Coach of Claymores is no more

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

BY MATT TENCH

Displaying a sense of timing that hardly bodes well, the Scottish Claymores yesterday sacked their head coach five days before their first game in the World League of American Football.

Larry Kuharich was appointed to lead the Claymores, a new franchise, last November. His departure is a surprise following his side's 5-0 pre- season record, including a rout of the London Monarchs in their final game of pre-season training in Atlanta. Jim Criner, the Claymores special teams co-ordinator and a former college head coach at Iowa State and Boise State, replaces Kuharich.

A statement from the Claymores said Kuharich, a former head coach in the Canadian and Arena football leagues, "was relieved from his position after it was determined that his coaching philosophy did not mesh with the make-up of the team".

The league is being relaunched by the NFL and Rupert Murdoch's Fox TV network with six European teams after a three-year absence. The Claymores play their first game against the Rhein Fire at Murrayfield on Sunday.