Raymond 'Ray' Philyaw (born July 30, 1974) is a former

arena football Arena football is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American or Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standard North American ice hockey rink, an ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

who was most recently the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

of the Jacksonville Sharks of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). He also played for the

Cleveland Gladiators The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the ...

, Chicago Rush, Kansas City Brigade, Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings and the Albany/Indiana Firebirds, leading the former to the American Conference championship game in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. Prior to his Arena Football career, he played for the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) and the Madison Mad Dogs of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

(IFL). After leaving to coach with the

New Orleans VooDoo The New Orleans VooDoo were a professional arena football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They were members of the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2015. The VooDoo were the second team to play in the Arena Football League and play in ...

in 2011, he attempted a return as a player in 2012 with the

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

, but later became OC for the

San Antonio Talons The San Antonio Talons were a professional arena football team based in San Antonio, Texas. They played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Their home arena was the Alamodome, following their relocation to San Antonio for the 2012 season. The ...

. He holds the record for the highest career TD-to- INT ratio in AFL history and threw a school record 52 TDs while attending Northeast Louisiana.

Early life

Philyaw attended Southwood High School in

Caddo Parish, Louisiana Caddo Parish () () is a Parish (administrative division), parish located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the parish had a population of 237,848. The paris ...

. While there, he participated in football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

, winning a district championship his senior year in both football and basketball.

College career

Philyaw attended

Northeast Louisiana University The University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it becam ...

, where he continued his football career. Philyaw started his sophomore through senior seasons for the Indians. At the completion of his career in 1996, Philyaw's 52 career touchdown passes stood as a school record until Steven Jyles broke his record in 2005. In 2009, Philyaw was inducted into the ULM Athletics Hall of Fame.

Statistics

Philyaw's college stats at the completion of the 1996 season. Source:

Professional career

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Madison Mad Dogs

Shreveport Knights

Philyaw was backup quarterback for the Shreveport Knights of the short-lived Regional Football League in 1999.

Albany/Indiana Firebirds

Chicago Rush

With the Chicago Rush in 2004, Philyaw lead the Rush to the conference semi-finals, but when he suffered an ACL injury, the Rush lost momentum and fell to the

Kansas City Brigade

In 2006, Philyaw signed with expansion Kansas City Brigade, after the Brigade released veteran Andy Kelly.

Cleveland Gladiators

In 2008, Philyaw lead the

to the National Conference finals. The Gladiators lost the game 35–70 to the champion

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP), is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush string and horn arrangements. The ...

Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings

San Jose SaberCats

In 2012, Philyaw attempted a comeback with the

, but was put on IR.

Coaching career

New Orleans VooDoo

In 2011, Philyaw was hired by the

as the team's

San Antonio Talons

In 2013, Philyaw as hired as the

' offensive coordinator. Philyaw dealt with injuries during the year, starting five different quarterbacks in the first seven weeks of the season. The Talons did not find an ownership group for the 2015 season, and the franchise was placed on suspension, leaving Philyaw jobless.

References

External links

AFL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philyaw, Raymond 1974 births Living people Players of American football from Shreveport, Louisiana American football quarterbacks Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football players Regional Football League players Chicago Rush players Albany Firebirds players Indiana Firebirds players Kansas City Brigade players Cleveland Gladiators players San Jose SaberCats players Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings players Jacksonville Sharks coaches San Antonio Talons coaches New Orleans VooDoo coaches