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Bingham, who started the season as an assistant, took over as head coach of the Mississippi Hound Dogs after the weekend firing of Martino Theus. He'll be in charge tonight as the Hound Dogs take on the Rome (Ga.) Rampage at 7:30 p.m. at BancorpSouth Arena.
"We should be hitting on all cylinders," Bingham said. "Fans should see a big difference from the way this team looked the first night we played here."
The Hound Dogs fell 35-30 to the Rampage in the opening game for both teams on March 3, losing a 30-19 lead in the waning minutes. "We had a lot of jitters that night," Bingham said. "The team chemistry is a lot better now."
Bingham, who played for the former franchises here, the Fire Ants and MudCats, said he was surprised to arrive at work on Monday to learn that Theus has been fired.
"It's like when I was playing, you face adversity all the time," Bingham said. "We still have to go out and play hard. That's our job."
Under center
Rookie Jami Boland, a former Nettleton standout, will get the start at quarterback tonight. A QB with some previous indoor experience, recently signed Kevin Brown Jr., will be the backup.
"Jami Boland has proven himself in the face of a lot of punishment," Bingham said. "Protecting the passer has been a big issue for us."
Fading after halftime has been another problem. The Hound Dogs have been outscored 99-49 after intermission this season.
"It's a 60-minute game and we've been playing well for 30 minutes," Bingham said. "We have to learn how to close out opponents when we have the advantage."
The team's March 3 debut drew a paying crowd of 2,387. Team owner Marty Cooper said his business plan will work with that kind of support, "but we can get better, hopefully grow our support from there."
john.pitts@journalinc.com