Coach Bios

Rick Neuheisel, Head Coach

The Arizona Hotshots announced Rick Neuheisel as the head coach for the team’s inaugural season May 18, 2018, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.

Neuheisel was born in Madison, Wisconsin and eventually moved to Arizona where he attended McClintock High School in Tempe. There, he was a varsity athlete in football, basketball, and baseball. In 1977, he led McClintock to a high school state championship in football.

As a walk-on quarterback at UCLA, Neuheisel finally started his senior season in 1983. He led the Bruins to first place in the Pac-10 and was named MVP in the Rose Bowl victory over Illinois.

Following his time at UCLA, Neuheisel bypassed the NFL Draft to join the newly minted United States Football League (USFL) where he joined the San Antonio Gunslingers for two seasons.

He returned to UCLA as a graduate assistant in 1986 and later severed as the quarterback coach and wide receivers coach. Neuheisel took a jump in 1984 where he served as the offensive coordinator for Colorado, and following the departure of former Colorado head coach Bill McCartney, Neuheisel took over the head coaching position. He spent four seasons in Boulder amassing a 33-14 record.

Following his induction to the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame ahead of the 1999 game, Neuheisel was

named the new head coach for the University of Washington. In four seasons, he led the Huskies to a 33-16 record, including a 2000 Pac-10 Championship title.

Neuheisel briefly left college coaching to join the Baltimore Ravens where he served as the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.

In 2008, Neuheisel returned to his alma mater to take over the head coaching duties until 2011. Following his departure from UCLA, Neuheisel went on to join CBS Sports Network as a guest analyst for “Inside College Football.” The next year, he joined Pac-12 Networks as a studio analyst and football game analyst.

Most recently, he’s been an analyst for the pre-game show for SEC on CBS, “College Football Today.” Neuheisel plans to continue with this role during the offseason for the Hotshots.

When compiling his assistant coaches for the Hotshots, Neuheisel said he was looking for experienced coaches that missed the game, loved teaching, and knew they would have fun with the opportunity.

2019 ARIZONA HOTSHOTS FRONT OFFICE

Phil Savage, General Manager

Phil Savage brings a unique skill set to his role as the general manager of the Hotshots. In addition to an impressive resume in the NFL, Savage was the executive director of the Senior Bowl for the last six years. The Senior Bowl is the most prestigious, most important and well-attended of the post-season all-star games. The annual event gives coaches, general managers, and talent evaluators an up-close look at top prospects in the upcoming draft through a week of practice with the festivities culminating in the North vs. South game. In 2018, there were 84 players who played in the Senior Bowl who were drafted by NFL teams, including six first-round picks, highlighted by No. 1 overall pick and Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield.

In his role with the Senior Bowl, Savage was able to get a look at many of the top college players the last six years, which surely has been helpful putting together the Hotshots roster with coach Rick Neuheisel. Savage parted with the Senior Bowl in May of 2018 and the next month was hired by the Hotshots.

Savage previously worked with Bill Belichick in Cleveland and Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore. He returned for a second stint in Cleveland when he was named the vice president and general manager in 2005. After he was let go in Cleveland at the end of the 2008 season, he later worked for the Eagles before taking the job with the Senior Bowl in 2012. Savage is now back running the front office of a team in the inaugural season of The Alliance.

Trip MacCracken, DIrector of Player Personnel

A native of Hudson, Ohio, Trip MacCracken attended Hawken School, where he captained the football and baseball teams. MacCracken graduated from Hamilton College, where he played two years of football and one year of baseball and obtained his J.D. from Duke University Law School. While in school, MacCracken completed three summer internships with the Washington Redskins and one summer internship at the National Football League’s Management Council. He would go on to work in various roles in football operations with the Cleveland Browns from 1999-2009, primarily focusing on player contract negotiations and salary cap management, while staying involved with the college draft and free agency evaluation process. He moved on to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010, working in a similar capacity as the Director of Football Administration. In the fall of 2017, he worked as a Personnel Scout with the Reese’s Senior Bowl. MacCracken lives in Mendham, New Jersey with his wife Beth and their three children AJ, Ellie, and Tristan.

Akshith “A.K.” Mogulla, Director of Football Operations

Akshith Mogulla’s career started at the University of Florida under former head coach, current Central Michigan’s Head Coach Jim McElwain. There, he worked as a Defensive/Recruiting/Operations Football Specialist from 2015-2018 under Geoff Collins and Randy Shannon. During his final year at Florida, he went on to work with the Senior Bowl from 2017-2018 with Hotshots General Manager Phil Savage, helping put together the 2018 Senior Bowl. A.K. made his jump to the NFL in 2018 where he worked with the Chicago Bears Player Personnel staff. Most recently, he has joined the Arizona Hotshots staff as the Director of Football Operations.

2019 ARIZONA HOTSHOTS COACHING STAFF

Nick Aliotti, Defensive Coordinator

Most known for his tenure at the University of Oregon which encompassed parts of the past five decades, Aliotti became one of the most respected defensive minds in football. He began his coaching career with Oregon (1978-79) as a graduate assistant before moving on to in-state rival Oregon State (1980-83) as the Beavers running backs coach. He moved on to Chico State (1984-87) where he took over as offensive coordinator as well as the offensive line. Aliotti then moved to the defensive side of the ball as he began his second stint with the Oregon (1988-94) staff in 1988 tutoring the outside linebackers for five years before taking over the Ducks defensive backs for two seasons. He also spent time as the special teams coordinator for the St. Louis Rams (1995-97). In 1999, Aliotti returned to Oregon where he would spend the next 15 seasons as the Ducks defensive coordinator.

Tim Hundley, Linebackers

A seasoned coaching veteran whose career has covered five decades of college football, Hundley’s impressive coaching resume includes 16 years calling defenses as a defensive coordinator for FBS programs. Most recently he spent three seasons coaching linebackers and the secondary for UNLV (2012-14). Hundley’s resume features various coaching stints around the Pac-12 (formerly Pac-10) at Oregon State (1982-89), UCLA (1990-95, 2009-11), Colorado (1996-98), and Washington (1999-2003).

Ron Aiken, Defensive Line

Aiken has spent the past 30 years coaching football at every level. He ventured into the collegiate coaching ranks as the offensive line and special teams at Bethany (Kan.) College in 1980 before heading to Tarkio (Mo.) College to become the offensive coordinator in 1982.

Aiken rotated between Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (N.Y.) (1985), Langston (Okla.) University, (1986-89), New Mexico (1990-94), Vanderbilt (1995-96), Texas (1997), and San Diego State (1998) before entering his final collegiate coaching position with Iowa (1999-2006) before joining the NFL. In 2007, Aiken left the collegiate ranks for professional football and joined the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals (2007-12) where for six seasons he tutored the defensive line. After his time with the Cardinals, Aiken returned to college football when he accepted the defensive line position at the University of Oregon (2013-16).

Chris Reinert, Offensive Assistant

Reinert spent the past two seasons coaching special teams at UCLA (2016-17) after spending the previous two seasons with Washington State (2014-15). While at Washington State, Reinert spent his first season as a Defensive Graduate Assistant/Assistant Defensive Backs Coach while also being responsible for aspects of the Cougars’ Special Teams. The 2015 campaign saw Reinert move to an offensive graduate assistant role working with the quarterbacks. Additionally, he served as special assistant to the head coach. During his first stop at UCLA (2011-13), Reinert began his initial tenure as a defensive quality control coach in 2011 before moving to a defensive graduate assistant role where assisted with the defensive backs during the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

Steve Axman, Quarterbacks Coach / Offensive Asst. Coach

Axman brings a wealth of experiences after coaching for over 40 years at various levels of collegiate and professional football. Recently, he served as the quarterbacks coach at Perry High School in Gilbert, Ariz. Prior to that, he was the Interim Head Coach at Nichols State University (2014) and quarterback coach at Simon Frasier University (2013). Before joining the staff at Simon Frasier, Axman was the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at the University of Idaho (2007-11) while also tutoring the Vandals tight ends and quarterbacks. From 1999 thru 2006, Axman spent five of the eight campaigns coaching at the University of Washington (1999-2002, 2004). Between his time with Washington he spent the 2003 season, as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UCLA, In 1998, Axman served as the quarterbacks coach at the University of Minnesota following an eight-year run as the head coach of the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (1990-97) compiling a 48-41 record, making him the second-winningest coach in Northern Arizona history. In 1989, Axman served as quarterbacks coach for Maryland, while prior to joining the Terrapins, he was the offensive coordinator at UCLA (1987-88). Prior to UCLA, Axman coached at Stanford (1986), with the Denver Gold of the United States Football League (1985), and at the University of Arizona (1980-1984) as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Mike Gillhamer, Secondary Coach

Gillhamer has nearly 40 years of coaching experience, including 15 seasons in the National Football League. He was most recently with the University of Cincinnati Bearcats as the secondary coach in 2016. Prior to Cincinnati, he spent four years in the same role for the Indianapolis Colts. Gillhamer spent seven seasons with the Carolina Panthers (2004-2010), working with the safeties and secondary unit. He was the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at the University of Louisville in 2003, and the secondary coach at the University of Oregon from 2001-02. He helped the Ducks to a Fiesta Bowl victory and a final No. 2 national ranking in 2001. Gillhamer began his NFL coaching career as an offensive assistant with the New York Giants in 1997. He assisted with the running backs during his first three seasons before taking over as the running backs coach in 2000, a year that saw the Giants win the NFC.

Charles Arbuckle, Tight Ends

Arbuckle played five NFL seasons with three teams after being drafted in the fifth round of the 1990 draft by the New Orleans Saints. A three-year starter and two-time All-American tight end at UCLA, Arbuckle is among the top 20 in career receptions in Bruins history. While at UCLA, he was coached by Hotshots head coach Rick Neuheisel and quarterbacks coach Steve Axman.

Chris Scelfo, Offensive Line

A veteran coach with NFL and collegiate experience, Scelfo was most recently the Offensive Line and Run Game Coordinator at the University of North Carolina - Charlotte. He spent the 2017 season as the Offensive Line coach at Houston. For seven years prior (2008-14) he was the Tight Ends coach with the Atlanta Falcons. Scelfo was the Head coach at Tulane for eight years (1999-2006), where he is the second-winningest coach in school history. Scelfo appeared in five FCS National Championship games, won national titles with two different teams and won ESPN’s Courage Award after navigating the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Jennifer King, Offensive Assistant

King spent the 2018 off-season as only the second woman to earn a coaching internship with an NFL team, working with wide receivers during the Carolina Panther’s spring mini-camp and 2018 Training Camp. She has also starred on the Carolina Phoenix Women’s Tackle Football Team since 2006, where she has been a five-time All-American and helped lead the team to a national championship in 2013 as a quarterback and free safety. King has been the head coach of Johnson and Wales Charlotte women’s basketball team since 2016 and led the Wildcats to the 2017-2018 USCAA Division II National Championship. The team finished 22-4 and she was named the USCAA Division National Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year.

Glenn Parker, Assistant Offensive Line Coach

This is Parker’s first professional coaching experience. Prior to joining the Hotshots, he served as a broadcaster and analyst covering collegiate and pro football, including a role as a post-game analyst on Fox Sports Arizona he held since 2012. Parker enjoyed a 12-year career in the National Football League as an offensive lineman which included five trips to the Super Bowl with the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and New York Giants. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona where he was an all-conference offensive lineman.

Brandon Burton, Defensive Backs

This is Brandon Burton’s first professional coaching opportunity. A native of League City, Texas, Burton played college football for the University of Utah from 2007-11. After a productive career, he was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 5th round of the 2011 NFL Draft and played four years in the NFL for the Vikings, Buffalo Bills. Cincinnati Bengals, and Indianapolis Colts.

Andrew Weidinger, Running Backs Coach

Weidinger spent 12 seasons prior to the Hotshots in the NFL in a variety of roles, most recently as Game Management with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018. In his four seasons (2015-18) with Tampa Bay, he also served as Game Management / Assistant Wide Receivers Coach (2016-17) and Offensive Quality Control Coach (2015). His first eight seasons in the NFL were spent with the Atlanta Falcons where he began as an intern during the 2006 pre-season assisting in scouting and evaluating potential personnel from players throughout the league. While with Atlanta he served as an Offensive Assistant Coach from 2012-14, Assistant to the Head Coach from 2008-2011 and as a Personnel Scout in 2007. Weidinger spent seven seasons working in a number of roles for the University of Arizona football team, lastly as the Assistant Director of Football Operations.