Gary Gussman (born September 24, 1965) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

and coach. He was the special teams coach for the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...

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 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL) in 2017. He previously played four seasons in the AFL with the Denver Dynamite and Albany Firebirds. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

College career

Gussman played for the

Miami RedHawks The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Divis ...

from 1984 to 1987. He was named All- MAC three consecutive seasons, including First Team and All-American honors as a senior in 1987.

Professional career

Gussman played for the AFL's Denver Dynamite in 1989, earning First Team All-Arena honors. He played for the Albany Firebirds of the AFL from 1990 to 1992, earning Second Team All-Arena honors in 1990.

Coaching career

Gussman was the

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

coordinator of the AFL's Connecticut Coyotes in 1995. He was special teams coordinator of the

Houston Thunderbears The Houston ThunderBears were a professional arena football team based in Houston, Texas. The team finished the 2001 season as a member of the Western Division of the American Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team joined the A ...

of the AFL from 1998 to 2001. He was special teams coordinator of the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...

of the AFL in 2002. Gussman was

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the

Rio Grande Valley Dorados The Rio Grande Valley Dorados were a professional arena football team. They began playing in 2004 as an expansion member of af2, the minor league to the Arena Football League. They played their home games at Obra Homes Field at Dodge Arena in ...

of the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

in 2004. He was special teams coordinator and Director of Football Operations for the AFL's

Las Vegas Gladiators {{Cat main, Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, Nevada University of Nevada, Las Vegas Wikipedia categories named after buildings and structures in the United States Wikipedia categories named after sports venues ...

from 2005 to 2006. He was special teams coordinator of the

New Orleans VooDoo Louisiana Voodoo (french: Vaudou louisianais, es, Vudú de Luisiana), also known as New Orleans Voodoo, is an African diasporic religion which originated in Louisiana, now in the southern United States. It arose through a process of syncretis ...

of the AFL from 2007 to 2008. Gussman was assistant head coach/special teams coordinator of the

of the AFL from 2010 to 2011. In March 2017, Gussman was named the special teams coach for the

of the AFL.

Administrative career

Gussman was named Director of Football Operations for the New Orleans VooDoo in September 2011. He was also named interim general manager of the VooDoo in August 2012. He resigned in March 2013.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gussman, Gary Living people 1965 births Players of American football from Miami American football placekickers Miami RedHawks football players Denver Dynamite (arena football) players Albany Firebirds players Connecticut Coyotes coaches Orlando Predators coaches Houston Thunderbears coaches Rio Grande Valley Dorados coaches Las Vegas Gladiators coaches New Orleans VooDoo coaches Tampa Bay Storm coaches Arena Football League executives Sports coaches from Miami