XFL announces teams for 2023 to restart; Washington is among them

“To the fans in DC – we’ll be back,” Barlow said in a statement from the XFL. “It is an honor and a pleasure to have the opportunity to coach a team in the metropolitan area. The XFL team will play with great passion, and we look forward to being a part of such a great city. It will be really exciting, and we already know you guys are going to come out loud for us guys.”

The league will have teams in Arlington, TX (at Choctaw Stadium, coached by Bob Stubbs), Houston (TDECU Stadium, Phillips Valley), Las Vegas (location to be announced, Rod Woodson), Orlando (Camping World Stadium, Terrell Buckley), San Antonio (Almodome, Heinz Ward), Seattle (Lummen Field, Jim Haslett) and St. Louis (Dome at Center America, Anthony Becht).

Barlow left Virginia in March to join the XFL. Before leading VSU, the coach was at his alma mater, Alabama State, from 2007 to 2014.

league Announce training kit And the Front Office Jobs per team in June, but she did not specify where she would train each group. Barlow’s staff includes defensive coordinator Greg Williams, offensive coordinator/back coach Fred Case, personnel manager von Hutchins and team operations manager. Stacy Johnson.

Former head coach of the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns, Williams was the defensive coordinator for the Washington NFL team from 2004 to 2007, and most recently was the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets in 2019 and 2020. Case coached with Barlow at Alabama State. Hutchins, a sixth-round pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, played defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans.

Q&A: Cam Phillips, the best receiver in the XFL, is still waiting for another shot in the NFL

In February 2020, DC Defenders hosted the first XFL 2.0 game, providing an alternative to the dwindling fan base of the NFL franchise in Washington. Defenders Average fan count is over 16,000 in three games at the Audi Stadium and went 3-2 in the short season, with their three wins in front of their raucous crowd.

“I’ve played a lot of football in the NFL or high school or college or whatever, but these fans are different,” Salama Rahim Moore said after the team’s fifth and final game. “I don’t know if the XFL is paying these guys to be that loud, but the energy is crazy.”

That version of the XFL, owned by wrestling mogul Vince McMahon, It closed in March 2020 due to the corona virus pandemic. next month, The association has filed for bankruptcy and sought to sell. In August of that year, the former WWE superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Bought The League For $15 Million Along with his business partner and ex-wife, Danny Garcia, and investment firm RedBird Capital Partners.

Next year will see the first season of XFL events in San Antonio, and the league will return to the Las Vegas and Orlando areas, where the XFL had teams in 2001. In 2020, the XFL had teams in the New York, Los Angeles and Tampa areas, but attendance was poor. those markets Represents the lowest five matches in terms of attendance out of 20 played that year.

Unlike the USFL, which played all of its 2022 regular season games in Birmingham, ALA. , and post-season in Canton, Ohio, the XFL will play all of its games in the host cities. The league will reveal team names, logos and uniforms at a later time. The games will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, and FX; XFL announced a Multi-year broadcast agreement With The Walt Disney Company and ESPN in May.