CoFL making a bold move

When a new football league comes along, it has to accomplish one major task to pique my interest – shake up the rulebook.

Mike Kelly, commissioner of the new Continental Football League, has done more than that. He put the rulebook in a blender and flipped the switch to “high.”

When the reimagined CoFL takes the field next summer, games will feature the “Continental Shift” starting with the fourth quarter of every contest. At that point, the American football rules that have been used for the first three quarters will be abandoned. In their place will be Canadian Football League-style action: three downs to make 10 yards, all backs allowed in motion toward the line of scrimmage, defenses lining up a yard off the ball, no fair catches, and even the single point rouge.

It took me a couple of minutes, but my reaction to this fantastic tweak went from “Eh, this might too much” to “No, this is absolutely brilliant.” I mean, if you’re gonna be bold, be very bold. (And admittedly, it doesn’t hurt that I’m a huge CFL fan).

“The Continental Shift will give the fans a new perspective if they have not already experienced the CFL style of play, and it doesn’t allow a team in the lead to run out the clock, so there is always a chance for a wild outcome,” Kelly said. “The shift also gives CFL scouts an opportunity to evaluate the skill sets that suit their style of play, and we’ve been in preliminary discussion with organizations in Canada that have interest in joining our league.

“As for other changes, we’re currently discussing altering the severity of particular penalties and adjusting the distance imposed.”

Kelly has coaching experience at the college, CFL and original XFL level, and was head coach of the CFL Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2009. His administrative work came in the NFL and CFL, and now he wants to apply his across-the-board knowledge to a new organization that plans to begin play with eight clubs in June, 2026.

But I had to ask … why revive the Continental League brand?

“My first inclination was nostalgia,” he explained. “My father took me to games in my hometown in Connecticut to see the Waterbury Orbits in the mid-1960s, and it made a lasting impression on me. This was my team, in my town, and these were local heroes that I could actually see firsthand.

Secondly, there is void that needs to be filled. Forty-three percent of all student-athletes entering the NCAA transfer portal do not find a new home. Now what? 

“This is their opportunity to continue to play and to be seen by scouts in the National Football League and the Canadian Football League, and we’re currently investigating if they can return to the NCAA because of  our structure. Now, we’re giving them a chance to fulfill their goals and aspirations.”

While minor league football has often been viewed as a last chance platform for athletes, the CoFL aims to be more of a first look showcase. It isn’t shying away from the “developmental” label at all.

 “We will go to camp with 50 players, 25 of whom will be mandated to be between the ages of 18 and 25,” Kelly said. “This is not ‘mercenary’ football with older players holding on to false hope. This is an opportunity league. Think AA minor league baseball … an opportunity to grow and mature and provide an answer to, ‘Where can I get a chance?’”

As of now the league has identified three of its franchises – the Ohio Valley Ironmen, San Antonio Toros and Texas Syndicate.

Ohio Valley, based in Wheeling, West Virginia, is not only a callback to the original CoFL, but trading up from the dumpster fire that is (was?) the International Football Alliance, where it began play in 2025.

The Toros name also has roots in the CoFL as well as the Texas Football League, Trans-American Football League, Southwestern Football League and Mid-American Football League.

The Syndicate will be based in Austin.

“We’ll start with four teams in each division, North and South,” Kelly said. “The idea is regional travel keeping overhead low and creating rivalries. We would like the locations to be no more than an eight hour bus ride between cities. A home and away will be played within the division with No. 1 playing No. 2 in a division final, and then the division winners playing for the league title. That will be the only real travel cost incurred. 

“As we grow, and the interest we’re receiving from all over the country tells us we’ve struck a chord, we’ll look to build divisions under the aforementioned premise.”

As for the rest of the 2026 club lineup, Kelly is steering clear of major markets.

“We want to go into underserved communities,” he said. “Small to mid-sized cities that have a municipal stadium that’s not producing the type of revenue it could or should be. We want to play in smaller venues of 5,000 to maybe 12,000 seats, so the fans feel a real connection to the players and their team … provide that grassroots, hometown feel where a family can go and enjoy a night out and see professional football.”

In recent years start-ups have eyed the spring, but Kelly thinks a short June-July slate will be a perfect lead-in to the “traditional” football season.

“Going to minor league baseball games in the summer is so much fun, but football is a game like no other and we are playing at a time when the summer is really starting and that excitement of relaxed warm nights and taking the family out is appealing,” Kelly said. “Our timeframe also serves a purpose. We’ll conclude the season by the third week of July. That provides the players, those that have attracted attention by the NFL or CFL, to have time to enter an NFL camp. And there is a roster shift in the CFL that happens around Labor Day that also easily gives our players a chance to sign on to some form of a roster spot. The fans also have the opportunity to buy into the franchise as minority owners. 

“Now they are truly looking at ‘their team.’ Local advisory boards will also be implemented so that the franchise can address the concerns of the fans and minority owners to make the gameday experience what they desire.”

Kelly adds that teams will be stocked with players familiar to the fans.

“Each team will have territorial rights to players, so now when you go to a game, you’ll recognize names from local universities and high schools and truly embracing hometown heroes. We’ll be part of the fabric of your town.”

And being the fabric of a town means teams will be based in the cities they represent; there will be no central hub.

“Our players will be housed in each community,” Kelly stresses. “It’s mandated that the franchises incorporate the players into the community. Fan appreciation events, charitable endeavors … we want these players invested into the town. We will assist and encourage players to network and find employment in the community to build their work/professional resume reflective of their degree attained so that when their playing career has come to a conclusion, they have strengthened their resumes.

“That makes for a smooth transition into the workforce and hopefully some will remain in the community, someday bringing their own kids to see where daddy once played.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah … I realize the sports graveyard is full of leagues that looked good on the drawing board but either never got off the ground or crashed almost immediately. Odds of success are long.

But counting the USFL/XFL combo that is now the United Football League – a venture heading into a fifth season in 2026 – survival is possible.

And Kelly’s gameplan is intriguing enough to make me anxious to see it become reality.

So, here’s hoping when next June rolls around, I’ll have identified a Continental Football League side to cheer for. Regardless, it’s a safe bet that my biggest cheer will be reserved for the Continental Shift.

For more information about the CoFL, go to coflfootball.com