Ready for ignition — AFL legend Danny White leads Utah Blaze into inaugural season

Danny White came out of retirement to take on a major challenge. He accepted the assignment to put together an Arena Football League roster from scratch in a city unfamiliar with the game and then coach those players while trying to give the upstart franchise a strong foundation to build on.

Will White and the Utah Blaze be successful?

Even he isn't certain.

"I don't know (if the AFL is here to stay in Utah)," said White, the general manager/coach of the Blaze. "I hope so, but we'll have to wait and see."

While it may take years to see if the Blaze can make it in Utah, the waiting is almost over as far as seeing the Blaze take the field for an actual game. The season — and franchise — opener will be Saturday night in San Jose against the SaberCats. The home opener will be the following Saturday. The 16-game regular season will end in May.

While White is unsure if the AFL will ultimately take off in Utah, he is optimistic that it will.

"It's a perfect match. Salt Lake is a football town," said White. "They love their football here and they don't have professional football — or any football in the spring. So, if that means anything at all and if we can put a competitive team on the field, then I think it is here to stay."

White is best known nationwide for being a Pro Bowl quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys in the early 1980s. But in AFL hotbed cities, he's known as a coaching legend. White is the second-winningest coach in the 19-year history of the league with 141 victories. In 13 years leading the Arizona Rattlers, White guided his teams to 12 winning seasons, five ArenaBowls and two ArenaBowl titles. He's already been inducted to the AFL's Hall of Fame.

White took last season off from coaching but just couldn't stay away from the AFL. He accepted a job from Blaze owners Robert and John Garff to get the expansion Utah team off on the right foot.

To that end, he went out and acquired a handful of players he was familiar with from his days with the Rattlers. Siaha Burley was the biggest name — and highest paid — free agent the Blaze landed. Burley, an offensive specialist — which means he's a receiver that doesn't have to play defense — scored a league-high 46 touchdowns last season. In a 16-game season, that's just less than three TDs per game.

"Danny White is a great coach," Burley said. "He's why I'm here. He knows the arena game, inside and out."