XFL names eight head coaches for 2023 season
from Victor Barbosa, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
The XFL is set to return in 10 months, and on Wednesday morning, fans learned the eight newest head coaches.
On ESPN, the @XFL2023 just announced the league's 8 head coaches for its 2023 return to the field. They are:
Wade Phillips
Bob Stoops
Terrell Buckley
Hines Ward
Rod Woodson
Reggie Barlow
Anthony Becht
Jim HaslettOwners @DanyGarciaCo and @TheRock are on @GetUpESPN now.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) April 13, 2022
“Individual team assignments will be made at a later date. The league has not yet announced whether it will play in local markets, as it did in 2001 and 2020, or if it will operate from a central location,” Seifert reported. “The XFL’s coaching news is among a series of announcements it has made this week, including the hiring of Dean Blandino as vice president of officiating and playing rules innovation. It has also reached an exclusive agreement with the NFL Alumni Academy to help develop players.”
Longtime Oklahoma head coach and 2021 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Bob Stoops is one of a few men joining the XFL with previous head-coaching experience. Stoops also led the league’s Dallas Renegades in 2020 before play was shut down five weeks into the 10-week season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wade Phillips is most known for his time spent as the head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys. The 1979 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, Jim Haslett played eight years in the NFL before holding various coaching gigs at the professional and collegiate level over the past three-plus decades.
Former Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward spent his entire playing career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and made four Pro Bowls. He is Pittsburgh’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
Terrell Buckley played 14 seasons as a cornerback in the NFL and won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. Hall-of-Fame defensive back Rod Woodson spent 17 seasons in the NFL and was an 11-time Pro Bowler.
Former tight end Anthony Becht played 11 years in the NFL with five different teams and recorded 188 career receptions and 21 touchdowns. A wide receiver and return man, Reggie Barlow suited up for the Jacksonville Jaguars for five seasons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two years (winning a Super Bowl) between 1996 and 2003.
In August 2020, a group led by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale purchased the XFL for $15 million. The season is set to begin in February 2023.