Author: Scott Adamson

Two things popped into my head on Tuesday when I learned that Jerry Glanville had become the first coach to be hired by Major League Football.

One, he’s not really the first coach to join the league.

In 2016 – two years after MLFB was formed – Dave Campo, Charlie Collins, Ted Cottrell, Robert Ford, Buddy Geis, Galen Hall, Larry Kirksey and Chris Miller were set to handle the whistle and clipboard duties for the circuit’s eight teams.

However, those coaches never got around to coaching those teams because those teams never got around to playing games.

Two, and the most important, was a bit of wisdom Glanville shared with me and a handful of reporters way back in 1994:

“I don’t like to kick back,” he said. “I’d rather kick ass.”

That interaction didn’t come anywhere near a football field, although Glanville has been on quite a few in a coaching career that covers more than half a century. Instead it was in the garage area of Talladega Superspeedway where he was preparing to take his Ford Thunderbird for a spin in an upcoming Auto Racing Club of America (ARCA) race.

Like many followers of sports, I was most familiar with Glanville from his coaching days with the Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons. By the time he came to Talladega he was temporarily out of football – but hardly out of competitive juices.

“It’s time to get back to work,” he told those of us who were leaning in to hear him over the roar of engines. “I miss work. In fact, I only missed four days of work in 30 years but now I’ve missed 150 (since being fired by the Falcons).”

He gave a great interview … and of course, he talked a lot about football. He hinted that he was preparing to interview with the expansion Carolina Panthers in the coming weeks.

But motorsports was more than a novelty for him.

He mentioned that he began drag racing at Toledo Speedway when he was 15, and had stayed involved in the sport ever since. He was under no illusion that he would ever become a racing sensation in the stock car world – it was strictly part-time and he was trading paint with full-time stars. Still, it was fun – and a challenge.

So what does this have to do with yesterday’s MLFB news?

Maybe nothing.

Or maybe everything.

Because at 80 years young, Glanville’s got one monumental challenge ahead of him.

“The excitement of competing is easily surpassed by the excitement of making a kid better,” Glanville said in a statement released by MLFB. “Game day is great, but how great is it to get one into the NFL? That is the real excitement for me.”

But getting a kid into the NFL means first he has to get one into Major League Football, and that’s something that – to date – just never has worked out.

I mean, this league has had more false starts than an all-rookie offensive line.

When MLFB, a publicly traded company, was originally announced nearly eight years ago, it was to start with eight to teams located in non-NFL and non-Major League Baseball locales. Players would average $2,500 per game except for a franchise player, who would make much more and be a year-round employee of the league.

The idea seemed fine, but as months and years went by, it never really moved past being anything more than an idea.

MLFB President and CEO Frank Murtha has been involved from the start, but Major League Football has also seen former NFL standout Wes Chandler named president and former Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Vainisi tapped as CEO.

Employees have come and gone, but the one constant has been Major League Football delaying its start year after year.

Previously its biggest news came in the spring of 2020 when officials announced they had acquired roughly 90 percent of the defunct Alliance of American Football’s equipment. That buy included 1,000 sets of helmets and pads plus uniforms, medical equipment and electronics.

That was an important business acquisition, but landing a coach makes a bigger splash.

The addition of Glanville gives MLFB both a colorful character and someone who has experience in the NFL, CFL, XFL, college football, the United Football League (as a consultant) and even The Spring League.

“We know our runway gets shorter every day,” Murtha said in a statement. “We needed to find a coach that has the experience not only in football, but in league development. Jerry Glanville fills that criteria perfectly. Not only does he know football and coaching as well as anyone on the planet, but he has also been involved in the early life of start-up leagues. Having coached at all levels of football including the NFL, Coach Glanville brings a wealth of knowledge to MLFB.”

Tuesday’s announcement is part of a rollout of information from Murtha. On Friday, he says, the league will have a new website, with the expectation that team locales, names, training camp dates and schedules will be revealed soon.

Training camp is supposed to open in mid-April in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, with six teams beginning the inaugural MLFB season in May.

Cities under consideration for flagship franchises are Mobile and Montgomery in Alabama; Little Rock in Arkansas; Daytona and Orlando in Florida; Canton-Massillon in Ohio; Oklahoma City in Oklahoma; Austin, Denton and San Antonio in Texas; and Norfolk-Virginia Beach in Virginia.

Do I hope MLFB can finally make a go of it?

Yes I do.

Do I think it will?

No, I do not.

With the new USFL coming this April and XFL 3.0 set to begin play in February, 2023, I just don’t see it finding a space to squeeze into. I’d love to be wrong but let’s be realistic – it’s going to be hard enough for just one of these alternative leagues to stick.

Still, the fact that Glanville is involved makes me more interested in Major League Football than I was before. And since – after all these years – this old coach/racecar driver refuses to kick back, I hope he gets a chance to kick ass one more time.

Let me preface this by saying I hope the second United States Football League and the third XFL are rousing successes, quenching the insatiable thirst of outdoor football fans who demand viable spring additions to their favorite sport once and for all.

Moreover, I wish the very best for all the indoor leagues, including the appropriately named Indoor Football League (which begins today), Fan Controlled Football and National Arena League. May they long play the gridiron game in air-conditioned comfort.

But there’s one hidden gem that people tend to overlook when it comes to alternative leagues – six-man football.

If you’re like me you’ve watched Texas 6, a docu-series on Paramount + that follows the exploits of the Strawn Greyounds. Of course it’s about people more than football, but the style of football they play is fascinating to me. And the fact that it isn’t played above the high school level anywhere means there’s an untapped market for a professional version.

I mean, why not try it?

There’s an American Cornhole League, for goodness’ sake, and it’s shown on ESPN. Don’t tell me you can make that a thing and not make a professional six-man football league a thing.

Seriously, I think it might work.

Despite the fact that it isn’t played in college it’s still football, and there are always good football players to choose from in the 11 and 12-man ranks. I envision teams made up of 20-man rosters, with a starting six on offense, starting six on defense and eight substitutes who can play both ways.

And while I’m always up for cool innovations, not much tweaking needs to be done with the six-man rulebook. Standard American six-man football rules feature a playing field that’s 80 yards long and forty yards wide, and a team has to advance 15 yards for a first down.

Three linemen are required when the ball is snapped and all six players are eligible receivers. The quarterback – or the player who receives the snap – can’t advance the ball beyond the line of scrimmage but if he pitches it to another player, he can legally catch a pass.

Although there are some states that play 12-minute quarters, four, 10-minute periods seem to be the preferred format overall, and it would certainly fit better for a TV production. Utilize a continuous clock until, say, the last two minutes of the second and fourth quarters, and you can easily fit a six-man contest in a 90-minute window.

As for scoring, there are a couple of unique twists.

Instead of a run or pass counting two points and a PAT, one, that rule is reversed. With only three linemen up front blocking kicks is much easier for the defense, therefore more value is attached to kicking.

That extends to field goals as well; they’re worth four points in the six-man game.

There is also a 45-point mercy rule that goes into effect if a team leads by that much or more by halftime or reaches that advantage at any point in the second half. (Due to broadcast commitments, that rule would be nixed).

So, what do we call this league?

Eying future expansion across the globe, I was thinking “International Six-Man Football League,” but that’s clunky and boring. Instead, I’m going with “GridIron 6,” which sounds – dare I say – groovy. (I capitalize the second “I” in GridIron as a nod to the circuit’s international scope).

Nowhere is the game bigger than in Texas, so not only should the league offices be based in the Lone Star State, but multiple flagship franchises should be placed there as well. Therefore, I’m awarding the first three clubs to Houston, San Antonio and Dallas.

(Fun fact: the late, great Jack Pardee is best known as a coach, but he played six-man football before becoming one of Texas A&M’s “Junction Boys” and a College Football Hall of Famer. In his honor, the team that wins the GridIron 6 championship game will be awarded the Pardee Trophy).

Other states that play six-man football include Florida, Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon and Wyoming.

That being the case, we’ll put teams in Miami, Birmingham, Denver, Boise, Wichita, Billings, Omaha, Albuquerque, Fargo, Portland and Cheyenne.

That puts the league at 14 teams, but I’m ambitious and I need some more major media markets in and out of the United States. To fill that void we’ll go with 20 teams in Year One with the the last six franchises awarded to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal and Mexico City.

With the USFL and XFL occupying the spring, there’s no need to clutter that season any further. Instead, GridIron 6 would start competition in October and play a 12-game season with playoffs slated for late December and early January. Games would be shown in primetime on Wednesday nights.

I’m under no illusion this league would pack large stadiums, so teams could play in smaller municipal venues or minor league baseball parks (since baseball season would be over).

As for players, there’d be a lot of unemployed NFL and CFL guys to choose from when training camp opens in September. In fact, GridIron 6 officials might even reach an agreement with those two leagues to use scout team players on loan.

Is this a ridiculous idea?

I don’t think so (see American Cornhole League). Fans of traditional football might be willing to take 90 minutes out of their weeknight TV schedule to watch a high-scoring, fast moving brand of the game.

It’d be like food for the table before they feast on the plethora of college, NFL and CFL contests.

I’ve even come up with a marketing slogan: “Hey football fans, we’ve got your 6.”

Now if I can just get that Kickstarter thing up and running, I’ll be ready to make my pitch to Paramount+.

Wish me luck …

They haven’t been given hours of hands-on instruction from their new coaches.

They haven’t practiced together.

Many of them have never even met.

But once the final name was called in Thursday’s United States Football League supplemental draft – and that name is Birmingham Stallions fullback/running back/tight end Bobby Holly – eight brand new football teams were fully stocked.

The Stallions, Houston Gamblers, Michigan Panthers, New Jersey Generals, New Orleans Breakers, Philadelphia Stars, Pittsburgh Maulers and Tampa Bay Bandits now have 45 players each. When the 2022 season begins on April 16, they’ll have 38 on their active roster and seven assigned to the scout team.

So, does this mean we can we go ahead and rank the teams one through eight?

Sure – you can … knock yourself out.

But I won’t.

I mean, I wouldn’t even know where to begin.

For one thing, I’m a little lazy … I don’t really want to break down each team player by player and cross reference what they did in college, what they did in any other pro football stops, and what they might do in the USFL. Since I retired as a newspaper sport editor in 2017, I’ve segued from business to casual in that regard.

Translation: if I told you I was an expert on assessing gridiron talent, I’d be straight up lying.

But beyond that, I have absolutely no clue which teams will fly and which teams will flop in 2022 for one very good reason.

And what, you ask, is that reason?

Well, we’re not dealing with squads that lost some key players from the year before, giving us an idea of what gaps need to be filled this season. Instead, every coach is starting from scratch, and every player who earns a roster spot is going to try to scratch and claw his way to spring football stardom in a fledgling venture.

That new car smell is everywhere.

Guys we might not even be thinking about entering the first week might be guys we can’t stop thinking about entering the second because of a breakout performance. If they’re good enough to earn a roster spot, they’re good enough to earn the spotlight.

And of course there’s team chemistry to consider.

With training camp opening on March 22, there’ll be only three weeks for Player Y to find out if he can work and play well with Player Z.

Coming together or falling apart will be the X factor.

And that, to me, is the fun part – as both an interested bystander who loves to write about this stuff, as well as a fan.

I like alternative football because it gives more chances to more players, and more chances for the creatives in the various leagues to reimagine the wheel.

What I especially like about the first year of an alternative football league, though, is the unpredictability of it all. If you think your team has the best chance of claiming the USFL championship in Canton, you should embrace that feeling. So should every fan of any team that isn’t your team.

You can rank them from top to bottom today, and once 10 weeks of the regular season and two weeks of the playoffs are done, you might’ve made a solid prediction.

However, you’re just as likely to have been way off the mark.

We just don’t know because there’s no point of reference, and there’s no point of reference because these teams didn’t exist a few months ago.

But now they’re here, and as the spring of 2022 stretches into the summer of 2022, it won’t be long before we find out how each deals with bad luck and injuries as well as good luck and opportunities.

So I’m taking the coward’s way out and making no predictions at all about the upcoming campaign. As someone who has cheered for the Birmingham Americans, Birmingham Vulcans, original Birmingham Stallions, Birmingham Fire, Birmingham Barracudas, Birmingham Bolts and Birmingham Iron, you can probably guess who I hope claims the crown.

But as for me providing an educated guess as to which of the eight upstarts will actually do it, I have no idea.

After all, it’s a whole new ballgame.