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Latest On XFL Coaching Staffs, Front Offices

June 26th, 2022 at 10:12pm CST by Ely Allen

The XFL made a bit of a spectacle of announcing all of the staff that would be involved in the league once it returns in 2023. Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network provided a rundown of all eight teams’ staffs (all Twitter links).

Dallas Renegades

Director of player personnel: Rick Mueller
Head coach: Bob Stoops
Offensive coordinator: Matt McMillian and Jonathan Hayes
Defensive coordinator: Jay Hayes

Mueller, 54, has an extensive history in the player personnel circles of football. He’s spent time in the college ranks, the CFL, the UFL, and held high-level positions with the Jaguars, Saints, and Eagles. Stoops has a storied history as a college football head coach, most notoriously spending 18 years with the Oklahoma Sooners. Jonathan Hayes, the brother of Jay Hayes, coached with Stoops at Oklahoma before spending 16 years as the Bengals’ tight ends coach.

DC Defenders

Director of player personnel: Von Hutchins
Head coach: Reggie Barlow
Offensive coordinator: Fred Kaiss
Defensive coordinator: Gregg Williams

Hutchins is a former cornerback who played for the Colts, Texans, and Falcons back from 2004-2009. He also spent time in personnel roles with the Raiders and Packers. Barlow is a former NFL receiver who has head coaching experience with FCS Alabama State and Division II Virginia State. Kaiss has worked in the past with Barlow at the FCS level. Williams has vast NFL experience serving as the head coach of the Bills, interim head coach for the Browns, and defensive coordinator for eight different teams, most recently the Jets in 2020.

Houston Roughnecks

Director of player personnel: Marc Lillibridge
Head coach: Wade Phillips
Offensive coordinator: A.J. Smith
Defensive coordinator: Brian Stewart

Lillibridge has a bit of a thin history with the NFL with experience both representing and scouting players over the years. Phillips has enough NFL experience for the both of them, though. Phillips has served as the head coach of the Broncos, Bills, and Cowboys, interim head coach of the Saints and Falcons, and the defensive coordinator of eight different teams, calling defensive plays in Denver in two separate stints. Smith is an innovative, young coach who created a virtual system to train quarterbacks. He’s worked over the years with Gardner Minshew, Jimmy Garoppolo, Josh Rosen, and others. Stewart has worked previously with Phillips as his defensive coordinator in Dallas. Since his time in the NFL, he has served as a defensive coordinator at the collegiate level at Houston and on two separate occasions at Maryland.

Las Vegas (TBD)

Director of player personnel: Joey Clinkscales
Head coach: Rod Woodson
Offensive coordinator: TBD
Defensive coordinator: TBD

Clinkscales has served in personnel roles for the Steelers, Jets, and Raiders dating back to the early 1990s. At his height, he was hired as the Raiders’ director of player personnel in 2012, parting ways with the team when then-general manager Reggie McKenzie was fired in 2019. Woodson is a legendary former NFL defensive back who last played in the early 2000s. Since then, he has worked in some assistant coaching roles with the Bengals, Broncos, and Raiders.

Orlando (TBD)

Director of player personnel: Larry Lee
Head coach: Terrell Buckley
Offensive coordinator: Robert Ford
Defensive coordinator: Tony Carter

Lee is a former NFL center from the 1980s who became the Lions’ vice president of football operations after his retirement. He hasn’t worked in a professional football league in two decades, serving most recently as the deputy executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance. Buckley is a former NFL cornerback who moved to coaching after playing, holding multiple assistant coaching positions around the college ranks over the past 15 years. Ford has been coaching for almost 50 years, breaking into the NFL in 1991 with the Cowboys, where he won three Super Bowl rings as a tight ends coach. He has served as an assistant coach with the Dolphins, Cardinals, and Raiders, as well, with his last stint in the NFL coming back in 2006. Carter is another former NFL cornerback who moved to coaching after his playing time ended, taking small coaching roles with the Raiders and Lions since retiring.

San Antonio (TBD)

Director of player personnel: Will Lewis
Head coach: Hines Ward
Offensive coordinator: Jaime Elizondo
Defensive coordinator: Jim Herrmann

Lewis is a former NFL player and assistant coach who moved to the personnel side of football in the late 1990s. After starting as a scout with the Packers, Lewis has held high-level positions with the Seahawks and Chiefs. He also served as general manager for a franchise in the short-lived Alliance of American Football. Ward is a former longtime receiver for the Steelers who, since retiring, has held assistant coaching roles with the Jets and at the collegiate level. Elizondo has a long history of coaching football at the collegiate level and in the CFL, as well as serving as an offensive coordinator in the 2020 iteration of the XFL. Herrmann has been a defensive coordinator at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, as well as an assistant coach for the Jets, Giants, and Colts.

Seattle Dragons

Director of player personnel: Randy Mueller
Head coach: Jim Haslett
Offensive coordinator: June Jones
Defensive coordinator: Ron Zook

Mueller has served in the past as general manager for the Saints and Dolphins while holding other high-level positions for the Seahawks and Chargers. Haslett was the head coach of the Saints for six years in the early 2000s . He has also been a head coach in the UFL and served as interim head coach of the Rams. He’s held defensive coordinator positions with the Saints, Steelers, Rams, and Washington, as well as holding assistant coaching positions with the Raiders, Bengals, and Titans. Jones was the head coach of the Falcons back in the mid-1990s and, subsequently, served as a head coach in the CFL. He’s held offensive coordinator jobs at nearly every level of competitive football. Zook adds to the head coaching experience in Seattle with two stints as a college football head coach. He’s served as defensive coordinator for the Saints and special teams coordinator for the Steelers and Packers. He has lots of experience as a coordinator at the collegiate level, as well.

St. Louis BattleHawks

Director of player personnel: Dave Boller
Head coach: Anthony Becht
Offensive coordinator: Bruce Gradkowski
Defensive coordinator: Donnie Abraham

Boller has scouting experience with the Buccaneers back in the late 1990s. Becht is a former NFL tight end whose only coaching experience is as a positional coach in the AAF. Gradkowski is a former NFL quarterback who served as a backup for much of his career. Since his retirement, Gradkowski has been serving as a high school head coach in Ohio. Abraham continues the trend of former NFL player coaches in St. Louis with no NFL coaching experience. Abraham was a cornerback for the Buccaneers and Jets from 1996-2004. Since retiring he has been a head coach at the high school level, an assistant coach in the Arena Football League, an assistant coach at the collegiate level, and an assistant coach in the AAF.

XFL Assigns Franchise-Coach Pairings

June 4th, 2022 at 12:11pm CST by Adam La Rose

The identities of the head coaches who will be on the sidelines when the XFL begins its third iteration were already known. Today, though, it has been revealed which franchise each coach will be working with when the league re-starts in 2023. 

[RELATED: XFL Announces HCs For 2023 Season]

As detailed by Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter), Wade Phillips has been assigned to the Houston franchise. That will mark the second stint coaching a professional team in that city for the soon-to-be 75-year-old, as he took over interim HC duties for the Texans during his time there in 2013. This will mark his first time on the sidelines since 2019, when he served as defensive coordinator of the Rams.

The list of XFL coaches also includes decorated former players. One of them is Hines Ward, who will be joining Phillips and Bob Stoops in the state of Texas by coaching the San Antonio franchise. The former Super Bowl MVP worked as an offensive assistant with the Jets in 2020 and 2021; he spent the past campaign as the WRs coach at Florida Atlantic. The XFL post will mark his first time as a head coach at any level.

Another brand-name player the XFL will be featuring on the sidelines is Rod Woodson. The Hall of Fame corner has more experience than Ward with respect to time spent as a positional coach at the NFL level, including two separate stints as the CBs coach of the Raiders. In his case as well, though, the XFL will provide a first-time HC opportunity. He will take the reins of the Las Vegas team.

Long before the league unveiled its batch of HCs for the upcoming season, the XFL announced a formal partnership with the NFL. While the former will not organize itself as a strictly developmental league for the latter, there will be notable collaboration between the two on a number of matters, including the NFL’s Alumni Academy. While it remains to be seen if the third time proves to be the charm for the enterprise now co-owned by Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, these agreements, along with the interest generated by these coaches, should give the league a chance at long-term success.

Here is the full breakdown of the franchise-coach pairings, per Wilson:

Wade Phillips, Rod Woodson, Hines Ward Among XFL HCs

April 13th, 2022 at 6:47pm CST by Ben Levine

Out of the NFL since the 2019 season, Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will resurface in the latest XFL iteration. The longtime NFL coach will be one of XFL 3.0’s eight HCs, the rebooting league announced Wednesday.

Hall of Famer Rod Woodson, former Pro Bowler Hines Ward, and ex-Oklahoma national championship HC Bob Stoops will join Phillips. Former Saints and Rams HC Jim Haslett will also lead an XFL team. The league’s third round of HCs also includes former NFLers Terrell Buckley, Anthony Becht and Reggie Barlow.

“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. 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,” said Dany Garcia, Co-Owner and Chairwoman of the XFL. “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. The XFL is anchored in the belief of opportunity, and, just like our players, these football legends will drive the future of the game.”

Head coach or interim HC for four teams, Phillips was on the sideline for the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 win and coached in Super Bowls XXIV and LIII as Denver and Los Angeles DC. The veteran coach also had a long career as a defensive coordinator, with his most recent gig coming with the Rams between 2017 and 2019. The last we heard from Phillips, he was discussing a potential role on the Browns staff in 2020. Phillips will be 75 when he takes the field in February.

Haslett, the 2000 AP NFL Coach of the Year, served as the Titans inside linebackers coach over the past two seasons, but he wasn’t retained following the 2021 campaign. He last served as a HC in 2008, going 2-10 as the interim head coach with the Rams. In six seasons with the Saints, the team went 45-51 with only one playoff appearance.

Woodson has some experience coaching in the NFL. He had two stints as the Raiders cornerbacks coach, and he also had coaching jobs with the Bengals and Broncos. Similarly, Ward had a two-year coaching stint with the Jets before spending the 2021 campaign as Florida Atlantic’s wide receivers coach.

This Date In Transactions History: Ravens Sign Rod Woodson

February 20th, 2022 at 1:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

By the late 1990s, Rod Woodson went from perennial All-Pro as a Steeler to 49ers cap casualty. The Hall of Fame defender began a memorable second act on this date 24 years ago. 

The Ravens swooped in and signed Woodson on Feb. 20, 1998, landing the then-11-year veteran cornerback on a four-year, $11.5MM deal that came with a $3MM signing bonus. Woodson would soon become a critical piece of one of the NFL’s all-time great defenses.

A year earlier, Woodson became a free agent and signed with the 49ers. San Francisco added both Woodson and fellow ex-Steeler Kevin Greene for the 1997 season. The 49ers led the league in total defense and secured the NFC’s No. 1 seed that year; they lost to the Packers in the conference championship game. Both players became cap casualties on the same day in 1998. Shortly after Woodson’s Ravens agreement, Greene re-signed with the Panthers.

Baltimore used Woodson as a cornerback in 1998, but in one of the best position-change decisions in modern NFL history, the five-time All-Pro corner moved to safety a year later. This shift coincided with the Ravens’ defensive ascent. After ranking 22nd in total defense in a 6-10 1998 season, Baltimore ranked second in ’99 — an 8-8 slate. Woodson led the NFL with seven interceptions and returned two for touchdowns in his first season as a safety. That began a run of four straight Pro Bowls for the veteran, who would go on to become an 11-time Pro Bowler.

In 2000, the Ravens elevated their performance considerably. Woodson, then 35, started 16 games for a defense that allowed just 10.3 points per game — the fewest in the 16-game era, breaking the 1986 Bears’ previous mark (11.7) — and lifted the team to a 12-4 record and Super Bowl XXXV championship. The Ravens blended a mix of homegrown young talent — headed by Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware and Chris McAllister — with veterans to assemble that storied defense, with Woodson spearheading the latter contingent. He finished the 2000 season with four picks and 77 tackles.

The Ravens held onto Woodson through the 2001 season. He signed with the Raiders in 2002 and played a pivotal role in that team advancing to the Super Bowl, leading the NFL with eight INTs. Woodson wrapped his 17-year career after the 2003 season and became a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2009

This Date In Transactions History: Ravens Sign Rod Woodson

February 20th, 2021 at 2:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

By the late 1990s, Rod Woodson went from perennial All-Pro as a Steeler to 49ers cap casualty. The Hall of Fame defender began a memorable second act on this date 23 years ago.

The Ravens swooped in and signed Woodson on Feb. 20, 1998, landing the then-11-year veteran cornerback on a four-year, $11.5MM deal that came with a $3MM signing bonus. Woodson would soon become a critical piece of one of the NFL’s all-time great defenses.

A year earlier, Woodson became a free agent and signed with the 49ers. San Francisco added both Woodson and fellow ex-Steeler Kevin Greene for the 1997 season. The 49ers led the league in total defense and secured the NFC’s No. 1 seed that year; they lost to the Packers in the conference championship game. Both players became cap casualties on the same day in 1998. Shortly after Woodson’s Ravens agreement, Greene re-signed with the Panthers.

Baltimore used Woodson as a cornerback in 1998, but in one of the best position-change decisions in modern NFL history, the five-time All-Pro corner moved to safety a year later. This shift coincided with the Ravens’ defensive ascent. After ranking 22nd in total defense in a 6-10 1998 season, Baltimore ranked second in ’99 — an 8-8 slate. Woodson led the NFL with seven interceptions and returned two for touchdowns in his first season as a safety. That began a run of four straight Pro Bowls for the veteran, who would go on to become an 11-time Pro Bowler.

In 2000, the Ravens elevated their performance considerably. Woodson, then 35, started 16 games for a defense that allowed just 10.3 points per game — the fewest in the 16-game era, breaking the 1986 Bears’ previous mark (11.7) — and lifted the team to a 12-4 record and Super Bowl XXXV championship. The Ravens blended a mix of homegrown young talent — headed by Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware and Chris McAllister — with veterans to assemble that storied defense, with Woodson spearheading the latter contingent. He finished the 2000 season with four picks and 77 tackles.

The Ravens held onto Woodson through the 2001 season. He signed with the Raiders in 2002 and played a pivotal role in that team advancing to the Super Bowl, leading the NFL with eight INTs. Woodson wrapped his 17-year career after the 2003 season and became a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2009.

Raiders Notes: Gruden, Bennett, Cable

January 13th, 2018 at 5:52pm CST by Micah Powell

On Friday, the Raiders announced the hiring of Rams quarterbacks coach Greg Olson as the team’s offensive coordinator. The 31-year NFL veteran coach, and Raiders offensive coordinator from 2013-14, won’t have to worry about calling plays. That duty instead will go to new head coach Jon Gruden, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe notes.

Gruden, who hasn’t coached in the NFL in nine seasons, has been preparing for the moment he would return to the sidelines for some time. He reportedly spends countless hours studying NFL and college plays and is expected to work closely with Derek Carr and the other Raiders quarterbacks.

Though he spurned advances for a role with Gruden, former quarterback Rich Gannon has full confidence that the former Super Bowl-winning coach won’t skip a beat.

“Jon has a system where he’s really going to count on the quarterback to be a big decision maker. He’s going to have a lot more flexibility and freedom at the line of scrimmage to change protections, to change plays. It’s going to be a fun offense to watch. He’s got a quarterback that can do it. That’s a big reason why he decided to come back.”

From the sounds of it, Carr will have more responsibility than ever before as he hopes to rebound from a disappointing 2017.

Here is more news from Oakland:

  • Gruden interviewed one person for the vacant offensive line coach position and had another meeting set up for Monday but dropped everything once the Seahawks fired Tom Cable, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur reports (Twitter link). After being fired as head coach in Oakland in 2010, Cable moved to Seattle and served as offensive line coach for seven seasons. Under his direction, Seattle established itself as one of the best running teams in NFL. His return could reunite him with Marshawn Lynch, should the Raiders retain the veteran back.
  • The Raiders continued to clean house on former head coach Jack Del Rio‘s staff, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). Among the expected departures are cornerbacks coach Rod Woodson, running backs coach Bernie Parmalee, assistant special teams coach Tracy Smith, wide receivers coach Rob Moore and safeties coach Brett Vieselmeyer.
  • Former Packers offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett didn’t have to wait long to find a new gig. He will be joining the Raiders as the team’s new receivers coach, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports (Twitter link). A former Packers running back, Bennett has spent 23 of his 25 seasons in the league as a player and coach in Green Bay.

West Notes: Cardinals, Joeckel, Raiders

March 12th, 2017 at 12:07pm CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a quick swing around the league’s west divisions:

  • We learned earlier today that Tony Jefferson‘s new deal with the Ravens will pay him up to $37MM over four years. We also heard reports in recent days that the Browns and possibly the Jets offered him slightly more money, but that he spurned those offers to sign with Baltimore. As Andy Benoit of TheMMQB writes in a detailed piece on Jefferson’s free agent journey, Jefferson’s former team, the Cardinals, made him an initial “low-ball” offer of three years, $12MM, before upping their proposal to four years and $24MM, still well short of the winning bid.
  • Mike Jurecki of FoxSports910 passes along some contract details on two of the Cardinals‘ recent signings (Twitter links). Jurecki reports that safety Antoine Bethea‘s new three-year deal will pay him yearly base salaries of $2MM, $3MM, and $3MM, while A.Q. Shipley‘s new two-year pact is worth a total of $3.5MM with base salaries of $775K and $1.5MM, $725K in guarantees, and $250K in roster bonuses for 2017 and 2018.
  • Luke Joeckel‘s new one-year deal with the Seahawks will pay him a fully-guaranteed $7MM, with an additional $1MM available in per-game roster bonuses (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today).
  • Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets that Robbie Gould‘s new two-year pact with the 49ers is worth a total of $4MM, with $1MM fully guaranteed.
  • The Raiders will likely not have a lease agreement for a proposed Las Vegas stadium in place before the league owners meet later this month, a meeting during which they could approve the team’s relocation bid. However, as noted in a piece from the Associated Press, the absence of a finalized lease agreement does not mean the league owners will be precluded from voting on the relocation proposal. Instead, they could conditionally approve the relocation as long as the lease adequately addresses issues that are important to the league.
  • The Raiders have made a few changes to their coaching staff, as Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com writes. Last season’s assistant secondary coach, Rod Woodson, will coach cornerbacks, as he did previously, and Brent Vieselmeyer, who was assistant linebackers coach last year, will coach the safeties in 2017. Meanwhile, Travis Smith has been promoted from quality control to outside linebackers coach, and Nick Holz is now the assistant receivers coach. Nate Tice, son of offensive line coach Mike Tice, is the offensive quality control coach.
  • We learned earlier today that the Broncos and OT Donald Stephenson have agreed to a restructured deal.

Extra Points: Bradford, Mariota, Manning

February 9th, 2015 at 10:56pm CST by Zachary Links

Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) hears from executives that some quarterback-needy teams in position to potentially have a shot at drafting Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston would actually prefer to roll the dice on former No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford, if the Rams decide to release him. Of course, that may end up being a moot point, since St. Louis has expressed interest in bringing back Bradford, assuming he’s willing to restructure his contract. More from around the NFL..

  • Within that same video, Cole suggests that Ravens linebacker Pernell McPhee is likely to hit the open market next month, since the club views him as a complementary player rather than a core piece, and will want to use its available cap room elsewhere.
  • Peyton Manning is back home in New Orleans and training with the intent to play the 2015 NFL season, a source close to the quarterback told Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune. Manning wants to talk with Broncos executive vice president and general manager John Elway before announcing his intentions for the 2015 season and hopes to chat with him in the next couple of days. Manning, 39 in March, is the NFL’s oldest starting quarterback.
  • Mike Preston of The Baltimore Sun says the Ravens should pick a top cornerback in the draft. The top four cornerbacks right now appear to be Michigan State’s Trae Waynes, Wake Forest’s Kevin Johnson, Washington’s Marcus Peters, and LSU’s Jason Collins.
  • While it appears that the previously reported changes to the Packers‘ coaching staff will indeed happen, the team has yet to formally finalize those moves, writes Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.
  • The Dolphins may not be in talks yet with quarterback Ryan Tannehill on a long-term contract extension, but one could certainly be in the cards. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald explored what a deal for the signal-caller might look like.
  • The Raiders announced that they have hired Rod Woodson as an assistant defensive backs coach, according to Bill Williamson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). That means that defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson is the lone holdover from the 2014 staff.