Coaching Staff

18th AFL Season – 10th with the Storm

Ewart enters his third season as head coach of the Tampa Bay Storm. He spent the previous seven seasons as the director of player personnel and assistant head coach. This is his 17th season as a coach in the Arena Football League.

Last season, 2012, under Ewart's leadership, the Storm saw a dramatic improvement with the play on the field. Tampa Bay was much more competitive than the previous season as the team finished with a 7-2 record at home. Included in those wins were several exciting finishes as the Storm defeated South Division rival Sharks on the final play of the game at the home opener and then dropped the VooDoo in overtime at the home finale. For the fourth consecutive season under his guidance, the Storm had a lineman earn All-Arena honors.

2011, Ewart took over the reins less than a week before the start of training camp. After a 2-6 start, he orchestrated a mid-season turnaround that saw the Storm finish 5-5 through the final 10 games of the season, including impressive wins over ArenaBowl XXIII defending champion Spokane Shock and in-state rivals Orlando Predators prior to ending the season with a dramatic come from behind victory over the San Jose SaberCats in the final game of the season.

He guided a defense that set an AFL single-season record with 41 sacks. Over the past two seasons his defensive line has combined for 70 sacks, the second highest total in a two-season span in League history. Ewart’s defense finished 2011 ranked third in the AFL, thanks in part to the pass rush that aided a passing defense that finished tied for first in the AFL.

In 2010, he guided a defensive line that collected the second most sacks (29) in the AFL as the team went on to play in ArenaBowl XXIII. He also guided one of the stingiest offensive lines in the AFL as the team allowed only 12 sacks the entire season, four less than the previous season.

In 2008 his offensive line did not yield a sack in seven games and finished as the sixth best line in the AFL yielding only 16 sacks. Additionally the offensive line paved the way for 32 rushing touchdowns, third most in the AFL and was efficient goal-line rushing attack that season with a league-high 28.8 percent touchdown conversion rate per attempt.

In 2007 Ewart fought through a revolving door on the offensive line early in the year due to injuries. His hard work resulted in a cohesive unit that helped protect a rookie quarterback to make the playoffs. In 2006 Ewart served as interim head coach for the Storm in the first three weeks of the season and won two games. Included among those games was a, 61-60, victory in the Storm home opener against the Georgia Force. The victory over the Force extended a Storm win streak to 12 consecutive victories at the St. Pete Times Forum. His overall record as head coach for the Storm is 3-2. He went 1-1 in 2005.

Ewart began his AFL coaching career in 1994 as the special teams coach and offensive line coach for the Cleveland Thunderbolts. In 1995 he moved on to the St. Louis Stampede where he served as the defensive coordinator. The following season the front office of the Stampede chose him to become the head coach for the 1996 campaign.

In 1997, Ewart moved on to his second head coaching position with the Texas Terror where he also was the general manager. The Terror, who finished 1996 with a 1-13 record, improved under Ewart’s guidance and finished the 1997 season with a respectable 6-8 record.

From there Ewart moved on to become defensive coordinator and line coach for the Florida Bobcats in 1998. He then moved on to the New England Sea Wolves where he spent a one year stint as the Sea Wolves defensive coordinator for the 1999 season.

In 2000, he re-joined the head coaching ranks once again. He served as head coach and director of football operations for the Florida Bobcats during the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

Ewart played offensive line for two seasons (1987-88) at Salem College (West Virginia) under Terry Bowden. He then transferred to East Tennessee State University (1989-90) where he enjoyed a productive two-year stint. During his time at ETSU, Ewart was a two-time All-Conference selection and named to the Division 1-AA All-America team. He coached with current Arizona University head coach Rich Rodriguez while at Glenville State.

Dave Ewart’s Coaching Career

• 2011-Present Head Coach Tampa Bay Storm (AFL)
• 2002-2010 Asst. Head Coach | Director of Player Personnel Tampa Bay Storm (AFL)
• 1999-2002 Head Coach | Dir. of Player Personnel | Dir. of Football Operations Florida Bobcats (AFL)
• 1999 Def. Coordinator | Director of Player Personnel New England Seawolves (AFL)
• 1998 Defensive Coordinator | Line Coach Florida Bobcats (AFL)
• 1997 General Manager | Head Coach | Director of Football Operations Texas Terror (AFL)
• 1996 Head Coach | Dir. of Football Ops | Director of Player Personnel St. Louis Stampede (AFL)
• 1995 Defensive Coordinator | Director of Player Personnel St. Louis Stampede (AFL)
• 1994 Defensive Coordinator | Line Coach Cleveland Thunderbolts
• 1992-93 Defensive Line Coach | Special Teams Coordinator Glenville State College
• 1991 Offensive Line Coach East Tennessee State University

1st AFL Season – 1st with the Storm

Hovan enters his first season with the Tampa Bay Storm as an assistant coach and will be responsible for coaching the defensive line. He spent the past two years at the University of South Florida where he was a member of the Strength and Conditioning Staff for the athletic program.

He began as an intern on the staff in 2011 working directly with the football program and assisted with 14 other sports as well. In 2012 he was promoted to Assistant Strength and Conditioning coach working specifically with the football program.

An 11-year veteran of the National Football League, Hovan began his career as a first-round draft pick (25th overall) for the Minnesota Vikings. After five seasons with the Vikings, during which time he was a consensus All-Rookie pick (2000) and earned All-Pro honors (2002), he signed a free-agent contract that would bring him to the Tampa Bay area to play with the Buccaneers.

In his first season with the Buccaneers (2005), the defense finished as top unit in the NFL. He would spend five seasons with Tampa Bay prior to joining the St. Louis Rams. A back injury derailed him for the 2010 season, his 11th in the NFL, and he was placed on injured reserve during training camp for the remainder of the season.

For his career, Hovan appeared in 156 games and started 149 of them. He finished his career with 362 tackles, 22 sacks, 14 pass breakups and two forced fumbles.

A native of Rocky River, OH, Hovan prepped at St, Ignatius H.S. (Cleveland, OH) where he was a star football and lacrosse player, earning state and national recognition in each sport. He went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in business from Boston College where earned All-America honors and was a semi-finalist for the Lombardi Award his senior season. Hovan was the first player in school history to earn All-Big East honors three times. He started 43-of-45 games while at BC and still ranks third all-time in career sacks (20.5) and tackles for a loss (43). While still playing the NFL, he participated in the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern.

He and his wife, Jaimi, live in the Tampa Bay area with their three children and remain active members in the Tampa Bay community.
 

Chris Hovan’s Coaching Career

• 2013-Present | Defensive Line Coach | Tampa Bay Storm (AFL)
• 2012 | Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach | University of South Florida (BCS)
• 2011 | Intern Strength and Conditioning Coach | University of South Florida (BCS)