We have already seen the coaches hired, the branding drop, and the signing frenzy begin, but there is so much more to one of the IFL’s newest teams: the Savannah Leprechauns. We saw fit to have a place for a deeper look into the people, players, coaches, and overall makeup of the franchise. As the offseason winds through we will take looks at the aforementioned parts of the franchise. In this edition, we will take a look at the coaching staff, the ownership, and a list of signings since the free agent floodgates have opened, giving us a good base to spring board off of into the next part of the series.
Ownership
As many have noticed, much of the Leprechauns is made up of former Jacksonville Sharks. The ownership is no different. In fact, both owners, Bryan Caracciolla and George Mathis III both spent the 2026 season in the Sunshine State basically learning the ropes of the sport with the storied program down south. While they got a season to learn, and let’s not forget contributed, to the Sharks, the focus has now turned toward ensuring they have the best staff and the best resources available to the men set in charge of the team.
Leprechaun Staff and Coaches
In this issue, we focus on Head Coach Clay Harrell. In the following issues we will talk to and give a little insight on the complete staff one coach and staff member at a time. Here is the coaching staff so far.
AHC: Charles Hunt
DC: Chris Robinson
OL/DL: TBA
GM: Troy Waranka
Assi. GM/ DOPP: Anthony Tanza
Head Coach: Clay Harrell
After a storied playing career in the second version of the Arena Football League and the Indoor Football League, he would hang up the cleats and pick up a headset for the Spokane Shock, coaching OL/DL. In 2010 Harrell had helped the Shock win the Championship under Head Coach Rob Keefe, now with the Athens Crush. Harrell’s career essentially looks like he sought out the most successful Head Coaches he could to learn the in’s and out’s of coaching from as an assistant coach, or coordinator. Whether it was
His organization and drive to one day lead a franchise would then see him to Portland, Cleveland, Orlando, Bismarck (IFL), and Columbus (Ohio), coaching the OL, DL, or serving as an assistant head coach. He, like so many you see in the modern-day IFL, cut his teeth playing many roles, adapting to whatever version of the game he was coaching and waiting for another opportunity.
After more than a decade, the break into the higher levels of coaching happened, this time with Jacksonville. The 2021 & 2022 seasons would see him play the same role, though it wouldn’t take him long to move into the Defensive coordinator and Assistant Head coach position. Seeing them through several seasons since, with a top-of-the-league defense and a record that has climbed from 5-11 all the way up to 12-6 in 2026.
Herrel has seen it all and earned his way to this position in the indoor football world. When you have spent 14 seasons grinding and adapting your way up, it means you’ve seen just about everything your average fan could imagine. We at Shady Sports look forward to seeing how he takes the already loaded roster and turns it into a first-year playoff team (a stated goal).
When we had a chance to talk to Clay, he also mentioned that he owes so much of his success to several people who influenced him on his path to becoming a head coach that he thought deserved the spotlight.
3 Men that Made it Happen:
Ron Selesky- Changed Clay’s entire career (in his own words), was a major mentor and pushed him forward in football and life.
Matthew Sauk- Was the Man that got him into coaching, huge influence in his early coaching career.
Matthew Steeple- was one of his coaches while he played in the AFL, the type of coach that could guide his players on and off the field, major influence on Clay when he was playing fullback in the AFL.
Insight into Savannah:
The plan from the rip is to be successful, as with every team, but the viewpoint from everyone involved is playoffs or bust in year one. They don’t want to come out and “be competitive”; they want to win, and win on a scale that we haven’t seen from the last two expansion teams. Considering the top-down coaching experience and the top-tier player personnel director they brought in, it’s not as tall of a task as it may seem.
The goal is also to use experienced veteran players to anchor each position type, ensuring guys that know and play at a high level can lead those spots while bringing in less experience that can be molded to fit the scheme that is in the works for 2027. Due to the unique rules set on veterans in the IFL, it gives the Leprechauns a chance to really build.
The develop-over-acquire strategy is one that keeps teams like Green Bay competitive year over year despite not pulling in standouts from other franchises. When they do have the need to bring in big names, we don’t see why it can’t happen; who wouldn’t want to spend the majority of the spring and summer in Savannah, Georgia under this level of a coaching staff?
2026 Leprechaun Free Agent Signings (as of 10/5/2026):
Clay Fields, Defensive Back/Athlete
Tony Roundtree Jr., Defensive Line
Henry Parrish Jr, Running Back
Our Thoughts:
You’ll find more in later parts of this series about how primed Savannah is, this early, to be successful in year one. There isn’t a rookie coach or position filler on the staff. And they have already made splash signings like Sammy Edwards. It’s early in the off-season, but if they continue on this path, they may just find a pot of gold come next season. Catch up with us on the next one, and don’t forget to tune in to Around the Indoor Football World every Saturday morning at seven!
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