DES MOINES, IA – The Des Moines Blaze named former Lincoln High School frontman Tom Mihalovich as their next Head Coach on Wednesday. Mihalovich has spent the past two seasons as Des Moines’ running backs coach. The move comes three weeks after Head Coach Tyrone Tyler announced he would be stepping down.

    Before joining the Blaze Mihalovich spent 12 seasons as the Lincoln Railsplitter’s Head Coach, inheriting a team in the midst of a 27 game losing streak. He returned that program to relevance, capturing four conference titles, six playoff appearances, and the only playoff victory in school history.

He is the winningest coach in Lincoln history and was named Metro Coach of the Year four times.

   “I appreciate the opportunity and the trust (these men) have put in me…I’m going to approach this the same way I always have,” says Mihalovich. “We’ll emphasize fundamentals and be the most physical team on the schedule.”

  “He’s got one of those infectious attitudes,” said one player. “If you didn’t know better his intensity could be interpreted the wrong way. But he’s always smiling and winking; encouraging somebody. He just loves the game.”

  Tyler has been the only Head Coach in the Blaze’s six year history, guiding the team to six league championship appearances, five league titles, and two national championships. Although he departs to become an offensive assistant with the Indoor Football League’s Minnesota Havok, Tyler will continue in an administrative capacity.

  “It’s really a great move for the organization,” says Tyler. “We were blessed to have a guy with this kind of experience in the organization and with myself taking on another challenge we are even more fortunate to have him here, willing to step up.”

The Blaze also announced the addition of Beau Flowers, Kevin Johnston and Jess Mickle to the staff. Flowers, who will serve as Mihalovich’s replacement as running backs coach, was an assistant under him at Lincoln as well as Johnston . Mickle, who will coach defensive line, returns four years removed from his last season as an All-MFA center with Des Moines.

Look for another testing date coming in January for those interested in joining the team.  Training camp starts Tuesday, February 9 from 7:30-8:30 p.m.   Visit www.DesMoinesBlaze.com