Blaze coach talking about winning title

You have to believe there are coaches that would love to strangle Danny White — and not just because he's won two championships in the Arena Football League.

It's that he won't hedge his bets. The Utah Blaze coach may as well wear a shirt that says, "The Buck Stops Here!"

Leisurely five-year building plans? Not for White. His idea of the distant future is an hour from now.

With the 2008 season about to begin, he's already talking titles.

"We're to the point — with the core of players we have, the leadership and everything else — that a reasonable goal now becomes a championship," says White.

"The last two years, that probably wasn't a reasonable goal, but this year anything less than a championship is not going to be acceptable."

That crash you just heard is the sound of jaws dropping. All too frequently, coaches open the season with the ever-popular "cautiously optimistic" approach. They talk about potential and "the chance to be good." They waffle about needing four, five or even six years to get their system in place and moan about injuries and departures.

They avoid pretty much anything that might set expectations high.

Not White.

He's all about the now, even though he is violating Rule No. 1 in the "Handbook of Coaching Cliches," which specifically states one must never call himself out.

"I know, I know," he says. "If we win one game this year, I'm doing the greatest coaching job in history. That's what I should be saying, right?"

Yes, if he follows the handbook. It's just that White doesn't usually do that.

"We should have won the championship last year with the group we had," adds White.

The Blaze open their third season on March 1 at ES Arena. Though they made the playoffs both previous years, they have yet to win a post-season game. They are just 15-19 in AFL play overall.

Not that there haven't been excuses. White has 'em if he ever wanted to use them. Last year, popular Blaze receiver Justin Skaggs died of a brain tumor. It was a devastating, disconcerting experience for the entire team. There was another scare when teammate Lewis Powell discovered a cyst on his arm near his ribs, but that proved non-cancerous.

Meanwhile, there were injuries galore.