Lawrence Samuels

Lawrence Samuels

Samuels with Adrian McPherson during a 2013 game.
Personal information
Born:	(1970-05-01) May 1, 1970 (age 55) Mobile, Alabama, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:	Mobile (AL) Shaw
College:	Livingston (AL)
Position:	Head coach
Career history
As a player:
Tampa Bay Storm (1994–2000) New Jersey Gladiators (2001) Tampa Bay Storm (2002–2010)
As a coach:
West Alabama (WR) (1993–1994) West Alabama (WR) (1998–2000) Central H.S. (WR/OL) (2002–2003) Sickles H.S. (WR/DB) (2004–2005) Wharton H.S. (WR) (2005–2006) Team USA (WR) (2009) East Lake H.S. (WR/DB) (2009–2010) Central State (WR) (2011) Tampa Bay Storm (WR) (2012) Tampa Bay Storm (OC) (2013) Tampa Bay Storm (HC) (2014–2016) Tuskegee Golden Tigers (TE) (2017–present)
Career highlights and awards 3× ArenaBowl champion (1995, 1996, 2003) ArenaBowl MVP champion (2003) 5× Second-team All-Arena (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) 4× All-Iron Man Team (2000, 2003, 2007, 2008) AFL Hall of Fame (2013) Career Arena League statistics Receptions: 1,035 Receiving yards: 11,820 Receiving touchdowns: 169 Total tackles: 360 Interceptions: 32 Stats at ArenaFan.com Head coaching record Regular season: 17–35 (.327) Postseason: 0–0 (.000) Career: 17–36 (.321) Lawrence "Law Dogg" Samuels (born May 1, 1970) is an American football coach and former player. He played college football at Livingston University, and was an Arena Football League (AFL) wide receiver/linebacker from 1994 to 2010. [1] He was head coach of the Tampa Bay Storm of the AFL from 2014 to 2016. Early life Born in Mobile, Alabama, Samuels attended Shaw High School in Mobile. Samuels was a basketball player in high school, but was lured to the football field after seeing most of his childhood friends join the Shaw team. [2] Samuels received both his Bachelor of Science degree in industrial technology and Master of Science degree in education from The University of West Alabama. Professional career Tampa Bay Storm Samuels made his AFL debut in 1994 with the Tampa Bay Storm, racking up 247 receptions through the 2000 season for over 3,120 yards in his first tenure with the Storm. New Jersey Gladiators In 2001, Samuels left the Storm and played the season with the New Jersey Gladiators, catching 65 passes (a career high at the time) for 742 yards, just short of his 844-yard career high receiving season he recorded the year before with Tampa Bay. Return to the Storm After a single season in New Jersey, Samuels returned to Tampa, [3] where he finished his playing career. From 2003-2007, Samuels notched 1,000+ yards receiving in 4 of 5 seasons, including back-to-back-to-back 1,100 yard+ seasons in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Was named MVP and Ironman of ArenaBowl XVII. In 2007, after 5 losses to begin the season, Samuels was again named to the AFL's All-Ironman Team after leading the Storm to a #3 seed in the playoffs. 100+ catches, 1,000+ yards, and 100+ touchdowns also helped Samuels earn the honor. On June 15, 2008, Samuels became the first receiver in AFL history to record 1,000 career receptions. [ dead link ] On August 10, 2013, Samuels was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame. [4] Coaching career In 2002 and 2003, he was an assistant coach and wide receivers coach at Central High School in Brooksville, Florida. He was the offensive coordinator and receivers coach for the Wharton High School Wildcats during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. In 2011, Samuels was named the offensive coordinator of the Storm, working with one of his former coaches, Dave Ewart. [5] Ewart was fired in early August 2013, and on September 5, 2013, Samuels was promoted to head coach of the Storm. [6] Samuels and the Storm mutually agreed to part ways in August 2016. [7] In 2017, Samuels was hired as the tight ends coach at Tuskegee University. [8] Head coaching record Team Year Regular season Post season Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result TB 2014 8 10 .444 2nd in AC South – – – – TB 2015 7 11 .389 3rd in AC South – – – – TB 2016 2 14 .125 4th in AC 0 1 .000 Lost to Philadelphia Soul in Conference Semifinals TB Total 17 35 .327 0 1 .000 Total [9] 17 35 .327 0 1 .000 Personal Samuels's brother, Chris Samuels, was a six-time Pro-Bowler in the National Football League (NFL). He and his wife, Kelli, have two daughters. References "Lawrence Samuels". www.arenafan.com. ArenaFan. Retrieved February 25, 2010. Inabinett, Mark (October 21, 2013). "From Shaw High to the Hall of Fame: Lawrence Samuels among Arena League's legends". www.al.com. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved October 28, 2013. "Storm sign Samuels". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. March 19, 2002. Retrieved July 22, 2017. Inabinett, Mark (August 11, 2013). "Lawrence Samuels going into Arena Football League Hall of Fame". www.al.com. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved August 12, 2013. Brandon Wright (September 5, 2013). "Storm taps Samuels as coach". www.tampabay.com. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved January 9, 2014. "Storm Name Lawrence samuels Head Coach". www.tampabaystorm.com. Tampa Bay Storm. September 5, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013. "Storm And Lawrence Samuels Mutually Agree To Separate". arenafan.com. August 10, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2016. "Lawrence Samuels". Tuskegee University . Retrieved June 1, 2025. "Lawrence Samuels Coaching Record". ArenaFan.com. Retrieved July 7, 2014. External links AFL stats This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.