The eight teams in the XFL now have head coaches, and the list includes some of the sport’s most recognizable names.
The relaunched league that is set to debut next year announced its new coaches Wednesday, with the most surprising and high-profile name being former Cowboys coach and longtime NFL defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
Phillips, who started coaching in the NFL in 1976, retired after spending the 2019 season as the Rams’ defensive coordinator. He served as defensive coordinator for the Saints, Eagles, Broncos, Bills, Falcons, Chargers, Texans and Rams as well as largely unsuccessful stints as a head coach with the Saints (interim), Broncos, Bills, Falcons (interim), Cowboys and Texans (interim).
Phillips isn’t the only longtime NFL coach to switch over to the XFL. Former Saints head coach and Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett has also been pegged to lead one of the teams. Haslett, who started coaching in the NFL in 1988, spent last season as the Titans’ inside linebackers coach.
While Phillips is the oldest coach on the list at 74 years old, the group of coaches includes several high-profile former players. Former Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward and Hall of Fame defensive back Rod Woodson are both set to lead teams in the new league. Ward most recently coached wide receivers in 2021 at Florida Atlantic University, while Woodson’s last coaching stop was with the Raiders as a cornerbacks coach in 2017.
The other coaches set to lead XFL teams are: former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, former NFL cornerback Terrell Buckley, ex-NFL wide receiver Reggie Barlow and former NFL tight end Anthony Becht. Stoops was a coach for the last reboot of the XFL, which cut short its season in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The league didn’t announce to which teams the coaches will be assigned.
• Jacob Calvin Meyer can be reached at jmeyer@washingtontimes.com.
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