Paul Failla (athlete) - Professional

Professional

After his graduation from IUP, Failla signed with the Arena Football League's New Jersey Red Dogs in 1999, and with the National Football League's Carolina Panthers in 2000, but failed to record a stat with either team. In 2001, he was drafted by the Chicago Enforcers of the fledgling XFL with the ninth overall selection, but lost the starting quarterback job to fellow Notre Dame alum Kevin McDougal.

After the XFL folded at the conclusion of its first and only season, Failla accepted the position of offensive coordinator at Saint Francis University, where in the 2005 season his offense set school records for passing yards (3223), total offense (4479) and touchdowns (37). Failla groomed multiple all-conference players including quarterback Anthony Doria (NEC offensive player of the year), wide receiver Luke Palko, running back Todd Harris, and Division I-AA All-American wide receiver Micheal Caputo. Under Failla, Palko and Caputo tied the NCAA Division I record for most passes caught by two teammates in a career. He then returned to his alma mater at IUP in February 2006 as the offensive coordinator under head coach Lou Tepper, but resigned three months later to pursue business interests. He is currently featured as a regular guest on Pittsburgh's KDKA Sports Showdown.

Read more about this topic:  Paul Failla (athlete)

Famous quotes containing the word professional:

    ... all professional ideologies are high-minded. Hunters, for instance, would not dream of calling themselves the butchers of the woods.
    Robert Musil (1880–1942)

    If I’d written all the truth I knew for the past ten years, about 600 people—including me—would be rotting in prison cells from Rio to Seattle today. Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism.
    Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939)

    Smoking ... is downright dangerous. Most people who smoke will eventually contract a fatal disease and die. But they don’t brag about it, do they? Most people who ski, play professional football or drive race cars, will not die—at least not in the act—and yet they are the ones with the glamorous images, the expensive equipment and the mythic proportions. Why this should be I cannot say, unless it is simply that the average American does not know a daredevil when he sees one.
    Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)