KVSP 
The new United States Football League (USFL) launches this week, with eight different franchises kicking off spring football. But it’s not the only professional league making noise during the NFL offseason. On Tuesday, the XFL, which is set to return in 2023 after a short-lived 2020 revival, announced on ESPN its eight teams’ new head coaches. Among them are former NFL head coaches Wade Phillips and Jim Haslett, as well as Hall of Famer Rod Woodson and longtime Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops.
Here’s the full rundown of the eight head coaches announced for the XFL’s 2023 return:
- Wade Phillips: Most recently the Rams‘ defensive coordinator (2017-2019), Phillips is a legend of the game, running defenses since the 1980s. He last served as a head coach with the Cowboys (2007-2010) and won a Super Bowl as the Broncos‘ defensive coordinator in 2015.
- Jim Haslett: Last seen as the Titans‘ inside linebackers coach (2020-2021), Haslett is a veteran defensive mind best known for a six-year run as Saints head coach (2000-2005). He’s also held three different coordinator jobs.
- Bob Stoops: Head coach of the XFL’s Dallas Renegades during the league’s 2020 revival, Stoops spent 18 years as the Sooners’ coach (1999-2016), winning one national title, and returned as Oklahoma’s interim coach in 2021.
- Rod Woodson: The former 11-time Pro Bowler and Hall of Fame defensive back was last seen on the sidelines in 2017, when he served as the Raiders‘ CBs coach. He previously spent five years as a coaching intern/assistant.
- Hines Ward: An all-time Steelers wide receiver who won two Super Bowls during a 14-year career, Ward has transitioned to coaching in recent years, serving as a Jets assistant (2019-2020) and Florida Atlantic’s WRs coach (2021).
- Reggie Barlow: A former NFL wide receiver, Barlow spent the last six years as Virginia State’s head coach. Before that, he served as Alabama State’s head coach from 2007-2014.
- Terrell Buckley: A former Super Bowl champion cornerback, Buckley has spent more than a decade as a college football assistant, most recently as the CBs coach for Mississippi State (2016-2019) and Ole Miss (2020-2021).
- Anthony Becht: An 11-year NFL tight end, the former Jets and Buccaneers veteran was last seen as the TEs coach for the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) in 2019.
The XFL is slated to return to action in February 2023.
