[revrew]

Dragons Stick to Guns, Go Down in Whimper of Glory
Dick Grayson, sports reporter, Des Moines Register

You gotta give Coach Kevin O'Dea of the Des Moines Dragons this: He sticks to his convictions.

The coach who was celebrated for leading the Dragons to their first-ever playoff game in his first season is now also the proud owner of a disastrous, losing campaign in his second season. He made the decision to bench the heart and soul of the Dragons to go with a rookie, 5th round quarterback. And he rode that decision to the second worst record in the NFL. That's conviction.

And by all accounts, O'Dea plans to stick with young QB Dakota Corriveau for another year. For better or worse, the coach has hitched his wagon to this quarterback.

Does that put O'Dea on the hot seat should the Dragons not return to respectability? Is there ticking clock on O'Dea's tenure in Des Moines?

I'm going to propose that depends largely on this next draft. The Dragons have the draft capital, in the 1.2 pick and a pair of thirds, to move around and get the players O'Dea wants. And by listening to the usual college scout pundits, there may be some players from Iowa worth picking in the upcoming draft.

O'Dea has determined that the team will go young and seek to build a winner, rather than a .500 finisher. He insists that giving the kids the reins is the way to get the experience they need. The gamble he may be taking, however, is whether those youngsters will be ready to win before the stellar Dragon secondary – the strongest, but oldest unit on the team – starts to crumble.