Tag: USFL

Football season’s over, right? USFL says not so fast

The NFL season is over, but more football is on the way. The USFL will begin play in April following a draft later this month.

Following the Super Bowl last Sunday, American football fans will now be without their beloved sport until August … right?

Not so fast says the United States Football League, which is set to make a comeback (in name) this spring.

The original USFL ran from 1982-1986. The new league is not legally connected to the original, but the upstart has acquired many of the trademarks associated with the original USFL, so it will be a trip down memory lane for football fans of the 1980s.

The revised league will have teams from Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, and two from Pennsylvania. In the first season, all eight teams will play regular season games in one central location (Birmingham, Alabama) and playoff games in another location (Canton, Ohio).

Jeff Fisher and Todd Haley are among the league’s inaugural coaches.

Fox and NBC have both signed up as broadcast partners for the league, so the games should be easy to watch. The first game will be played on April 16, with the season expected to run through mid-June.

The USFL’s draft will be held from Feb. 22-23, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see some former Denver Broncos players selected. Twelve ex-Broncos played in the XFL in 2020 before that league shut down due to COVID-19. The XFL is expected to return to play in 2023.

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USFL’s Michigan Panthers hire Jeff Fisher as head coach

Jeff Fisher will lead the Michigan Panthers when the USFL takes the field this spring

The Michigan Panthers are back in the newly reincarnated USFL, and the Panthers have themselves a recognizable head coach. On Thursday, the USFL announced that longtime NFL head coach Jeff Fisher will be in charge of the rebooted Panthers.

Fisher coached in the NFL for 22 seasons with the Oilers/Titans and Rams organizations. He posted a career record of 173-165-1 and advanced to the Super Bowl after the 1999 season as coach of the Titans. He last coached with the Rams in the 2016 season, fired midway through the first season of now-Lions QB Jared Goff’s time with the team.

The Panthers are “Michigan” in name only. All the USFL games will be played in Birmingham, Alabama later this spring, according to their press release.

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Jeff Fisher lands head coaching job in USFL and Twitter loves it

Jeff Fisher is back on the sidelines as a head coach in the USFL and Twitter is loving it

Jeff Fisher’s tenure as the Rams’ head coach from 2012-2016 caused a lot of disappointment among fans in St. Louis and eventually Los Angeles, but there’s a subset of NFL fans who love the former coach.

That’s why when it was announced on Thursday that Fisher will be the head coach of the Michigan Panthers in the USFL, those on Twitter struggled to contain their excitement.

In just 15 minutes, the Panthers’ announcement was retweeted more than 700 times and received over 2,000 likes.

During his time as the Rams’ head coach, Fisher went 31-45-1, failing to make the playoffs a single time. Sean McVay has already eclipsed his win total in five seasons, going 55-26 in the regular season with four playoff appearances and five postseason victories.

Nonetheless, fans love a good comeback story.

The responses to Fisher’s news were fantastic. It’s good to see the former Rams coach back on the sidelines, even if it is just in the USFL. Here are some of the reactions to his return, with many celebrating the news and others cracking 7-9 jokes.

https://twitter.com/GregVorse/status/1486775452689739777

Jeff Fisher hired as head coach of USFL’s Michigan Panthers

This will be Fisher’s first head-coaching job since 2016.

Former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher has been hired for the same role with the USFL’s Michigan Panthers, the team announced on Thursday.

For Fisher, this is his first head-coaching job since he was fired by the Los Angeles Rams during the 2016 season after four-plus years.

Prior to coaching the Rams, Fisher spent 17 seasons with the Titans/Oilers and remains the winningest coach in franchise history. He is also the only head coach to take the Titans to a Super Bowl.

In 22 total seasons as a head coach, Fisher has amassed a record of 173-165-1, and a playoff mark of 5-6.

More recently, Fisher was hired by Tennessee State as an advisor after the program hired his former running back, Eddie George, as head coach.

Last October, it was reported that Fisher was in the running for the USC job, but he did not end up getting it.

The 2022 USFL season is currently scheduled to begin on April 16th.

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First USFL game to air on FOX and NBC on April 16

All 8 USFL teams will be based in Birmingham, Alabama, for the 2022 season

The USFL is returning to the football field. The teams will be associated with different cities as they were in the league’s first iteration.

However, for 2022 they will have one home state: Alabama. The games will be played at Birmingham’s UAB’s Protective Stadium and Legion Field, home of the Crimson Tide

Let the jokes roll in about these teams being the second through ninth-best in the state.

The first game will feature theĀ New Jersey GeneralsĀ against theĀ Birmingham StallionsĀ and will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 16.

That game will air on both FOX and NBC, making it the first scheduled sporting event to air on competing broadcast networks since Super Bowl I in 1967, which was shown on both CBS and NBC.

“The first game played in any new league is itself historical and having the USFL’s inaugural game simulcast by NBC and Fox makes it even more so,” said Eric Shanks, Fox Sports CEO and executive producer. “It’s rare when two competitors can come together and see how cooperation can lead to long-term benefit.”

In case you were wondering about how the rosters will come together: The eight-team league will hold a player selection meeting Feb. 22-23, and training camps will open March 21.

Each USFL team will carry a 38-man active roster, plus a seven-man practice squad, and players will receive base compensation and be eligible for victory bonuses.

The league revealed how the divisions will break down:

The North: the Generals, the Michigan Panthers, the Philadelphia Stars and the Pittsburgh Maulers.

The South: the Stallions, Houston Gamblers, New Orleans Breakers and Tampa Bay Bandits.

Former Chiefs HC Todd Haley named HC of USFL Bandits

The USFL has enlisted former #Chiefs head coach Todd Haley as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Bandits for their inaugural season.

Another upstart football league, a relaunch of the USFL (United States Football League), is slated to play their first game in fewer than 100 days. With the inaugural season so close, they’re now announcing head coaches for four of their eight teams across the league.

Kansas City Chiefs fans will recognize a familiar face as a head coach of the Tampa Bay Bandits. The USFL has enlisted none other than former Chiefs head coach Todd Haley to coach the Bandits in their inaugural season. Haley, of course, was the head coach in Kansas City during some of their darkest days as a franchise.

The Bandits tweeted out the news on Thursday, asking fans to welcome their first head coach. Check out the message down below:

Haley coached in the NFL from 1995 through 2018, beginning his career as a scouting assistant with the New York Jets before working his way up to become a wide receivers coach. From 2007-2008 he served as the Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator. After coaching the Cardinals offense in their trip to Super Bowl XLIII, he became a top candidate to become an NFL head coach. In 2009, he became the 11th head coach of the Chiefs. He’d spend three seasons in Kansas City, accumulating a 19-26 record during that span, struggling to find offensive consistency with Matt Cassel at quarterback.

After he was relieved of his duties in Kansas City in December of 2011, Haley caught on as offensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers for a few seasons. In 2018, he coached his last NFL season as offensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns and for the past two seasons, he’s been coaching the offense at Riverview High School in Sarasota, Florida.

Now, Haley will get a chance to build up his coaching career again with the USFL. Whether the fledgling league or the former NFL coach will be successful remains to be seen.

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USFL announces first 4 head coach hires

The new USFL has named its first four head coaches for the upcoming season

The USFL is on its way back to the football field. The league is scheduled to return in April.

When you have a deal with FOX Sports, you get the jump on the announcement as Colin Cowherd and Joy Taylor did on Thursday.

Andrus has a long and varied football resume that can be checked out by clicking here.

Mike Riley has been head coach of the San Diego Chargers and has also been head coach at Oregon State and Nebraska.

Todd Haley was wide receiversĀ coach of theĀ New York Jets,Ā Chicago Bears, andĀ Dallas Cowboys. He served as the offensive coordinator of theĀ Arizona Cardinals from 2007-08, the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009-11, the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2012-17, and the offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns in 2018, but he was fired in Week 8 of his first season with the team.

Finally, Kevin Sumlin was as the head football coach at theĀ University of Houston from 2008-11, Texas A&M University from 2012-17, and at the University of Arizona from 2018-20.

One other familiar name weighed in that he has spoken with the league and there is interest on both sides.

 

The Michigan Panthers are back in the new USFL

The USFL will be back in the spring of 2022 and the Michigan Panthers will be part of it

The new edition of the USFL is coming back to life in the spring of 2022, and the Michigan Panthers will be a part of the rebirth.

The league revealed the eight franchises and locations that will be part of the new version of the storied USFL. The Panthers were one of eight teams carrying over from the original USFL, which disbanded after three seasons in 1985.

ā€œWe’re excited to take this next major step in the development of a new USFL,ā€ said Brian Woods, USFL President of Football Operations in a press release. ā€œThese eight teams form the core of our initial league membership and will represent an exciting brand of professional football coming this
spring. We look forward to the start of our inaugural season.ā€

The Panthers, led by QB Bobby Hebert and WR Anthony Carter, won the first USFL championship. They were one of the USFL’s most successful teams in the first two years before the team folded instead of switching from the spring season to the fall with the rest of the league.

Exact logistics and ownership of the new Panthers franchise have yet to be revealed.

The Browns Wire Podcast: The Julio Jones Effect/USFL Returns

Josh and Donovan talk about Julio Jones finally being traded to the Tennessee Titans and the USFL has announced its return.

Itā€™s time for the latest episode of the Browns Wire Podcast.

Josh Keatley (@JoshKeatley16) & Donovan James (@DonJamesSports) dive into the impact of the Julio Jones trade, plus the USFL returns!

Give the Browns Wire Podcast a like on Facebook and follow along with us on Twitter. Itā€™s also available on all of your favorite podcast apps, including iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify. Thanks for listening!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_WIBrGbXF8&t=3s