The Carolina Chaos formally introduced Roy Colsey as their new head coach and Spencer Ford as their new general manager at a press conference held on Sunday.
Colsey played for both iterations of the Barrage in the MLL, first with Bridgeport and then with Philadelphia. He was a four time all star, and was MLL Championship MVP in 2006 when the Barrage won the title. Colsey also played indoors professionally for the Rochester Knighthawks, New York Saints, Buffalo Bandits, New Jersey Storm, and Anaheim Storm. Colsey was inducted into the USA Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2012, and the PLL’s Pro Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2024. Ford served as GM for the Chesapeake Bayhawks and Director of Pro Personnel for the Atlanta Blaze, both in the MLL. In his six years as GM of the Bayhawks, the club won three MLL titles, earning Ford the reputation of being an outstanding roster builder.
The press conference began with comments from PLL President and Co-Founder Paul Rabil, who took questions on the hiring process and how it has changed for the Chaos.
On the hiring process
Rabil said that the separating of the GM and the Head Coach role was part of the search from the get go for the Chaos, and added that’s been an evolution over the last two years. “When we first transitioned our existing head coaches to dual responsibilities as GMs, we had discussions with them about bringing on additional personnel to take on those roles and responsibilities,” Rabil said. He also said that in the first round of hiring, all the candidates wanted to also be GMs, including Colsey initially.
“Part of the growing, and some might call it growing pains, of the league is learning when to balance the needs of our athletes, the needs of our coaches, and what the market is ready to dictate. In this case, it was right out of the gates. We had the conversation with Roy, who you know was interested in GM’ing as well, and we said, we're just gonna make this easy. This is the path moving forward,” said Rabil. He added they had the same conversation with Ford, and called Ford one of the greatest GM’s that pro lacrosse has ever had.
Colsey would say that an early part of the hiring process did include some GM focused exercises. “ It was interesting when we started the process, that because part of the hiring process was going through and being vetted as a GM, so we had a pretty tough assignment where we had to go through and take our roster and tell them who we were going to draft who he might pick up the free agency where we'd spend our money,” said Colsey.
Ultimately Ford would be named GM. “I feel like I got the number one pick in in the GM draft, right? It happened to be the first time that we're getting a GM, and I would not have wanted to have been the second or the third or the fourth guy to have a GM,” said Colsey, adding, “I feel like I got the best GM there is in the game. The timing worked out really well for me, it worked out really well for Spencer, and I'm really excited to have someone as successful and who has proven himself to be a great evaluator of talent alongside me, and we’ll build this thing together”
On interviewing
The process for the candidates was, as it has been for previous hires, rigorous. Candidates were, from the very beginning, tasked with demonstrating how they’d coach the team, evaluate and acquire players, and more. “We evolved our process this time and took a page out of college football. Generally with a big hire, your first meeting is to down with the playbook. And the playbook is bespoke to the team that you're applying for. And, and then we go through a draft and player acquisition process, so we just jump right into the deep end. And that's what Coach Colsey showed up with,” said Rabil.
Colsey spoke highly of the interview process and going through it, challenging as it was.
“I enjoyed every minute. Every conversation that I had, it was apparent that every single person that was involved in the hiring process cared about being a part of it as much as I did, and having the organization come out and be successful, and have the right people in place,” said Colsey, adding, “It was fun. We took part in quite a few meetings, and it was really well thought out, and I felt like it was a very thorough process, but also a very fair process.”
On the players feedback and reaction to the hire
“They were ecstatic,” said Rabil. Player involvement in the hiring process is not new to this go around. Player feedback and involvement was sought in the hires of Brian Holman, Mike Pressler, and most recently Bill Tierney. There’s a first round of interviews with the league leadership, and then they involved team leadership in the second round.
“I’ve heard from some of them personally, and they’re thrilled with these guys,” said Rabil.
On Colsey’s fit with the Indoor/Outdoor players on the Chaos Roster
Colsey played extensively as a pro both indoors and outdoors, and has coached both disciplines as well, including Team USA in the box game. For years, the Chaos made it a strategy to add box players to their roster. It allowed them to play a style of lacrosse that was different from what other teams were doing. As a result, it made them very difficult to prepare for and scout, since most other clubs didn’t have the same level of box talent on their roster. Given Colsey’s experience, the fit with the players is a natural one.
“For another job, my skill set might not have been the perfect fit,” said Colsey, adding that his offensive system is based on a hybrid of indoor and outdoor lacrosse.
“Part of the appeal and I think one of the ways I moved to the top of the list was having that background. Playing in the NLL for a very long time and coaching the US team and starting to build relationships, not just with the American players, but also some of the Canadian guys by playing against them,” said Colsey.
Ford on building a winning roster
Ford was the architect of championship rosters in the MLL, but was also an accomplished player, setting a single season assist record. He likened his feed first style of play from behind the net to being a GM.
“I kind of felt like a GM when I played behind as a passer. And I was always involved in different deals for our teams as a player,” said Ford, adding, “We’re sitting here right now at this Sixes event, and this is somewhere we want to be. We want to be in the top four.”
In a league where talent can be found in abundance, Ford also spoke to the importance of finding the right players for the right roles.
“Chemistry in pro lacrosse is the hardest thing. Everybody's good if we just talk about each individual player. We can say wow, that guy is excellent. But when you think about putting it all together, it just might not be the greatest fit. And so that's what we have to find and observe,” said Ford.
Ford would go on to say that tough conversations would be coming. But those are what can move teams forward.
“I think that as a pro lacrosse player. The best thing for me was when somebody was honest with me. I think honesty, although sometimes it could be negative, it could be positive, but when it's negative, I think that those guys then look at you with great respect. And it's like, hey, that guy stood up and told me what needed to be said, and now, we can move forward,” Ford said.
That said, the work has to begin immediately, and for Ford and Colsey, already has.
“Roy and I believe in the same pieces we need,” said Ford. “There are some [free agents] on the offensive side of the ball.” Ford said as soon as Tuesday came, they’d be on the phone instantly.
“We don't think it's far away, but we do think that we might be two to four pieces away from really contending and taking that next step forward. There's a few guys that have already signed contracts that we were going to certainly be on the phone with, ones that have not yet. And so, there are guys on our radar that we can see fitting into that puzzle. And completing it,” said Ford.
On calling Carolina home
Both Colsey and Ford expressed excitement and were looking forward to home games in Carolina. Colsey recalled the early MLL days when he played for the Philadelphia Barrage, which for a year between Bridgeport and Philadelphia were just The Barrage. They were a club that played all road games. “Knowing we have a home base and especially a fan base that’s so excited about it and so support, I can’t wait to be there,” said Colsey.
Ford recalled the market from the Charlotte Hounds days of the MLL. Ford said the away game experiences that stuck with him the most were the July 4th game in Denver, and away games in Charlotte and Boston. “You got to go and get hassled by the drum,” Ford said.
He already knew the name of the supporter group, and that the drum was alive and well. “I’m looking forward to the Red Legion, with Michael Harrison, it’s just a lot of fun,” Ford said, adding, “It was always nice to go to Charlotte and play, and the stadium itself is really cool. It’s a really intimate environment to play in, so I’m looking forward to getting there.”
On making roster building decisions together
Colsey and Ford enter at a disadvantage. Since they were only hired roughly a month ago, they don’t have a great deal of time to prepare for free agency. The Chaos alone have a dozen pending free agents, to say nothing of the other free agents around the league who will become available. The open discussion period begins on February 18th, which was just two days after the introductory press conference.
While acknowledging those challenges, Colsey said a good amount of work has already been done.
“Spencer and I have had more conversations probably than you would expect just being together for two and a half weeks or so. But we've already had a lot of conversations about what do you think about this guy, and kicking it back and forth,’ said Colsey. The new coach also added that when it comes to roster building, Ford will have final say.
“Ultimately, Spencer will have the end-all be-all. He's going to be building the roster and he's done such a great job, I trust him. That's a really important part of the process. I feel really fortunate to have a GM where I feel like if I’m not sure about this, I would love this guy or that guy. When it comes down to it, whatever is going to be best for the organization, I'll let him pull the trigger on that,” said Colsey.
Both Colsey and Ford see a lot of game action. Ford’s son plays at Maryland, and so he went and saw the game between Maryland and Syracuse over the weekend. Colsey has two sons at Virginia, so he saw them play Richmond. Colsey said he doesn’t consider it work to watch lacrosse, now he just takes off his fan hat and puts on his coach hat. Colsey and Ford communicate as they watch, calling out noteworthy players that they’d like the other to evaluate. Ford also added that more than just getting to see every team in the country play, they have great conversations with players directly.
While they acknowledged that being late to the process is hard, they clearly are already in the thick of evaluations. The press conference preceded the Cannons/Atlas game at the Championship Series, and both went down to watch as over a dozen pending free agents were on the field.
On filling out the coaching staff
While Colsey and Ford have been announced, the assistant coach roles for the Chaos remain, as of this moment, vacant. But Colsey said they are “far along” in the process and are very close to making an announcement on the staff.
“The guys that I’ve been talking to the most are guys that I have very, very close relationships,” said Colsey, adding, “It’s going to be a really great staff, and you’ll certainly recognize the names.”
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