Carolina Cobras (NAL)

American indoor football team

This article is about the team that began play in 2018 in the National Arena League. For the Arena Football League team of the same name that played from 2000 until 2004, see Carolina Cobras.

Not to be confused with the Greensboro Cobras, a team of the Tobacco Road Basketball League.

Carolina Cobras (NAL)

Current season
Established 2017
Play in Greensboro, North Carolina
at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex
CarolinaCobras.com
League/conference affiliations

* National Arena League (2018–present)

Current uniform

Team colors| Black, silver, red, white

Cheerleaders| Venom Hunnies [1]
Personnel
Owner(s)| National Sports Ventures[2]
Rob Storm (majority)
John Kane
Darren S. Hunter
Theron Davis
Paul C. Marquardt Sr.
General manager| Brandon Negron
Head coach| Brandon Negron
Team history

* Carolina Cobras (2018–present)

Championships
League championships (1)

* NAL: 2018

Conference championships (0)

Division championships (0)

Playoff appearances (5)

* NAL: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023

Home arena(s)

* Greensboro Coliseum Complex (2018–present)

The Carolina Cobras are a professional indoor football team in the National Arena League (NAL) and that began play for the 2018 season. Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Cobras play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.[3]

The Cobras is the third indoor/arena team to call Greensboro home, following the Greensboro Prowlers of the af2 (2000–2003) and the Greensboro Revolution of the National Indoor Football League (2006–2007). A previous team called the Carolina Cobras played in the Arena Football League from 2000 until 2004. The AFL Cobras played three seasons in Raleigh and two in Charlotte before folding. The NAL Cobras use a logo similar in style to the defunct AFL Cobras' logo, but otherwise has no direct connection to the AFL franchise.

## History[edit]

The Cobras were officially announced as members of the National Arena League (NAL) on December 4, 2017.[3] In their introductory announcement, the team named former Cincinnati Commandos, Texas Revolution, Nashville Venom and Wichita Falls Nighthawks head coach Billy Back as their new coach.[4]

The Cobras inaugural season finished with a regular season record of 10–5, taking second place in the league. The Cobras then defeated the Jacksonville Sharks in the playoff semifinal and earned the right to host the 2018 NAL Championship game at home after the first place Massachusetts Pirates lost their semifinal to the Columbus Lions.[5] With the Lions missing several starting players including their quarterback Mason Espinosa and all running backs,[6] the Cobras dominated Columbus in the championship game 66–8.[7]

In their second season, the Cobras again made it to the championship game, where they lost to the Sharks 52–48. Following the season, head coach Billy Back and most of his staff left the team to coach the relaunched Spokane Shock in the Indoor Football League when the NAL was announced to merge with Champions Indoor Football for the 2020 season.[8] The Cobras initially hired Massachusetts Pirates' head coach Anthony Payton after the Pirates withdrew from the league due to the merger.[9] However, the merger fell apart[10] and the team then hired former defensive coordinator Josh Resignalo as head coach in December 2019.[11]

On September 22, 2022, head coach and general manager Josh Resignalo stepped down to "explore other opportunities". The next day, on September 13, the Cobras announced that their offensive coordinator and arena football veteran James Fuller would be tapped as only the team's third head coach in franchise history. [12]

## Season-by-season results[edit]

League champions | Playoff berth | League leader

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Season | League | Regular season | Postseason results

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Finish | Wins | Losses
2018  | NAL | 1st  | 10  | 5  | Won Semifinal (Jacksonville) 73–48
Won NAL Championship (Columbus) 66–8
2019  | NAL  | 2nd  | 9  | 5  | Won Semifinal (Massachusetts) 30–26
Lost NAL Championship (Jacksonville) 48–52
2020  | NAL  | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021  | NAL  | 4th  | 3  | 5  | Lost Semifinal (Albany) 41–55
2022 | NAL  | 2nd  | 9  | 5  | Won Semifinal (Columbus) 65–51
Lost NAL Championship (Albany) 20–47
2023 | NAL  | 2nd  | 10  | 4  | Won Semifinal (San Antonio) 52–36
Lost NAL Championship (Jacksonville) 45–54
2024 | NAL  |  | 0  | 0  |
Totals  | 41 | 24 | All-time regular season record
5 | 4 | All-time postseason record
46 | 28 | All-time regular season and postseason record

## Current roster[edit]

Carolina Cobras roster Quarterbacks

* \-- Justin Arth
* \-- Nick Eilers
* \-- Guy Myers
* \-- Giovanni Sanders

Running backs

* \-- Adeolu Adeleke
* \-- James Summers

Wide receivers

* \-- Devonte Baker
* \-- Alex Coleman
* \-- Jarvai Flowers
* \-- Julius Gregory
* \-- Kendrick Ings
* \-- Logan Meade
* \-- Ky Priester
* \-- Donovan Rasberry
* \-- Adam Smith

|  | Offensive linemen

* \-- CJ Cain
* \-- Tavin Fitzgerald
* \-- John Kennedy
* \-- Derrick Zeigler

Defensive linemen

* \-- Charles Brooks
* \-- Montarius Hughley
* \-- Caleb Lowery
* \-- Micah Robinson
* \-- Shahaun Williams
* \-- Gibson Ziah

|  | Linebackers

* \-- Khalil Patterson
* \-- Raphael Turner

Defensive backs

* \-- Raymond Boone
* \-- Hanif Jones
* \-- Felix King
* \-- Jamarii Milliken
* \-- Brian Price
* \-- Joe Powell
* \-- Kevin Simmons
* \-- Charles Turner-Cox

Special teams

* \-- Kevin Didio-Weber

|  | Reserve lists

* Currently vacant

* Rookies in italics
* Roster updated January 30, 2024
* 35 Active, 0 Inactive

→ More rosters

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## Staff[edit]

Carolina Cobras (NAL) staff |

Front office

* General manager – Brandon Negron
* Assistant general manager – Kerianne Johansen
* Director of scouting – Julien Robinson
* Director of business development – Darrel Moyd
* Marketing advisor – Nicole Pruchnik
* Marketing advisor – Steven Shotola

Head coaches

* Head coach – Brandon Negron
* Assistant head coach – Fred Price

Offensive coaches

* Offensive line/Defensive line – Brandon Sutton
* Offensive assistant – Ray Flowers

|  |  | Defensive coaches

* Defensive coordinator – Mike Green
* Defensive backs/Wide receivers – Joe Powell

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## Head coaches[edit]

Note: Statistics are correct through the 2023 National Arena League season.

Name  | Tenure  | Regular season  | Playoffs  | Awards

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W  | L  | Win%  | W  | L
Billy Back  | 2018–2019  | 19  | 10  | .655  | 3  | 1  |
Josh Resignalo  | 2021–2022 | 12  | 10  | .545  | 1  | 2  |
James Fuller | 2023 | 10  | 4  | .714  | 1  | 1  | NAL Coach of the Year (2023)
Brandon Negron  | 2024–present  | 0  | 0  | –  | 0  | 0  |

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Official Website of the Carolina Cobras: Venom Hunnies".
2. ^ "Arena football set to return to Greensboro Coliseum with Carolina Cobras". Greensboro.com. December 4, 2017.
3. ^ a b "NAL Expansion Heads to North Carolina - Expansion Team in Carolina to be named Cobras". NationalArenaLeague.com. December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
4. ^ "Cobras name Billy Back Head Coach - 2016 IFL Coach of the Year set to lead Carolina in 2018". NationalArenaLeague.com. December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
5. ^ "Cobras Playoff Victory Over Sharks". NationalArenaLeague.com. August 15, 2018.
6. ^ "Columbus Lions throttled in national championship game". Ledger-Enquirer. August 28, 2018.
7. ^ "Carolina Cobras win National Arena League football championship". Greensboro.com. August 27, 2018.
8. ^ "NAL and CIF merge to form new indoor football league". WTVM. September 26, 2019.
9. ^ "Carolina Cobras Announce Anthony Payton as New Head Coach". GreensboroSports.com. October 2, 2019.
10. ^ "National Arena League and Champions Indoor Football to Postpone 2020 partnership". NAL. October 10, 2019.
11. ^ "Cobras Hire Former Defensive Coordinator as New Head Coach". ABC45.com. December 6, 2019.
12. ^ "JAMES FULLER PROMOTED TO HEAD COACH". CarolinaCobras.com. September 13, 2022.

## External links[edit]

* Carolina Cobras official site

* v
* t
* e

National Arena League

Teams|

* Carolina Cobras
* Colorado Spartans
* Idaho Horsemen
* North Texas Bulls
* Oklahoma Flying Aces
* Omaha Beef
* Sioux City Bandits
* Topeka Tropics

Venues|

* Budweiser Events Center (Colorado)
* Chisholm Trail Coliseum (Oklahoma)
* Cowtown Coliseum (North Texas)
* Ford Idaho Center (Idaho)
* Greensboro Coliseum Complex (Carolina)
* Liberty First Credit Union Arena (Omaha)
* Stormont Vail Events Center (Topeka)
* Tyson Events Center (Sioux City)

Former teams|

* Albany Empire (2021–2023)
* Columbus Lions (2017–2022)
* Corpus Christi Rage (2017)
* Dayton Wolfpack (2017)
* Fayetteville Mustangs (2023)
* Georgia Firebirds (2017)
* High Country Grizzlies (2017)
* Jacksonville Sharks (2017–2023)
* Jersey Flight (2020–2021)
* Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (2017–2018)
* Maine Mammoths (2018)
* Massachusetts Pirates (2018–2020)
* Monterrey Steel (2017)
* New York Streets (2019)
* Orlando Predators (2019–2023)
* San Antonio Gunslingers (2022–2023)
* West Texas Warbirds (2023)
* West Virginia Roughriders (2020)

Former venues|

* Albany Civic Center (Georgia)
* American Bank Center (Corpus Christi)
* Amway Center (Orlando)
* Arena Monterrey (Monterrey)
* Columbus Civic Center (Columbus)
* Cross Insurance Arena (Maine)
* Crown Coliseum (Fayetteville)
* CURE Insurance Arena (Jersey)
* DCU Center (Massachusetts)
* Ector County Coliseum (West Texas)
* Freeman Coliseum (San Antonio)
* George M. Holmes Convocation Center (High Country)
* MVP Arena (Albany)
* PPL Center (Lehigh Valley)
* VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (Jacksonville)
* Westchester County Center (New York)

Seasons|

* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

* v
* t
* e

Sports teams based in North Carolina

Australian rules football|

USAFL/EAFL
North Carolina Tigers

Baseball|

Charlotte Knights
Durham Bulls
SAL
Asheville Tourists
Greensboro Grasshoppers
Hickory Crawdads
Winston-Salem Dash

Carolina Mudcats
Down East Wood Ducks
Fayetteville Woodpeckers
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
ALPB
High Point Rockers
ApL
Burlington Sock Puppets
CPL
Asheboro ZooKeepers
Boone Bigfoots
Forest City Owls
Greenville Yard Gnomes
High Point-Thomasville HiToms
Holly Springs Salamanders
Morehead City Marlins
Wilmington Sharks
Wilson Tobs
TSL
Edenton Steamers
PremCL
Outer Banks Scallywags

Basketball|

NBA
Charlotte Hornets
G League
Greensboro Swarm

Esports|

CDL
Carolina Royal Ravens

Football|

NFL
Carolina Panthers
NAL
Carolina Cobras
AAL
Charlotte Thunder
WFA
Carolina Phoenix
USWFL
Carolina Queens
Fayetteville Fierce

Hockey|

NHL
Carolina Hurricanes
AHL
Charlotte Checkers
SPHL
Fayetteville Marksmen
FPHL
Carolina Thunderbirds

Roller derby|

WFTDA
Blue Ridge Rollergirls
Cape Fear Roller Girls
Carolina Roller Derby
Charlotte Roller Derby
Fayetteville Roller Derby
Greensboro Roller Derby

Rugby|

CGU
Charlotte Rugby Club

Soccer|

MLS
Charlotte FC
NWSL
North Carolina Courage
USLC
North Carolina FC
MLSNP
Carolina Core FC
Crown Legacy FC
USL1
Charlotte Independence
NISA
Stumptown AC
USL2
Asheville City SC
Charlotte Eagles
North Carolina FC U23
North Carolina Fusion U23
Tobacco Road FC
Wake FC
WPSL
Asheville City SC
Carolina Rapids
Charlotte Lady Eagles
Lake Norman SC Eclipse
Oak City United
NPSL
Appalachian FC

Ultimate|

UFA
Carolina Flyers

College athletics
(NCAA Division I)|

FBS
Appalachian State Mountaineers
Charlotte 49ers
Duke Blue Devils
East Carolina Pirates
North Carolina Tar Heels
NC State Wolfpack
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
FCS
Campbell Camels
Davidson Wildcats
Elon Phoenix
Gardner-Webb Bulldogs
North Carolina A&T Aggies
North Carolina Central Eagles
Western Carolina Catamounts
Non-football
High Point Panthers
Queens Royals
UNC Asheville Bulldogs
UNC Greensboro Spartans
UNC Wilmington Seahawks

See also
Sports in North Carolina
List of sports venues in North Carolina
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