Steve Criswell enters his second season with the Desperados as the assistant OL/FB coach after coaching the special teams unit last year. Criswell has 24 years of coaching experience in his career.

As the special teams coach last season, Criswell's 2007 special teams unit finished with the fifth-best kickoff return average (19.4) and third-most returns for touchdowns (six), while his kickoff coverage unit kept opponents to the fifth-lowest return average (17.7) and joined the Columbus Destroyers as one of only two teams to not allow a kickoff for a touchdown.

Individually, Criswell helped kicker Todd Sievers finish with the seventh-most points in the league (139) on eight-of-13 field goal attempts for a 61.5 field goal percentage - tops among kickers in Desperados history - while he also connected on 115-of-119 PATs. Will Pettis - the 2007 Ironman of the Year - finished the season tied for second in kickoffs returned for a touchdown (four), ranked fourth in kickoff return yards (1,229), and placed ninth in kickoff return average (21.2) amongst players with at least 10 returns.

Criswell began his coaching career in 1984 coaching receivers for Henrico High School in Richmond, Va. The next year he coached the school's offensive line, a position he held for four seasons. In 1989, he coached at Petersburgh, Va., High School, coaching both the offensive and defensive line. He coached the lines at Ashby High School in Bridgewater, Va. (1993-96) before moving to Hermitage High School for four years (1997-2000) to coach both lines.

Criswell jumped to the pro ranks in 2001 to coach fullbacks and linebackers for the Richmond Speed of the af2 while also coaching in the East Coast Bowl - Div. II/III All-Star Game - through 2004. In his final season with the Speed (2003), Criswell was the team's football operations director. He moved to the Cape Fear Wildcats to continue coaching FB/LBs for the 2004 af2 season before coaching the OL/DL and FB/LBs for the Richmond Bandits of the American Indoor Football League (2005-06).

Criswell was born December 9, 1955 in Richmond, Va., Criswell attended Henrico High School. He earned his degree in Business Administration from Bryan College, in Dayton, Tenn. Criswell along with his wife, Lori, is a co-founder of The Edgewood Company of Virginia, Inc. - a multi-faceted transportation and logistics company and Edgewood Properties, LLC - a business properties purchase and Revitalization Company - located in Ashland, Va. He and Lori reside in Aylett, Va. Their daughter, Ashley, is a recent graduate of Bryan College.