By Kenneth “KjdiscipleP” Priesmeyer
This was the opening quote by coach Skip Holtz, which marked the sentiment of the evening in Birmingham this past Thursday. Fans arrived at Protective Stadium for the “Stallions Social” to hear from both coach Holts and executive VP of football operations, Daryl Johnston. The anticipation from both coach and fans for the new UFL season was clearly abundant from the boisterous “Giddy Up!” chants that filled the concourse inside the club and suite entry to the stadium. We had the opportunity to huddle up with other media, and both Coach Holtz and Mr. Johnston prior to the fan event.
Photo by Kenneth Priesmeyer
“There’s No Place Like Home!” Coach stated as he opened the floor to questions. He expressed not only his excitement as he returned to the city the day prior, but also his gratefulness and pride he had for the passion the fans in Birmingham have displayed throughout the past seasons. The call for fan support in the upcoming season was something both Holtz and Johnston touched on throughout the evening. Seeing Stallions flags flying in the background of College Gameday in Alabama was something coach Holts noted he saw during the fall when he was at Northwestern, and a clear indicator that the fan spirit and support for the team is alive and well.
For those wondering if any coaches or other staff had inside knowledge of the merger prior to its public announcement, Skip affirmed he was just as much in the dark on it as the public was until a night before the intent to merge was publicly announced. Johnston later also added that he too was not made aware of the intent to merge until mid-August, and even then, it seems the inner workings were limited to himself and only few other high ups within the then USFL management and/or ownership. He and others had to work simultaneously to manage both the merger developments, as well as holding fast to the contingency of season 3 for the USFL, in case things did not go through or finalize in time. As progress in the merger developments were made, faced with the knowledge of attrition in going from 8 to 4 teams, Daryl and company worked through having the hard conversations with everyone from staff to sponsors in the merger negotiations and subsequent dissolving of half the USFL league.
Holtz recapped the past fall season he spent at Northwestern, serving as the program’s interim head coach, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to bring back that team from a 1-win season the year prior. Though he enjoyed the experience, he also acknowledged the length of the season (both during the weeks of gameplay and the recruitment period), and noted he preferred and enjoyed the Spring ball experience more; and the subsequent challenges that come with it. He shared that though he has received other offers for other collegiate coaching roles since his time at Northwestern, he is fully committed to his role in Spring Football and appears to be fully vested into this program for this next season, and possibly more!
While he shared the team was still putting finishing touches on the roster, Coach acknowledged the upcoming challenge he will face in trimming down the roster to the final seventy-five(75) men count teams are allowed to bring into training camp later this month. He stressed how much more he would rather be in the upcoming situation he faces, having to make the hard cuts with athletes who are so close in talent level, than for it being easy on deciding who to let go of. Credit was given to Zack Potter, Stallions GM, with his role in aiding in building the current roster the stallions presently have. Coach also recapped some of the Stallions’ past talent who have departed for the NFL, like Alex McGough and Kalil Davis, acknowledging their incredible contribution to the past team’s season and the new challenge he faces to fill those voids with new athletes. The hope is that the new incoming players will produce the same level, or better, output through this first 2024 UFL season. It seems clear that the product on the field will be even better than years past. Skip Holtz noted that, “Going from 800 players down to 400,” (with 4 less total teams), will benefit the product on the field as the best talent will rise to the top of every team’s roster.
While this may feel like a brand-new league to some, and in more than one way it is, having the added support of more than one majorly backed financial entity should only help the league’s long-term success. Daryl Johnston complimented the resources and support of both Fox Sports and RedBird Capital, while also showing respect and acknowledging the spokesperson/marketing prowess of both Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia from the XFL side. He also noted having corporate financial backers gives advantage for the league’s longevity over sole source individual investors (Like the 2020 McMahon iteration of the XFL from 2020). When times get hard, it’s more challenging for individuals to commit their own money than it is for larger groups to weather the storm.
Daryl also took time to speak on the Hub structure and the local team’s communities and venues during our time. While both the XFL and USFL did this in their initial seasons, other past leagues like the AAF missed out on this cost saving strategy in places like San Antonio. Though not directly stated verbatim, Daryl’s language hinted that Arlington was the more cost effective, “budget driven” Hub choice, (when compared with the USFL’s) acknowledging the logistical of having large major airports close by, like DFW international, and the fact that a preexisting long term/full used contract was already in existence from the prior season, thus making a renewal there vs. brand new Hub venue contract somewhere else the better choice. He also recalled having the players live locally in their team’s respective market (from the 2022 USFL season), to now having every player located locally to the Hub in Arlington. The most imposing effect of this is that the players can’t engage more throughout the season, week to week, with their team’s local communities; something the Birmingham players very much enjoyed in the past season. He seemed aware of this challenge that the league faces for every team and hopes to address this going forward to help strengthen and foster that connection and relationship with each team’s local area.
This new league will obviously face its own fair share of challenges, just as the USFL and XFL did previously. At the forefront of these is scheduling and general operational logistics at the hub in Arlington and the week-to-week inner workings at each team’s related venue. The challenge of switching fields from other sports and events, to football layouts is not only a reality in places like DC, but also at Choctaw stadium in Arlington (where there’s a pro rugby team that plays within as well) Johnston noted that something that has presented itself in European football leagues, is the problem of “shadow lines” (the visual remnants of the football field layout on soccer fields, and vice versa, when converting the playing fields back and forth), and the fact that will start to become a more realistic challenge for teams here in the states as well. Daryl stated, “We want to be a priority in these venues,” as each team’s brand is built up, the hope is that greater preference and priority will be given to UFL teams in their respective venues for things like scheduling decisions, amongst others.
Photo by Kenneth Priesmeyer
It seems clear that coach Holtz is incredibly excited and pumped up for this new training camp and upcoming season to follow, as is Daryl Johnston for undertaking the responsibility of captaining the operational ship for the league in the years ahead. For Birmingham, the Stallions will look to three-peat their Championship success, with the hope to obtain their very first UFL Championship later this summer.