Ronald R. Selesky, Jr. (born September 4, 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 wi ...

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and

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

coach. He played college football at

North Central College North Central College is a private college in Naperville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and has nearly 70 areas of study in undergraduate majors, minors, and programs through 19 academic departments organized in thre ...

and was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He has a daughter named Erin Selesky (19). He also served as the Director of Football Operations for the

Birmingham Iron The Birmingham Iron were a professional American football franchise based in Birmingham, Alabama, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played thei ...

of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), and held the same position with the

Tampa Bay Vipers The Vegas Vipers are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL, owned by RedBird Capital, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's Alpha Acquico, LLC. The team began operatio ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

in 2020 prior to the league folding.

Playing career

Selesky attended George D. Chamberlain High School and then

, where he played on the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

. He then signed with the

of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

. As a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

, he appeared in two games. He went to

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

with the San Diego Chargers in 1988, the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

in 1990, and the Detroit Lions in 1992.

Coaching career

Selesky joined the coaching staff of 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 1997 as an assistant coach and Director of Player Personnel, a position he held for three seasons. After which, he joined the

Carolina Cobras The Carolina Cobras were an expansion franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was formed prior to the 2000 season, which endured a player strike. The team was originally based in Raleigh, North Carolina, but moved to Charlotte followi ...

for the 2000 season as the team's Line coach, coaching both the offensive and defensive line due to the AFL's iron man rules, and Director of Player Personnel. In 2001, he was named the

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

Louisville Fire The Louisville Fire was an arena football team that played its home games at the Brown-Forman Field in Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. They were a 2001 expansion team of the af2. Their owner/operator was former Pro Bowl lineman and Louisv ...

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 ...

, the AFL's developmental league. In 2001, the Fire recorded a record of 6–10, and finished sixth in the National Conference's Midwest Division. In 2002, he joined the Albany Conquest as the team's head coach. For that season, the team recorded a 13–3 record, winning the Northeast Division, and finishing 1–1 in the playoffs. For the season, Selesky was named af2's Coach of the Year. In 2003, Selesky returned to the Arena Football League, this time as head coach and Director of Player Personnel of the Buffalo Destroyers. For the season, the Destroyers recorded a record of 5–11. In 2004, he returned to the Carolina Cobras as the team's defensive coordinator. He was the team's interim head coach for the final six games of the season, replacing both

Eddie Khayat Edward Michel Khayat (born September 14, 1935) is a thirty-five year National Football League veteran, ten years as a player (117 game total) and twenty-five as a coach. He was a starting defensive tackle for the victorious Philadelphia Eagles ...

(2–4) and John Gregory (1–3), recording a record of 3–3. In September 2004, Selesky was named the defensive coordinator for the Destroyers (by this point relocated to Columbus) for the 2005 season. In 2006, Selesky returned to af2, this time as the head coach of the Alabama Steeldogs, a position he held for two seasons, recording a 7–9 record each season. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, he returned to the AFL, as the defensive coordinator and Director of Player Personnel for the

Grand Rapids Rampage The Grand Rapids Rampage was an arena football team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The team began play in 1998 in the Arena Football League as an expansion team. They were last coached by Steve Thonn. Their home arena was the Van Andel Arena. ...

. In 2009, the AFL suspended operations for one season, during that season he was a teacher and coach at

Hewitt-Trussville Middle School Hewitt-Trussville Middle School (HTMS) is a public middle school serving grades 6-8 in the city of Trussville, Alabama. It is the only middle school in Trussville City Schools and is named for the early local educator Robert Hewitt. School colors ...

. In 2010, he returned to the Gladiators and spent two seasons as the team's Director of Player Personnel. In

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, he became the Gladiators assistant head coach, a position he held for three seasons. In 2015, he joined the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) as the team's U.S. scout. In January 2015, he was named the Director of Football Operations and Compliance for the

Professional Indoor Football League The Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) was a professional indoor football league that played four seasons from 2012 to 2015. Like the Lone Star Football League, the PIFL was mainly composed of teams formerly part of Southern Indoor Foo ...

. In

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, he rejoined the Gladiators as the team's assistant head coach. In December 2016, he was named the Gladiators head coach. After the Gladiators suspended operations, Selesky joined the

of the Alliance of American Football as

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

operations; after the AAF went bankrupt, he joined the

of the

. in a similar position.

AFL head coaching record

Personal life

Selesky is married and he and his wife have four children, Erin Selesky!

References

External links

Cleveland Gladiators bio

ArenaFan coaches profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selesky, Ron 1965 births Living people American football offensive linemen Minnesota Vikings players San Diego Chargers players Miami Dolphins players Detroit Lions players Tampa Bay Storm coaches Carolina Cobras coaches Columbus Destroyers coaches Grand Rapids Rampage coaches Cleveland Gladiators coaches Arena Football League executives Canadian Football League scouts Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from New Brunswick, New Jersey Alabama Steeldogs coaches Louisville Fire coaches American football executives National Football League replacement players