I attended the press conference this afternoon announcing the resignation of Sioux City Bandits indoor football Coach Jarrod DeGeorgia after two years, but came away most intrigued with long-time owner Bob Scott’s blast against the Indoor Football League (successor to UIF league of a few years ago).  Scott put the hard times this year (4-10 record) in part on teams paying player salaries in excess of the league limits and practicing out of line with league rules too.

He said it would be premature to name a new coach until he knows if the IFL will put some teeth in rule enforcement. Scott said his preference is to remain in the league, since there are so many regional opponents, but the Aug. 28 league meetings will tell a lot. He’s going in with an open mind, hoping for the best, although he blasted the league to boot.

Scott said the Bandits have never made money, at best breaking even financially. He noted the team lost money on the 2009 year. The team could do better, he said, if the IFL ensured a competitive playing field — Scott was concerned the league moving to some teams (Sioux Falls?) becoming the equivalent of the high-paying, high-performing Yankees to the detriment of the others.

“Either we get people who play by the rules and do it right, or we’re gonna have to look at a different place to play football,” Scott said.

The Bandits have not had a winning season since 2005, with the 15-3 team that won two playoff games. In nine years since the team was created in 2001, the Bandits have made the playoffs four years.