The Macon Mayhem of the Southern Professional Hockey League officially announced that Kevin Kerr will be returning to the position of head coach and director of hockey operations for the 2020-2021 season.
“We are tremendously excited to bring Kevin and his championship pedigree back to Macon,” said Mayhem General Manager Blair Floyd. “Having familiarity with the area and with many of our players who played for him here in Macon or in Greenville, we feel Kevin will be able to hit the ground running.” Floyd continued, “With his leadership and recruitment skills, we know that signing Kevin is a pivotal step in returning to the levels of success that the Mayhem have achieved in the past.”
The Kerr name should be a familiar one to Mayhem fans, having served as the team’s first head coach from 2015 to 2018, when he amassed a 94-56-18 record. The North Bay, Ontario native would also lead the Mayhem to their first President’s Cup Championship in the 2016-2017 season. During that season, Kerr led the Mayhem to a 31-13-6 regular season record to claim the William B. Coffey Trophy as the SPHL’s regular season champions. His efforts that season resulted in his being named the SPHL’s Coach of the Year.
A former third-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres, Kerr spent the last two seasons as the head coach of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL. Kerr accumulated a 54-71-11 record during his time in Greenville, where he finished in third place in the South Division during the shortened 2019-2020 season.
“Coming back to Macon feels like coming home,” stated Kerr. “I’ve had a lot of great memories with the Mayhem, and I’m ready to get back to work so we can hang some more championship banners. I’m looking forward to working with the new ownership group and Ryan [Michel] so we can achieve some great things both on and off the ice.”
Ryan Michel, the team’s third head coach in franchise history, will stay on as associate head coach and director of player development.
“We saw immense potential in Ryan last season as he started to build momentum down the stretch before the season was cut short,” said Floyd. “We have found a significant role for him to play in the franchise’s future and are very excited to see what the future holds for him.”
“Getting the opportunity to coach at such a young age was truly a blessing,” added Michel. “I learned a lot in such a short period of time, but I’m thrilled to welcome Coach Kerr back. I really enjoyed learning from him as a player, and I know that I’m going to enjoy learning more about the coaching profession from him as well.”
For more information on the upcoming season and 2020-2021 season tickets, visit www.maconmayhem.com or call the Mayhem front office at (478) 803-1592.