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Ken Austin
Puget Sound Jets / Eastside Hawks /
West Sound Saints
Head Coach / Administrator
1990 - 2004
If building a dynasty in the Northwest Football League is
any indication of the worthiness for membership into the
elite ranks of Hall of Fame coaches, Ken Austin fit the
bill.
After assisting the legendary Ron Baines and the Pierce
County Bengals restart after the end of the NFA and Auburn
Panthers, Austin struck out on his own and formed the
Federal Way Jets a few miles north and began building his
team of the 90's. Success was not instant and it took
a few years to break through as the Jets took their lumps
from the NWFL and former mentor Baines' Bengals through
1992. An impassioned competitor, the early years were
marked by slight inexperience, as Austin's Jets, behind by 4
points got caught up arguing a call with the officials while
the clock ticked away the final minute and a half to end the
game.
Becoming a registered NFL agent, gave Ken another level of
recruiting power and the 1993 squad he and the Jets fielded
was one of the NWFL's best going 12-0 and dethroning the
Portland Thunderbolts who would become the biggest rival
during the Jets dominant run over the next six years.
Austin and the Jets would win 4-consecutive league
championships going 42-9 during that stretch including a
1996 loss to the Fresno Bandits dotted with San Francisco
49er castoffs. The 1997 team, blending with the
Federal Way 49ers and changing the name to the "Emerld City
Jets" once again battled the Bengals and Thunderbolts for
supremacy, falling in a close league championship game 14-7
to Oregon as the 'Bolts regained the crown. The team
took the 1998 season off to reorganize and restructure.
When the Jets returned in 1999, Austin and the squad brought
William and Helen MacIntosh the NWFL trophy three of the
next four seasons as well as laying claim to two National
Championships in 2000 and 2002 during a 47-4 run.
2000 was a year of major personal recognition as Ken Austin
was not only named the Northwest Football League Coach of
the Year for a second time, but he joined his former Bengals
boss in the American Football Association Hall of Fame.
Named 2002 AFA Coach of the Year following the win in St.
Petersburg, Florida to claim the National Champions, Austin
and the Jets dedicated the season to team sponsor William
MacIntosh who passed away earlier.
The dynasty would be retired and the Puget Sound Jets closed
down following the 2002 season, Austin was not quite
finished yet, taking his coaching chops to the Eastside
Hawks under ownership of active Seattle Seahawk defensive
lineman Sam Adams. The Hawks would be the immediate
replacement for the Jets as the power team of the NWFL as
most of the remaining active players would head north for
the 2003 season. Avenging both regular season losses
in the playoffs and championship game, the Austin-led Hawks
hoisted the trophy and headed on to nationals in the North
American Football League playoffs.
Downing three opponents and accepting a forfeit from the
Capital City Fury, the men from the Northwest were headed
back to Florida for the 2003 NAFL Championship. It was
a hard fought game, but Chicago-area Kane County Eagles came
out victorious 24-17. Austin and the Hawks would part
ways, as Ken hung up his whistle for an office job with the
West Sound Saints as Director of Operations for the 2004
season. The Saints became immediate contenders for the
NWFL title and faced the Hawks for the 2004 NWFL
Championship falling to one of the best aggregations of
players ever aligned in the NWFL as Eastside finished 16-0
and won the 2004 NAFL and AFA National Champions.
Ken Austin is 5th All-Time in the Northwest with 122
coaching victories and tied for 2nd All-Time with 9
Championship game appearances including 5 consecutive from
1993 to 1997 and 4 consecutive from 1999 to 2002 while in
the Northwest Football League.
Throughout his storied career in the NWFL, Austin worked
with hundreds of players looking for a second chance in
their careers and for some, the work and relationship paid
off. Most noteably for formed Puget Sound Jet tight
end Brian Pittman who signed with the Houston Texans as a
long snapper, making NFL rosters for seven seasons appearing
in 99 games.
Austin coached current GNFA Hall of Famers Lance Westendorf
(QB), Milt Myers (All Around Athlete), Gregg Kinnunen (OL),
Aaron Wardrip (LB), Brian Thompson (LB), coached with
Richard Harris (CFL veteran) as well as numerous future Hall
of Famers yet to be balloted with the Jets, Hawks, Bengals
and Saints. Players from around the region wanted to
play on Austin-coached teams for almost two decades for the
development he offered and the winning culture he curated.
Northwest Football League Coach of the Year, 1996, 2000
American Football Association Coach of the Year, 2002
American Football Association Hall of Fame, 2000
Pierce County Bengals Assistant Coach 1988-1989
Federal Way Jets Founder/General Manager, 1990
Federal Way/Puget Sound Jets Head Coach, 1990-2002
Eastside Hawks Head Coach 2003
West Sound Saints Director of Operations 2004
Northwest Football League Champions 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002 Jets
Northwest Football League Champions 2003 Hawks
NFA National Champions 2000
AFA National Champions 2002
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