New Top Dawg
Recently appointed Head Coach Jeff Jarnigan intends to lead Oklahoma City to another af2 playoff appearance.

Oklahoma City, OK – Following an inaugural 10-6 season and a wild card playoff spot, the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz were determined to get someone with experience to lead the team after Gary Reasons decided to step down as head coach.

An arena football veteran is exactly what they found in former Austin Wranglers (AFL) and Tulsa Talons (af2) Defensive Coordinator Jeff Jarnigan.

Yard Dawgz co-owners Barry Switzer and Jeff Lund recently announced 40-year old Jarnigan as the team's new head coach.

"I believe Oklahoma City is a tremendous market and has a great fan base,"
Jarnigan said. "I felt moving back to the af2, this time as a head coach, was a great opportunity for me."

"Coach Jarnigan has vast experience in coaching in the af2, even winning an Arena Cup," Lund stated. "He has coached in the AFL and all the guys who have played for him love and respect him. This is a great opportunity for Coach Jarnigan to dominate as a head coach in the af2. Our expectations of him are very high."

Jeff spent the 2004 season as the defensive coordinator of the expansion AFL
Austin Wranglers.

Defensively, the Wranglers tallied 4.1 stops per game and finished 3rd in sacks, 3rd in third downs allowed, 8th in turnover margin and 12th out of 19 teams in total Defense.
After a slow start the Wrangler pass defense held their opponents to an average of 210 passing yards over the final 8 games of the season.

"My goals have less to do with offensive and defensive stats and more to do with being focused on going out and winning games and eventually the Arena Cup," Jarnigan said. "All the other stuff, the individual and team statistics are all secondary to winning."

Jarnigan tallies over 17 years of football coaching experience including five years in arena/indoor football.

He spent the ‘01-‘03 seasons as the Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach for the af2's Tulsa Talons, where his defense consistently finished in the top third of the league in several defensive categories including pass defense rating, red zone defense, turnover margin and sacks.

During Jeff's three seasons as the defensive coordinator, Tulsa accumulated a 44-10 record, won two National Conference Central Division Championships and won the Arena Cup in 2003.

In addition, during his three seasons in Tulsa the Talons were undefeated at home in the regular season.

Prior to joining the Talons, Jarnigan served as the Head Coach of the Indoor Football League's Minnesota Purple Rage ('00), Offensive Line coach at Carleton College ('95-'99), Defensive Line coach at Morningside JC ('93-'94), Assistant Coach at Bethel College ('89-'92) and began his coaching career as Offensive Line coach at Fort Hays State in 1988.

As a player, Jarnigan was an all-conference offensive lineman and three-year starter at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas. In 1984 Southwestern finished 3rd in the nation and suffered a semi-final loss to eventual NAIA champion Northwestern (IA).