The Fishers Freight will head into their third season with the same man in charge.

The Indoor Football League franchise announced Monday it has agreed to a one-year contract extension with Head Coach and General Manager Dixie Wooten, keeping him in both roles for the 2027 season.

Wooten has run the Freight’s football operations since before the team ever played a down, building the roster, the staff and the program’s structure from scratch through the franchise’s first two seasons.

“After taking the time to evaluate our first two seasons, we believe Dixie has earned the opportunity to continue what we started together,” Freight President Sean Hallett said in the announcement. “Dixie is passionate about winning, his players believe in him, and there is no question how much he wants to bring a championship to Fishers.”

Hallett was equally direct about what comes next.

“At the same time, we both understand that the expectations are higher in year three,” he said. “We believe this team is capable of competing for a championship, and that is the standard we are setting for ourselves.”

That standard follows a 2026 season that ended about as painfully as a season can end. The Freight finished 8-8 and were eliminated on the final play of the final week, falling 67-63 at Orlando with the ball on the Pirates’ 17-yard line and one snap to play. The loss handed Orlando the last Eastern Conference playoff spot and sent Fishers home.

It was still a step forward from the inaugural 2025 campaign, when the expansion Freight lost nine in a row before closing the year with five straight wins.

Wooten arrived in Fishers with one of the more decorated résumés in the league — two IFL championships and multiple Coach of the Year honors — and that track record was a central part of how the Freight built their football program from the ground up.

“We’ve built a strong foundation over our first two seasons, but our goal has always been bigger,” Wooten said in the team’s announcement. “We want to win a championship for this organization, our players and our fans, and I’m excited to get back to work.”

Wooten’s first words were about the water, not the contract

Wooten shared his own reaction on social media Monday — but he did not lead with the job.

He opened instead with a message to Indiana communities still digging out from the historic flooding that swamped the central part of the state between Aug. 11 and Aug. 17. More than a foot of rain fell in places east of Indianapolis, the White River set record crests at Anderson and Noblesville that topped marks standing since 1913, and one woman died after driving into floodwaters near Yorktown.

“I chose to wait before speaking,” Wooten wrote. “While the water was still rising, the attention belonged with the first responders and rescue crews pulling families out of it.”

He went on to describe what he had watched over the past two weeks: “Neighbors reaching neighbors by boat. Meals prepared for families no one had ever met. Help offered long before anyone thought to ask. That is the character of this state.”

To families who lost homes, livelihoods or loved ones, he wrote, “The days ahead will be long and heavy, and you will not face them alone.” He signed it, “Your neighbor, your friend, and your coach.”

Only then did he turn to the extension.

“I’m happy to be back with the Fishers Freight Football!” Wooten wrote. “Jim and Sean have given me an opportunity to build this football program and take it to the next level. I’m grateful to have a great front office and the best community in the Indoor Football League. Year 3, the movement starts now. Fans, you are going to be proud!”

What’s next

With Wooten’s status settled, the Freight now turn to assembling the 2027 roster and coaching staff.

“Our first two years were about establishing the Freight,” Hallett said. “Year three is about taking the next step.”

The Freight play their home games at the Fishers Event Center.