anthony Payton as New Head Coach". GreensboroSports.com. October 2, 2019.
  10. ^ "National Arena League and Champions Indoor Football to Postpone 2020 partnership". NAL. October 10, 2019.
  11. ^ "Cobras Hire Former Defensive Coordinator as New Head Coach". ABC45.com. December 6, 2019.
  12. ^ "JAMES FULLER PROMOTED TO HEAD COACH". CarolinaCobras.com. September 13, 2022.

External links

National Arena League
Sports teams based in North Carolina
Categories