Former Racine Raiders offensive lineman John Mamerow was named the 17th head coach of the team at the annual team banquet Saturday night.  Mamerow was introduced to players and staff for the first time and received a rousing ovation.

"I'm truly honored to have been asked to coach this team," said Mamerow.  "I'm going to give it my all.  I have all of my family's support and they're excited so I'm going to give it my all and see where the chips fall."

Every head coach that takes the reigns for the Racine Raiders knows what is expected of them.

"After a football player stops playing, there becomes a void in his life," said Mamerow. "I'm going to try and fill that with coaching and try and bring a National Championship back to Racine; bring back the pride and tradition that we once had when I played."

Mamerow is a graduate of Waterford High School and received a degree from UW-Platteville.  While at Platteville, Mamerow was the starting center for the team and earned All-WIAC second team honors in 1985-86 and 1986-87.  Mamerow played offensive guard with the Raiders from 1987 to 1993 and started on three National Championship teams.  He earned rookie of the year honors in 1987 and was a six-time all-league offensive lineman.  He was inducted into the Racine Raiders Hall of Fame in 2005.

Mamerow's coaching experience includes five years of youth football, a coaching stint at Waterford High School, and, most recently, he served as offensive line coach and assistant offensive coordinator for the Burlington Blue Devils of the Ironman Football League (IFL). 

"One of the things that impressed everyone on the board most about John's resume," commented board member Greg Fictum, "was every single team he's coached qualified for the playoffs."

Board President Joe Mooney also announced that General Manager Curt Barnes stepped down and Scott Smith was named as his replacement.  Smith is a former Raider player and current head football coach at Racine Lutheran High School.  He was inducted into the American Football Association (AFA) Hall of Fame in 2007.