Interview with New Carolina Cobras Football Coach Anthony Payton

Q & A with Coach Payton
By: DJ Wagner, Cobras Staff Writer

**********I had an opportunity to talk to the new head coach of the Cobras, Anthony Payton, to introduce him to Cobra Nation.**********

DJ: Welcome to the Cobra family Coach, how does it feel to be a Cobra?
Coach Payton: I am so appreciative of the opportunity. Things have been moving around in the league a little bit and just to know that someone wants to use my services is a good thing.

DJ: What words do you think would best describe your offensive philosophy?
Coach: Always have somewhere to go with the football with the quarterback, getting the ball out quick. Aggressive at times, methodical at times, depending on the opponent. There is always going to be a chance to take a shot if the coverage allows it. If not, we will just check it down and let the athletes do what they do with the ball.

DJ: What do you feel you bring to the Cobras?
Coach: I have been doing it a long time, I have been around the arena game since 1999. I was a quarterback as a player, so I have always paid attention to the entire offense and defense, because those are things you must know in the game, and it made me fall in love with the game of football. What I bring is the expertise of the arena game. I just bring the integrity of the game and how it is supposed to be played and I feel that is the best way to go. You stay true to the game and you stay true to how this game is supposed to be played I feel like you will be successful.

DJ: We all know that free agency starts soon, what do you look for in players you want to sign?
Coach: I look for guys who can play this game, I look for guys that are good character guys first. I look for guys that want to hustle and don’t get tired, I believe that is the difference between a good player and a great player. Great players don’t get tired. Guys that can run good routes, throw accurate balls, guys that can cover, and guys that can pay attention to detail because I am really big on small things. If you are coachable, I can work with you, if you aren’t, I can’t work with you.

DJ: Now here is the question everyone wants to know. The Cobras have made it to the Championship twice in two years, do you plan on continuing that tradition, and if so, how?
Coach: Coming in after Coach Back who has done such a great job. He’s made the standard high, and my standards are high too. If we are not in the championship, then it is less than satisfactory. My vison for the Cobras is to be in that Championship game, and to have the best team in this league. My plan to do that is to do the little things right all the time, to bring the right guys in that will fit my system and grabbing wins and taking just one game at a time. May sound cliché, but it is just how things are to be done. I feel if we put a great product on the field, we will win a lot of games.

DJ: One last thing, do you have a message for Cobra Nation?
Coach: Let’s Go! Let’s get ready to go, go Cobras!