For Billings Outlaws coach Cedric Walker 'there is no offseason'

By: John Letasky 406 Sports, Billings Gazette. 

BILLINGS — For Billings Outlaws coach Cedric Walker, "there is no offseason."

After winning the ArenaBowl on July 19 with a 46-41 victory over the Albany Firebirds at the American Dream Entertainment/Retail Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, there has been little time to soak it all in.

For starters, it took a group of five from the Outlaws, three of them players and two coaches including Walker, approximately four days to return to the Magic City due to the CrowdStrike software update that caused flights to be canceled and delayed worldwide.

Then, it was time to thank boosters, fans, team partners and others who backed the organization during its championship 9-1 season.

And as it is in sports, after one season ends another begins with preparations for the next season — including thinking about assembling the roster.

And, not to be forgotten, the eight remaining teams from the inaugural bumpy seasonof the rebooted Arena Football League, including the Outlaws, launched the Arena Football One league in early September.


“There is no offseason,” Walker told The Billings Gazette and 406 MT Sports on Friday. “We call it between seasons.

“Realistically, after we won the championship, I think we had between both of us, probably no more but 10 days and then we were right back at it,” Walker said, pointing to Outlaws team owner Steven Titus, who was sitting beside him.

Walker — who also serves as the Outlaws general manager — said in his short, but enjoyable, breather he experienced Alaska. But, in the life of an arena football coach — Walker’s commitment, and also phone, reminded him of work.

“Even in Alaska, I was working,” he said, admitting he did enjoy a cigar or two on the trip. “Every time I got to port, I was calling people to let them know what was going on.”

Most football fans have heard stories about how some committed NFL coaches have spent the night at their office, sleeping on the couch for a couple hours; engulfed in their work of watching film and preparing their team.


Walker, whose office is now located at Rimrock Mall within an Outlaws team store, didn’t compare his days to those. However, he said he’s been plenty busy scouting and recruiting players, and doing other work in preparing for training camp. The Outlaws training camp for the 2025 AF1 season will begin at the end of February at the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, which the team is still thankful for the partnership of the YBGR.

The Outlaws have signed 20 players for the upcoming season. That list includes four returning players from last season: quarterback Danny Southwick, defensive back Cedric Thomas, noseguard Armonti Carey and center Jamezz Kimbrough. Walker said he is working on signing a couple more Outlaws players from last year.


Overall, Walker said he expects 35 Outlaws in camp and the roster will have to be trimmed to 25 once the season ends. Titus said the AF1 schedule is expected to be released next week. The Outlaws’ first game is projected to be the weekend of March 14, 2025.

So, what has a typical day been like for Walker lately?

“Three o’clock in the morning, watching film answering emails and then (later) meeting partners,” explained Walker. “We’re trying to get the partnership for 2025. I’m looking at film watching players.”

Walker also said he is enthusiastic about the prospects of AF1 and there has been more thorough preparation than there was last year before the start of the inaugural season of the upstart Arena Football League.

“We are (also) doing a lot of league stuff,” explained Walker of how he fills his day. “The one thing about this time around, is that the people in the league office understand. The people who have been a part of this. We have a lot more meetings in regards to how we can make the product better and trying to help these (expansion) teams that are coming in that don’t understand the game.”

The Outlaws have also been making improvements to their gameday operation. Titus said that the Outlaws will have a new playing surface for their home games at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark in 2025.

“For player safety we got a new field,” said Titus. “It’s what they call the next generation field.”

Instead of “big long rolls” — as Titus described it — that are unrolled on the Metra floor, Walker said the new TDS Fiber Field turf will be similar to “a puzzle that fits together.”

While it’s been a busy period for Walker, it’s also been an enjoyable time after winning the ArenaBowl. But Walker also knows that it’s important to continue winning in order to keep that good feeling going. In fact, Walker will keep his same mantra as his debut season in Billings of aiming to go 1-0 each week once the season starts.

“Am I excited? Absolutely,” Walker said of entering the first year of the AF1 as ArenaBowl champions. “Anytime you get to do something you love it’s great. I’m more excited for the city because now I think they understand what we’re doing as an organization. … As far as defending the title, you got to realize that once the opening week is over, there is no defending the title. Now we’re just in the hunt.”

“We just try and continue to go 1-0.”

While, the Outlaws are looking forward to opening day, Walker will continue to be busy in the offseason. The Outlaws will be holding a Black Friday sale at their store in the mall with championship merchandise like T-shirts available.

For Walker, “there is no offseason” — and that’s just the way he likes it — as he aims to direct the Outlaws to another league title in 2025.