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The XFL is here and Ready to Play this Season

Originally posted on Gridiron Heroics | By Jamie Malloy | Last updated 2/6/23

Welcome to the re-installment of the XFL regular season. The 2023 kick-off will take place on Saturday, Feb. 18. The 2020 season was suspended due to the COVID 19-pandemic.

There is an energetic buzz about restarting this league with Dwayne, “The Rock” Johnson, Danny Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale leading the charge. Also, you have former Buffalo Bills executive Russ Brandon as league President.

Scheduling

The 2023 XFL Schedule will contain 10 regular season games. The squads will play five games on the road and five at home. It will be made up of 40 regular season contests. After the regular season concludes, there will be three postseason battles (two divisional matchups and one title bout). These contests will occur at the end of April and in the middle of May.

Teams/Divisions

There will be two separate divisions in the league. They will consist of the “North” and “South”. The North will contain; the D.C. Defenders, Seattle Sea Dragons, St. Louis Battlehawks, and Vegas Vipers. The South will have; the Arlington Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, Orlando Guardians, and San Antonio Brahmas.

Coaches

While some fans think the XFL is just another boring league to watch, there are many coaches and players who are household names and some bring many years of NFL coaching experience. Let’s take a look at the coaches of each team and you may be surprised when you hear their names.

1. Reggie Barlow: (DC Defenders)

Before he was even into coaching, Barlow played wide receiver in the NFL lastly with the Oakland Raiders. During the previous six seasons, he was the head coach at Virginia State and before that, was the head man at Alabama State from (2007-2014). The former wideout will look to bring his college experience and hopefully, win a championship in his first professional football head coaching gig.

2. Jim Haslett: (Seattle Sea Dragons)

Jim Haslett is one of the most recognized names in professional football. He enjoyed a six-year stint as head coach of the New Orleans Saints from (2000-2005). He then possessed three various coordinator roles before his last NFL gig as the Titans inside linebackers coach from (2020-2021). Now as an XFL head coach, Haslett will look to build up the offense as the Sea Dragons will definitely be playing dominant defense.

3. Rod Woodson: (Vegas Vipers)

Woodson played with the Pittsburgh Steelers from (1987-1996) and was part of the Baltimore Ravens historic defense that won them Super Bowl XXXV. After shorter stints with the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders, Woodson became the Raiders CB coach in 2017. The previous five-years, the 11-time pro-bowler was a coaching intern/assistant. Now, Woodson has a change to lead another professional Vegas squad to something the Las Vegas Raiders haven’t done yet. Win a championship.

4. Anthony Becht: (St. Louis Battle Hawks)

Becht played tight end in the NFL for 11 years, including stints with the New York Jets and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His last coaching gig was the Tight Ends coach for the Alliance of American Football’s San Diego Fleet. Becht is now here in, “The Lou” looking to develop some talent and bring it together for a championship when the dust settles.

5. Wade Phillips: (Houston Roughnecks)

As an NFL coaching legend, Phillips last NFL coaching gig was with the Ram’s as the defensive coordinator from (2017-2019). He is considered to be one of the game’s greatest defensive coordinators as his 3-4 defenses were consistently ranked in the “top 10”. His last head coaching gig was with the Dallas Cowboys from (2007-2010) and was a super bowl champion as the Denver Broncos defensive coordinator in 2015. Now back to being a head coach in Texas, he will look to bring the City of Houston a championship while DeMeco Ryans rebuilds the Texans in the NFL.

6. Bob Stoops: (Arlington Renegades)

Stoops is back as a head coach for the 2023 XFL reboot. He was previously the head coach for the Dallas Renegades during the shortened 2020 revival. Before coaching in the pro ranks, the veteran was the Oklahoma Sooners College Football Coach from (1999-2016), enjoying a national title. When Lincoln Riley left to accept the head coaching position at USC, Stoops jumped in as the interim head coach for the Sooners bowl game in 2021.

7. Hines Ward: (San Antonio Brahmas)

Ward needs no introduction anywhere in the football world. He was an all-time great wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers and won two-super bowls in his 14-years in the black and yellow. Recently, he’s got into coaching as he was a Jets assistant from (2019-2020) and the wide receiver’s coach for Florida Atlantic in 2021.

8. Terrell Buckley: (Orlando Guardians)

Buckley won a super bowl in the NFL as a cornerback for the New England Patriots in 2001 and was drafted fifth overall by the Green Bay Packers in the 1992 NFL draft. He has spent over 10-years coaching as a collegiate assistant, with his two recent jobs being the cornerback’s coach at Mississippi State from (2016-2019) and Ole Miss (2020-2021). Buckley now has a chance to win a title in the sunshine state of Florida.

Where to Watch

Now that I hopefully have you all caught up and excited to watch, the XFL will be aired on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and FX. It will also be available to stream on fuboTV.

Happy Watching!