Siaha Burley

Siaha Burley

Burley in 2015
Personal information
Born:	(1977-07-16) July 16, 1977 Mesa, Arizona, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school:	Mesa (AZ) Westwood
College:	UCF
Undrafted:	1999
Career history
As a player:
Orlando Predators (2001–2002) Los Angeles Avengers (2003) Arizona Rattlers (2004–2005) Minnesota Vikings (2005)* Utah Blaze (2006–2007) Arizona Rattlers (2008, 2010), (2012)*
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
Arizona Rattlers (2011) Wide receivers Chicago Rush (2013) Offensive coordinator Orlando Predators (2014–2015) Offensive coordinator Arizona Rattlers (2016) Offensive coordinator Cleveland Gladiators (2017) Offensive coordinator Jacksonville Sharks (2017–2019, 2022) Head coach
Career highlights and awards
NAL champion (2017, 2019) All-Rookie Team (2001) 2× Second Team All-Arena (2005, 2006) AFL Offensive Player of the Year (2007) First Team All-Arena (2007) AFL Assistant Coach of the Year (2015)
Career Arena League statistics
Receptions: 843 Receiving yards: 10,810 Rec. touchdowns: 247 Kickoff/Missed FG returns: 302 Kick return yards–TDs: 5,712–7 Stats at ArenaFan.com

Siaha Burley (born July 16, 1977) is an American former arena football wide receiver and former head coach. He played college football at UCF and was also the head coach of the Jacksonville Sharks from 2017 to 2019 before returning to the team for 2022.

Early life

Burley attended Westwood High School in Mesa and was a letterman in football, basketball, and track. In football, as a senior, he was an All-City and an All-State selection as a wide receiver and as a defensive back.

College career

Before Burley transferred from Mesa Community College to the University of Central Florida where he played football, he played in the Arizona Football League. While at UCF, he led the team in receiving for two straight years. He also led the team in punt returns. His college quarterback was National Football League quarterback Daunte Culpepper.

Professional career

In 2001 and 2002, Burley spent his first two AFL seasons with the Orlando Predators. Following the 2001 season, he was named to the AFL All-Rookie team. In 2003, Burley played just one season for the Los Angeles Avengers recording nine touchdowns. In 2004 and 2005, Burley played for the Arizona Rattlers for two seasons. In 2005, the Arena Football League's Writers Association named Burley the Offensive Player of the Year. He set a franchise record with 45 touchdown receptions for the season and was named to the All-Arena Second Team. In 2006, Burley played for the Utah Blaze where he started all 16 games. He ended the season ranked first in the league with an average of 120.9 receiving yards per game and second in the league for touchdown catches (44) and average receptions per game (8.5). He set expansion team records in total receiving yards (1,934), receptions (136) and receiving touchdowns (44). He was also named to the All-Arena Second Team for the second consecutive year. In 2007, Burley had a record-setting year with the Blaze, breaking league records for receptions (166) and receiving yards (2,129) and was named Offensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career. He also finished second in the league with 49 touchdown receptions and averaged 12.8 yards per catch. He averaged 24.6 yards on kickoff returns. He returned to Arizona in 2008, where he recorded 114 receptions for 1,386 yards, and 33 touchdowns. He also carried the ball once for a loss of eight yards. On defense, he recorded two tackles and returned one kickoff three yards. After the season, on November 10, 2008, he was released by the Rattlers.

Coaching career

Burley became the wide receivers coach for the Arizona Rattlers in 2011 under head coach Kevin Guy. In 2013, Burley was named the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Rush. In 2014, Burley was named the offensive coordinator for the Orlando Predators. After two seasons with the Predators, Burley was named the offensive coordinator for the Rattlers on December 2, 2015. After the Rattlers left the AFL for the Indoor Football League, Burley joined the Cleveland Gladiators in the same position for the 2017 season.

On May 23, 2017, Burley left the Gladiators early in the 2017 season to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Sharks, a team that had left the AFL to start the new National Arena League. He won two championships with the Sharks before leaving the team after the 2019 season when they could not come to terms on a contract extension. He was re-hired by the Sharks as head coach for the 2022 season.

Personal life

. The couple have three daughters, Sia Jonet N’lae, and Saniyah . He has three brothers, Solomon, LaRue and Nigel.

External links

• Arizona Rattlers profile
• Stats at ArenaFan
• Media related to Siaha Burley at Wikimedia Commons