LAS VEGAS, Nev. (March 2, 2005) – At first glance, the firing of Philadelphia Soul coach Michael Trigg looks extremely hasty. The season still hasn't reached the midway point, and the Soul is hardly out of the playoff race.

But it is that reality that led to the team's decision. The season is young, so there is time to make a playoff push. And the Soul isn't in terrible shape at 2-3.

Considering the Soul is in the American Conference, the club knew it couldn't get too far in a hole. Philadelphia is in the Eastern Division behind 4-1 Dallas and 3-1 New York. Three 4-1 teams lead the Southern Division.

With so many quality teams competing for four playoff spots, the margin for error is smaller than in the American Conference.

"We felt we had to make a decision before it was too late," team president Ron Jaworski said. "We could've stayed the course. But the standards are very high in Philadelphia. It's about winning the championship."

It was a championship club the Soul believed it had put together in the offseason, highlighted by the signing of quarterback Tony Graziani. Philadelphia made him the league's highest-paid player, giving him $750,000 over three years.

So the Soul expected results.

Instead, the team was beaten soundly the past two weeks, beginning with a 61-47 loss to New Orleans, which outscored Philadelphia 24-13 in the second half.

Then came last weekend's 72-43 embarrassment to Dallas. Philadelphia was outscored 34-8 in the second half of that game.

Did Trigg not make the right adjustments? Did he stick to the game plan regardless of the circumstances?

Jaworski said he didn't have those answers, not being in the locker room when those decisions were made. He didn't have to be, though. All the evidence was right there in from of him and owners Jon Bon Jovi and Craig Spencer.

"We've seen other teams properly adapt to what we were doing, and we weren't countering what they were doing," Jaworski said. "Certainly, that goes back to the coach. And football is about energy, and we weren't a team playing with a terrific amount of energy and passion, and that goes back to the coach."

So now the club is in James Fuller's hands after he was elevated from defensive coordinator.

Fuller has seen first-hand that the Soul doesn't have a lot of patience. Considering the offseason investments and the ultra-competitive conference it plays in, the Soul doesn't have time for patience.

"We couldn't keep playing that way," Jaworski said.

QUICK THOUGHTS

• It's disappointing to see Hunkie Cooper leave the Rattlers this way. He should have done it when given the chance right before the season.

In fact, he called a news conference to announce his retirement after a stellar 12-year career that placed him in the short list for best all-time players. Cooper, though, changed his mind at the news conference, forcing the Rattlers to make adjustments.

Cooper didn't do it out of selfishness or spite. He simply wasn't ready to leave the game.

Still, it wasn't fair to the Rattlers, who placed him on injured reserve for the first two weeks so they could figure out their roster. Cooper never fit into their plans, even when he was activated.

This is a club that needs to rebuild for the future, and the younger players need their playing time. Cooper simply was in the way, and he wasn't afraid to criticize the offensive system, which became a distraction for the club.

So now he will take about a month off before possibly returning to the game, probably with Las Vegas or Los Angeles. He lives in the Las Vegas area, and starred at UNLV.

Cooper should forget playing. His next focus should be on coaching. It's not that he couldn't help a team down the stretch. It's that he should be remembered only for playing for the Rattlers, who were consistently among the league's best with him in the lineup.

• SaberCats quarterback Mark Grieb is being honored this weekend as the Maxwell Football Club's AFL Player of the Year after leading San Jose to last year's championship.

The Maxwell Football Club is now starting to honor AFL players after establishing awards for other levels of the sport. Jaworski is behind the effort, and would like to involve the AFLWA and possibly fans in the voting process.

Mark Anderson is the AFLWA executive director. He also covers the Gladiators for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.