Coach Arbet touts partnership’s mutual benefits for community

By Calvin Nuttall

The cat is out of the bag. Initially reported by Morgan Hill Life in the Nov. 30 issue, the city will host a professional football team as the Bay Area Panthers have made it official by signing contracts and will make their home here for the 2023 Indoor Football League season.

The Panthers have partnered with the city of Morgan Hill, Visit Morgan Hill, and the Morgan Hill Outdoor Sports Center to make the athletic fields along Condit Road the team’s practice area and operational headquarters. The team will bring about 25 players ages 21-24 and eight coaches to compete in 15 games during the 18-week IFL season. The Panthers’ seven home games will take place at the SAP Center in San Jose.

The team will be led by Arena Football Hall of Famer and returning South Bay native Darren Arbet as head coach and general manager. A San Martin resident for 15 years, he coached the San Jose Sabercats from 1999 until 2015.

He went on to work with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL, as well as college football teams at Sacramento State and Humboldt State before retiring. Since then, he has maintained a presence on the football scene as a TV commentator on ESPN. He decided to return to coaching after being approached by Panthers owners Roy Choi and Marshawn Lynch last year.

“When you’re a coach, you’re a coach, and you love what you do,” Arbet said of his return. “Roy Choi owns the team. He and Marshawn Lynch, they offered me a job.”

It took some coaxing to win over the veteran coach, but he came around when the owners agreed to let him move the team to Morgan Hill, Arbet said.

“They were from Pleasanton,” he said. “So I said, ‘Can I move them to Morgan Hill?’ And they said, ‘You can move them wherever you want.’”

The Panthers will begin practice March 3 at the MHOSC. Their season begins March 26.

At the Jan. 11 Rotary of Morgan Hill Club meeting, Arbet described the challenges he faced while forging a path as a young football player. His gratitude for the help he received along the way created his desire to pay it forward to another generation.

“I was able to go to camps or go to football games even though my family couldn’t afford it,” he said. “And here I stand before you. I got to play pro ball, I got to coach, I’ve been very blessed. I wasn’t very good at school. If you’d have told my mom when I was 10, ‘Hey, he’s gonna be on TV and he’s gonna have two college degrees,’ she would have thought you were crazy.”

The IFL is the largest and longest-running indoor football league in the U.S. It serves as a stepping stone for players, many of whom are students, Arbet said. The players are paid $225, plus a $200 stipend for food. The team provides them with housing during the season.

“The beauty of it is the players get another $100 a week if they make at least two appearances a week,” he said. “I have five young men who are trying to get their masters’ degrees. It’s a hand up, not a hand out.”

The partnership brings more than just the prestige of hosting a national football team to Morgan Hill. Public Services Director Chris Ghione explained the Panthers’ choice also brings tangible benefits to the city’s residents and businesses.

The city has many recreation facilities such as the Centennial Recreation Center, the OSC and the Aquatics Center. Redevelopment dollars many years ago helped build these facilities, he said.

“Here in Morgan Hill, we’re the least taxed residents in the county. That means we need to bring in people from the outside to use the aquatics facilities for swim meets, and to use the Outdoor Sports Center for major tournament events,” he said. “That helps to pay for running these facilities.”

Sports tourism brings in dollars, too, Ghione said. When people come to Morgan Hill for these events, they spend money in the city’s restaurants, hotels, and other businesses. This stimulates the city’s economy and generates tax revenue.

The Panthers-city partnership will also bring opportunities for local businesses to sponsor team meals, special events, game night promotions, player appearances, youth programs, and volunteering.

“Morgan Hill’s desirable civic amenities and supportive community network make us an ideal home base for the Bay Area Panthers,” said Krista Rupp, executive director of Visit Morgan Hill, in a press release. “Their decision to move here reinforces Morgan Hill as a preeminent regional sports destination.”

Calvin Nuttall is a Morgan Hill native with a passion for nature, science, and technology.