Month: April 2022

Give the new XFL credit: not only has it interrupted the United States Football League conversation, but managed to change the subject – at least temporarily.

This weekend marks the debut of a 2022 version of the USFL, and once the league opens on Saturday it’ll be the primary focus of spring/alternative football fans. But it’s smart for the XFL – expected to debut in February, 2023 – to make some noise, and it’s done that in a pretty big way.

It started on Monday when the XFL revealed it was entering into an exclusive partnership with the NFL Alumni Academy; continued Tuesday with news that Dean Blandino, who joined the XFL in 2019, was returning to the circuit as vice president of officiating and playing rules innovation; and today the eight coaches of the as yet unnamed teams were announced.

After the new logo was met with a collective “meh” a week ago, these news drops mean the third attempt to make the XFL a viable alternative football league is starting to take tangible steps forward.

The team-up with the NFL Alumni Academy made a big splash, giving the XFL a pool of players coming from the training program of football’s biggest league.

“This is a monumental partnership not only for the XFL, but for the entire football ecosystem,” Russ Brandon, XFL president, said. “The NFL Alumni Academy has found great success over the past two years training and mentoring up-and-coming players, many of whom have gone on to play in the NFL, and we are collaborating to create another avenue of opportunity for players to showcase their talent. We are completely aligned in our player-centric philosophy, and we’re eager to continue to explore the bounds of this partnership.”

Once a player has made it through the academy at the end of the NFL season, he’ll automatically receive an opt-in contract with the XFL.

According to its website, the academy “develops and trains the top available free-agent football players during the NFL season in preparation to sign an in-season contract with NFL teams looking to replace 500+ active roster players lost each season due to injury.”

This agreement doesn’t mean the XFL will serve as a minor league feeder system for the NFL, but it certainly opens the door for such a collaboration in the future.

The naming of the coaches today was also a positive development for the league. Not only is Bob Stoops, coach of the Dallas Renegades during the pandemic-doomed 2020 XFL season, back, but the league is adding Wade Phillips, Jim Haslett, Reggie Barlow, Anthony Becht, Terrell Buckley, Hines Ward and Rod Woodson.

Barlow’s and Buckley’s names were previously leaked, with Barlow linked with a possible team in San Antonio and Buckley reportedly headed to Orlando to coach an entry in that city.

“Our head coaches are a diverse group of leaders, champions and hall of famers with experience competing and coaching at the highest level in football,” Dany Garcia, co-owner and chairwoman of the XFL, said. “Not only will they be mentors to our players, but they are also ambassadors of the XFL as we work together to build tomorrow’s league. What is most exciting about our talented coaches is that they all share our vision for the XFL and are committed to advancing the game of football for players and making it into a must-watch program for fans.”

And while players and coaching hires matter most, what matters to a goob like me are rule innovations. And based on the release announcing Blandino’s return, I’m hopeful XFL 2023 will go big and bold.

“Dean has been the go-to name in professional and collegiate football officiating for over a decade,” Brandon said. “We have the rare opportunity to develop new, innovative rules for this league, and Dean’s unique perspective and expert experience are integral to achieving that before we hit the field in 2023.”

Not gonna lie … the phrase “new, innovative rules” gives me a tingle in my special regions. Even though the USFL stole some ideas from XFL 2.0, XFL 3.0 is free to steal them back, revive a few that weren’t taken, and come up with something we’ve yet to see.

As far as I’m concerned not only should they think outside the box, they should think outside the factory that made the box.

“Football is a dynamic and ever evolving sport with increasing global appeal,” said Blandino, who worked in the NFL officiating department for two decades. “From my time in the NFL through to the XFL, my focus has always been on bringing forward ideas and structure that can continue to support the game we love and allow it to grow into the future. Football is my passion and it’s an exciting time to be a part of the XFL as they build a dynamic game that will appeal to fans and players.”

There are still two days left until the USFL debuts, so it wouldn’t surprise me if the XFL has another announcement up its sleeve. But even if it doesn’t, it seems a lot more “real” than it did just a few days ago.

BIRMINGHAM – The passes had a bit more zip, the runs were a bit more aggressive, and the urge to lay a big hit was a bit more tempting.

If Tuesday’s practice is any indication, the Birmingham Stallions are chomping at the bit to start the 2022 season.

The home team of the United States Football League’s Birmingham hub worked out at Protective Stadium today, and now have just four more sleeps before meeting the New Jersey Generals in the new circuit’s inaugural game on Saturday.

“We’re all eager to get going,” Birmingham quarterback Alex McGough said. “We want to play against somebody else and we’re all just looking forward to it. You know, we’ve been kind of itching … some people have been out of the game for a while, and I really haven’t played in a game since college. Saturday night gives us a chance to get back and play in front of the fans and play in front of however many people are gonna watch on Fox and NBC.

“We’re really excited to go out there and be part of the first game.”

The Stallions-Generals contest starts at 6;30 p.m. and will be televised by both Fox, which owns the league, and NBC.

“You know, I’ve always called it the circus around college football,” Birmingham coach Skip Holtz said. “You play the game and you’ve got 18 and 22-year-olds and I’ve said it’s the best reality TV there is, performing live and in front of 80 million people at home. And in this league, it’s the pageantry of the lights, cameras, fireworks, the two sky cameras, and the drones flying around. We got a little taste of it in our scrimmage the other day, which I’m glad we did because I couldn’t keep my eyes off the drone.

“I think the pageantry of this will be even greater than what you see in college.”

As important to the league as the “show business” aspect might be, the game is the thing for the coaches and players. McGough said last week’s scrimmage against the Pittsburgh Maulers was a good test run in allowing the Stallions to work on themselves.

“We took a lot out of that scrimmage,” he said. “We went in with just sort of the game plan of trying to learn our stuff, not so much worried about what the Maulers were doing. We just wanted to get good with the 35-second clock, getting in and out of the huddle, and making sure all of our pre-snap procedures were right and that I was saying the plays right in the huddle and the guys were hearing them all correctly. Just fine tuning the craft.”

While McGough is QB1, Holtz said J’Mar Smith – who played for him at Louisiana Tech – has also looked good at practice and might see action on opening night.

“Alex has done a really nice job of picking it all up as soon as we drafted him,” Holtz explained. “He’s learned (the offense) and he knows it really well. He’s executed really well. I think he’s doing a really nice job for us. I think both him and J’Mar have done a really nice job, and I think I’m still rolling with both of them. I mean, I’m not convinced they both won’t play Saturday night. They’re both doing a really good job.

“They’re both playing a leadership role, and they’re both playing at a really high level right now.”

One of the players who’ll be protecting the quarterbacks is former UAB standout Justice Powers, who is transitioning from tackle to guard.

“It’s not been comfortable, but that’s a good thing,” Powers said. “I like adversity. They’ve moved me around after playing pretty much the same position since I started football, but it’s been great. I’ve just been taking it day by day and trying to be a sponge, learning everything I can.”

Brian Allen, the Stallions cornerback who has spent time with six different NFL teams, said at the start of practice he hoped to take on a leadership role and help bring the younger players up to speed.

So far, so good.

“We’ve learned new techniques and stuff and I’ve been in a couple of different systems, so I’ve tried to help the guys learn what we’re doing, especially those that are coming right out of college,” Allen said. “Just trying to give those guys some of the things that I’ve learned over the years. We haven’t played our first game and we had a couple of hiccups today, but we still got time to get ready for Saturday. We’re still growing as a group and we’ve got 10 weeks ahead of us together.”

And like the rest of his teammates, he’s ready to tee it up. “We’re just trying to put our best product out there,” Allen said. “We’re already talking about who’s gonna make the first tackle and who’ll make the first touchdown, and all the firsts that can happen in the opening game. We just want to come up with a good show for the city of Birmingham, and hopefully bring them a championship.”

BIRMINGHAM – The last time Skip Holtz and his team came to Protective Stadium, most of the fans took great pleasure in watching them lose.

Next time when they trot onto the turf at the Uptown Birmingham venue, the majority of spectators will be on their side.

Such is the fickle nature of sports – and sports supporters.

Holtz was coach of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in 2021, and a November visit here resulted in a 52-38 loss to the homestanding UAB Blazers. Since the Blazers and Bulldogs are natural enemies – if not in the wild at least in the field of competition – that partisan reaction was the natural order of things.

But Holtz is now in charge of the Birmingham Stallions of the new United States Football League, and he’ll have Magic City faithful in his corner on Saturday when the Stallions meet the New Jersey Generals at 6:30 p.m.

“This is an adventure and every day we’re learning,” Holtz said. “It’s been awesome … I’m like a kid in a candy store.”

Not a lot was awesome for Holtz last season, as a 3-9 record at Tech resulted in his dismissal. But while one door closed, another opened when the USFL gave him his first shot at coaching in the pros.

“It took me more than 30 years to get a chance to be a pro coach,” he said. “And I’m sincere when I say I’m having more fun than I’ve ever had before.”

Any time an alternative football league crops up, the focus is usually on the players. Will this new opportunity give them their next chance or last chance to make a living playing the game? But it’s also a fresh start for coaches.

Michigan Panthers boss Jeff Fisher had a long NFL coaching career that ended in 2016, but found the itch again after six years off the sidelines.

When it comes to resumes, it’s hard to find a more diverse one than Mike Riley of the New Jersey Generals. Before coming to the USFL, he had been a head coach in the NFL, Canadian Football League, World League of American Football, Alliance of American Football and two different colleges.

Todd Haley was head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009-11, and most recently served as offensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns. The Tampa Bay Bandits give him the chance to guide the fortunes of a whole team once again.

Pittsburgh Maulers coach Kirby Wilson has spent more than two decades as a fine NFL assistant coach, but now – finally – he gets to call all the shots.

Bart Andrus now heads up the Philadelphia Stars, but his background includes head coaching gigs in the CFL, NFL Europe, United Football League, The Spring League and the XFL’s “Team 9” (from the shortened 2020 season).

Houston Gamblers coach Kevin Sumlin and New Orleans Breakers skipper Larry Fedora – like Holtz – are getting their first taste of pro coaching after long college careers. For all eight it’s a new challenge.

“I’ve been taught that life and success is all about your attitude,” Holtz said. “That’s one of the greatest lessons my parents taught me and every day when you wake up and put your feet on the floor you have a decision to make on what you want to accomplish. I’m passionate about this and excited about what we’re doing.”

Watching Holtz at practice, and even during last week’s scrimmage, is evidence that he’s fully invested in his new job. His enthusiasm seems to pick up as the day goes along, and it appears to be rubbing off on his players.

His attitude suggests that he doesn’t want them to run through a brick wall for him – he just hopes they’ll run through the door in the wall he’s holding open.

“Nothing great was ever accomplished without passion,” Holtz said. “You have to have passion and energy. We’ve got some great young men on this team and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know them. I’m still learning faces, names and numbers and sometimes when they put on their helmets I go, ‘Oh no, I can’t recognize them.’ But it’s been great.

“When the fans come out Saturday night, they’ll see that we’re gonna play hard, play emotional and play passionate.”

And for the first time at Protective Stadium, he and his charges will hear the fans cheering for them instead of against them.