Category: Alternative Football

Sports versions of “state of the union” addresses almost always offer interesting tidbits of information. United States Football League president of football operations Daryl Johnston gave his on June 30th, the day before the Birmingham Stallions claimed their second consecutive USFL crown.

The former Dallas Cowboys fullback and special teams standout turned executive touched on everything from hubs (they’re set to return in 2024) to expansion (it won’t happen until the current lineup of teams are placed in their home markets).

What intrigued me most, however, is the possibility that the USFL could one day be a place where NFL players find a spring home.

“When I was in the Alliance of American Football (as general manager of the San Antonio Commanders), Philadelphia was one of my teams,” said Johnston, who was also director of player personnel for the XFL Dallas Renegades in 2020. “Jeff Stoutland is the offensive line coach for the Eagles. I asked him, ‘Wouldn’t it be great for (tackle) Jordan Mailata to come to our league and actually play the game? He said, ‘Absolutely … but as soon as I let him go do that, I have to get into a bidding war with the other 31 teams to get him to come back, because everybody’s gonna see how talented he is. And we’ve got time and money invested in him right now and I don’t want to get into a competition for services by letting him go to that league.’ So, there are some things that we are hoping to start conversations with the NFL and allowing some free flow, and some different things that gives access but returns that player back to that team.”

Things turned out fine for Mailata, who signed a multimillion-dollar contract with the Eagles in 2021 and has now started 40 games. Still, the point is well taken.

The AAF had an informal relationship with the NFL, with each of its eight franchises assigned four big league teams. The Commanders, for example, were connected to the Cowboys, Eagles, Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs.

Of course, the AAF folded after just eight weeks of play in 2019, so the development of any kind of player pipeline – formal or otherwise – was over before it began.

Yet with the USFL already planning for a third season, such an arrangement seems closer to reality.

“You know, these are things that are in their infancy as we start to talk about them, but they would be better for both leagues,” Johnston said. “It makes the NFL better to get their players down in our league to play at game speed in the offensive line and the quarterback position, as opposed to practice speed. The NFL preseason has gone from five preseason games when I played to three now. So, we’re continuing to reduce the number of preseason opportunities in games for these players. The practice speed never matches game speeds.”

Ideally, an actual minor league for the NFL (modeled after the NBA’s G League) would play at the same time of year, allowing the parent team to pluck a player in-season when needed or send one down. But such a circuit would drown trying to compete with the NFL and major college football.

Utilizing the offseason USFL (and XFL, for that matter) is the next best thing. In a loan situation the spring league teams could boast that they have NFL players on their rosters, and adding quarterbacks to the mix would certainly draw more eyes to the product.

(That said, assigning QBs to the USFL would no doubt create challenges. The NFL club that sent a signal caller down would want him running the same offense, and that might not fit with what the USFL coach has already installed).

“It makes sense for there to be conversations about allowing key positions – or all positions – to come down into the spring league, but be able to go directly back to the NFL team that has your rights,” Johnston said. “Don’t open up a bidding war with everybody else when they see how good this guy could be. If he was yours going down, he’s yours coming back.”

For me, one of the draws of Triple-A football is seeing guys come out of nowhere and do enough to get on an NFL team’s radar. Each day I check to see what USFL or XFL player has received an invitation to camp.

But from a business standpoint, sharing players makes sense. There will still be plenty of opportunities for diamonds in the rough to be uncovered, but I’m guessing quite a few fans – and I’m one of them – wouldn’t mind seeing an NFL practice squad guy getting first team reps in the spring.

It’s something to keep an eye on, anyway.

Once again, Birmingham has claimed top honors in the Unbridled Stallions Football League.

Yeah, until further notice, that’s what I’ve decided to call the USFL. It’s cheesy and goofy, but I’m going with it.

I mean, why not?

FOX may own the league, but the Birmingham Stallions own the league. Skip Holtz and his merry herd of horses are now 21-3 since the modern version of the spring circuit was created, winning both championships – the latest a 28-12 victory over the Pittsburgh Maulers Saturday night at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

“I’m so proud of these players for what they’ve been able to do,” Holtz said. “We had an open team meeting earlier this year and we talked about last year was over and this is a new football team and if we’re gonna win it, we’re gonna earn it – we weren’t protecting a damn thing, we were gonna go earn something.

“We weren’t trying to sit on our heels and try and protect success.”

If it wants to be called the United States Football League again, it needs to crown a champion from a state other than the one that serves as home to the Stallions. That might be easier said than done.

Being this iteration of the USFL is just two years old, it would seem presumptuous to call what Birmingham has bult a dynasty.

Don’t care … I’m calling it that anyway.

Dynasties have to start somewhere, and winning 88 percent of the games you’ve played – and going 4-0 in the postseason – qualifies in my book.

Last season, of course, the Stallions were tops from wire-to-wire. Take away a late regular season hiccup against Houston, and USFL Year One was merely an extended coronation of Birmingham’s latest entry in professional football.

This year, though, was different. And arguably more impressive.

The team was rocked with injuries – devastating injuries – at the outset, and midway through the campaign Birmingham was 3-2 and sitting in third place in the South Division.

The Stallions have since won seven in a row, with the biggest and best saved for last.

“I feel like the second half of the season we started rolling, started clicking and playing a lot better,” defensive tackle Willie Yarbary said. “If we line up and do our jobs, we weren’t worried about anything and we proved it today.”

They didn’t just overcome adversity, they kicked it in the face.

Certainly, quarterback Alex McGough was the heart and soul of this year’s title winners. He was so good so often they really should’ve given him two Most Valuable Player Awards – just so he’d have a spare.

“One reason for our success is how comfortable we are,” McGough said. “With me it’s comfort with the offense, Coach Skip … the chemistry that we’ve created with the guys, you just can’t make it up.”

But football is a team sport, and this was a total team effort that began on a spring night in the Magic City and ended on a summer evening under the shadow of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Museum. And because of those injuries I mentioned earlier, there were times Birmingham was a different looking team from week-to-week.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter because they took the concept of “next man up” to a whole new level. To be next up meant to step up, and whoever got the call in a particular situation was ready, willing and more than able.

“Our goal was not to win the championship, it was let’s make sure we’re as good as we can be,” Holtz said. “And let’s just keep getting better every week. I was asked before the game how in the world have we gone 20-3? We didn’t try and go 20-3, we just tried to go 1-0.”

Teamwork made the dream work – for the second year in a row.

And through it all, they had fun.

Big fun.

Sometimes we forget football is a game because pro football is also a business. But mixing business with pleasure is a hallmark of this bunch, who genuinely seemed to be enjoying themselves whether playing or practicing.

“To watch these players grow, to watch them come together and watch them go out there and excel on the field … it’s a blessed day,” Holtz said.

So, hail to the two-time champs … you did Birmingham proud by going back-to-back. Now, it’s time to take a well-earned break before you gear up for season three of the Unbridled Stallions Football League.

Notes, quotes and numbers from Birmingham’s 28-12 victory over Pittsburgh in the 2023 United States Football League Championship Game …

HOW THEY SCORED

Pittsburgh (5-7) got the ball first on the opening kickoff and proceeded to move deep into Birmingham (10-2) territory, but had to settle for Chris Blewitt’s 37-yard field goal at 5:27 of the first quarter, making it 3-0.

The drive covered 60 yards on 16 plays.

The Stallions took the lead at 10:39 of the second quarter when Alex McGough hit Davion Davis on a 42-yard TD strike to highlight a six play, 70-yard march.

Brandon Aubrey kicked the score to 7-3.

The Maulers closed the gap to 7-6 when Blewitt made a 35-yard field goal 3:01 before halftime. They used 13 plays to advance 47 yards.

The Stallions then worked the two-minute drill to perfection and hit paydirt when McGough found Deon Cain on a three-yard touchdown pass at :31 of the second, highlighting a seven play, 68-yard trek.

Aubrey’s PAT made it 14-6.

Blewitt, however, continued to keep his team in the game, nailing a 55-yard field goal on the last play of the half to trim the deficit to 14-9.

Pittsburgh managed just 12 yards in five snaps, but it was good enough to put Blewitt in range.

Birmingham made it a two-score game on the opening drive of the third quarter, going 83 yards on eight plays with a McGough to Cain 20-yard connection resulting in six points at 10:29.

The PAT gave the Stallions some breathing room, 21-9.

It was 21-12 after Blewitt did his thing again, drilling a 51-yard field goal at 7:45 of the third to make something out of a five play, 20-yard trip.

A McGough fumble forced by Reuben Foster and advanced 60 yards by Olive Sagapolu put the Maulers in good shape at the enemy 33 late in the third quarter, but the defense stiffened and Blewitt was called on again.

This time he missed from 48 yards, and the lead remained nine.

The Stallions put the game away with 6:28 to play.

Scrambling out of trouble, McGough unloaded a 40-yard TD pass to Cain to wrap up a two play, 40-yard drive.

Aubrey kicked true, and it was 28-12.

BIRMINGHAM COACH SKIP HOLTZ SAID …

“The bottom line is the players bought into it. That’s why it worked. A lot of people say, ‘1-0,’ but these players bought into it. And that’s why it worked. Wow, 10-2 … pretty special.”

PITTSBURGH COACH RAY HORTON SAID …

“I apologized to them. I didn’t get them where they expected me to get them. I did tell them that this team is one of the best teams in the league. They’re only going to get better. We’re missing a couple ingredients that we will get and we will find, and they will be smarter players next year because they understand the system … they understand our expectations. We’re not the laughingstock of the league anymore. This is a team that’s going to be a force to reckoned with.”

STANDOUT STATS

For Birmingham, McGough was 17-25-0 for 243 yards and four touchdowns, and also rushed for 64 yards.

“I think he’s really he’s really talented and yes, I do believe that he is capable of being an NFL quarterback,” Holtz said.

Cain, who earned championship game MVP honors, had four catches for three touchdowns and 70 yards and 101 return yards. Jace Sternberger reeled in three receptions for 65 yards and Davis had a TD and 55 yards on three catches.

“It’s just a blessing to be honored with this trophy, but I couldn’t do it without my teammates or my coaches,” Cain said. “I just had to make the plays. It’s a lot of hard work and tears behind this trophy.”

The winners piled up 357 yards of total offense.

JoJo Tillery finished with eight tackles (six solo) while Lorenzo Burns was in on seven tackles and had six individual takedowns.

Blewitt accounted for all of Pittsburgh’s points.

Troy Williams was 24-37-0 for 143 yards and Isiah Hennie had eight catches for 55 yards.

Kyahva Tezino had nine solo tackles and 10 in all.

EXPECTED SUCCESS

Championships are always sweet, but this one was a bit different for linebacker Scooby Wright.

“It’s kind of a weird feeling,” he said. “It’s almost like it was expected because we did it last year, so things aren’t as sweet as they are the first time, but the next one is always just as important.

“It doesn’t feel like the same as it did last year because we expected it this year.”

NEXT UP

The city of Birmingham will have a parade for the Stallions Sunday starting at Protective Stadium and ending at City Hall. It begins at 2:30 p.m.