The New York Dragons’ entire front office resigned Monday, now-former general manager Peter Schwartz confirmed to The Post late Monday evening.
Schwartz, director of operations Sean Wachter and director of business development Marilynne Rich all tendered their resignations in emails to team owner Doug Freeman, with Schwartz saying that it was the “right time to walk away.”
Newsday first reported the Dragons’ mass front office exodus.
The fledgling team is slated to play in the new Entertainment Football Association, and Schwartz had been announced as the franchise’s first general manager in January, leading the organization through its naming process and hiring its first head coach.
The front office felt that things with the league were not heading in the right direction, but Schwartz wished the league, its players and coaches “success” going forward.
“It just became apparent in the last month, six weeks, we were just not happy with the direction the league was going in,” he said in a phone interview. “Some internal league things we were not aligned with.”
Freeman, who confirmed the news to The Post in a phone interview, said that “we have parted ways” with original staff while teasing front office hires in the coming days that will include a leader from a “very well-regarded organization” with “strong sports leadership background.”
“We’ve been assessing the organizational fit [of the front office],” Freeman said. “We’ve been assessing that for some time, and that’s why we say perhaps the organizational fit wasn’t the best.”
“We wish the [staffers] the best as they proceed in their careers, and we continue with exciting work ahead,” he added.
Schwartz said he was “disappointed” with how things ended but expressed pride in what he had accomplished during his time with the organization.
He had spent eight years as the radio announcer for the original New York Dragons when they first arrived on Long Island in 2001.
They played in the Arena Football League at Nassau Coliseum following a move from Iowa after being purchase by late Islanders owner Charles Wang.
Schwartz called his stint with the original team the “best job of his life.”
The reborn Dragons season had been scheduled to begin June 7 against the Danbury Diesel, but the game was moved to July 10 and the start date was then changed to June 14 for the Dragons to play against the New Jersey Ciphers at Nassau Coliseum, Newsday reported.
That has been changed as well, leaving the Dragons’ start date unclear as the league switched to a new schedule format and start date to be determined.
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