Coaching changes, franchise relocations, rebranding, and new approaches to player recruitment, the UFL is rapidly evolving under Mike Repole’s leadership. The question now becomes is all this change for the better?
Today, one of the most tenured coaches in any spring football league, Bob Stoops, announced his retirement from coaching. While this was not a league-mandated move, it comes in the wake of Wade Phillips, Ken Whisenhunt, and Reggie Barlow exiting last season, and the news that CJ Johnson and Mike Nolan would not be retained for 2026.
Now that these three men are out, and following the subsequent announcement that Shannon Harris will be returning as Head Coach, and hiring of Ted Ginn Jr., the league is signaling a new direction. This directional shift appears focused on targeting younger first-time Head Coaches, likely aiming to develop coaching talent that could ascend within the UFL or transition to higher levels such as the NFL or NCAA. The league’s choices reflect a conscious strategy to reshape its identity and future leadership.
Table of Contents
Hired
Repole mentioned targeting coaches with local ties, and he has hit that mark dead on with the Columbus Aviators announcing former Ohio State player Ted Ginn Jr. as their Head Coach for the 2026 season. While many will look at this hire and see a first time coach but that is not exactly accurate. Ted Ginn Jr runs his own youth sports training program called Ginn Elite Sports.
He also founded his own all-male public high school in Ohio called The Ginn Academy. One of his former pupils at this school was Cardale Jones who has since been named as a team ambassador. Bringing in two former Ohio State legends both of which were born and raised in Ohio was a smart move that should draw interest locally. Especially with Ginn’s ties to youth sports.
Experience, or Up and Comers?
If you look at the past two seasons, and consider that the UFL has lost Reggie Barlow, Wade Phillips, Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Nolan, Cj Johnson and now Bob Stoops, whether by design or just by natural progression, the UFL has watched four coaches with a combined 72 years of Head Coaching experience in the professional or college ranks move on in the last two seasons alone. While there are obvious downsides to this level of experience, leaving the league in a short stretch of time, the benefits may outweigh the negatives.
First and foremost, the league seems to be moving to a model in 2026 that will reduce the operational cost of staffing each team. This is evidenced by the news that the league is condensing the player procurement process. Doing away with carrying an individual General Manager in lieu of a new system that will create a league-based scouting team, including 3 former GMs of XFL or UFL teams. With a desire to implement a territorial system for player allocation, the league seems to believe there is less need for individual scouting departments.
With experience, typically comes a higher pay rate; there are always exceptions to this rule, of course, but we are talking about some very high-profile names.
Reggie Barlow
Reggie Barlow, whose resume is highlighted by nearly 2 decades as a collegiate Head Coach, followed by his time with the DC Defenders. Barlow was also the XFL Coach of the Year in 2023, his first season with the Defenders. He left the UFL before the 2025 season to take the Head Coach position with Tennessee State, taking much of his staff and his 96-65 career record with him. Shannon Harris will actually be operating as his Offensive Coordinator/Quarterback Coach when not focused on the UFL season. This is an interesting setup that could serve as a model for identifying younger, up-and-coming coaches to fill staff positions within the UFL.
Ken Whisenhunt
Ken Whisenhunt is a two-time NFL Head Coach who was set to be the 3rd Head Coach in the short history of the franchise, which was in 2025 known as the Memphis Showboats. He was hired following Todd Haley and John DeFilippo. Instead, he bounced on and off the team, ultimately coaching just two games, both losses. This brings his collective record as a Head Coach to 48-73.
Wade Phillips
Shortly after news broke that Whisenhunt was stepping down, Wade Phillips announced he had to step away due to health concerns. This came just a week after Offensive Coordinator Aj Smith and the team parted ways, leaving Payton Pardee the Interim Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator, while also coaching Special Teams and Wide Receivers. An unbelievable amount of work for any one person. Phillips has not definitively said he would be returning, but hinted at the potential. At 79 years old, it may be time for Phillips to hang up the headset and transition into a front office role of some sort.
It will be disappointing knowing we won’t get anymore interactions like the one above with Wade Phillips and Skip Holtz.
Cj Johnson
Cj Johnson was hired for the 2023 season. Following the departure of Kevin Sumlin, a decorated former college coach. It was an interesting hire given his background in the NFL with the Saints and as the Head Coach of Tulane. He would have been perfect as the Head Coach of the Breakers in 2023. Instead, he was placed with Houston.
It wasn’t until late in 2025 finally found his stride and won a handful of games to finish out the year. However, in three seasons with the UFL, he held an 11-19 record, missing the playoffs all three years. He never finished above 3rd in his division. This is arguably one of the few moves on this list that needed to happen.
Bob Stoops
Bob Stoops was the only Head Coach the Renegades have ever had in their years of existence in the XFL and UFL. He also happened to have nearly two decades as a Head Coach with Oklahoma, where he produced a 79% win rate, winning 10 Big 12 Championships. Players and fans alike knew his name when he was announced in 2020, and they were happy to have him back in 2023. The former National Champion and 2023 XFL Champion walks off into the sunset, having left his mark on spring football.
Mike Nolan
Mike Nolan is the son of Dick Nolan, a legendary NFL Coach. He also happens to be one of the most respected defensive minds of his time. He has over 15 years of experience as an NFL Coordinator, and he also spent 4 seasons as the Head Coach of the San Francisco 49ers. When he joined the UFL, it was just his second opportunity to be a Head Coach.
His first season was not pretty, ending with a 4-6 record, but the Panthers still managed the playoffs. That trend continued in 2024 when the Panthers flipped their 4-6 record to a 6-4 record. Nolan won the UFL Coach of the Year award in its first season after the merger. In 2025, they improved once again, finishing 7-3, making the playoffs for a third season in a row.
Skip Holtz
The latest name to be announced as departing for 2026 is none other than Skip Holtz. Holtz has had a run with the Stallions that most coaches could only dream of. Holding the Head Coach position since the 2022 season, he has collected an impressive 33-7 record in the regular season with a 6-1 record in the playoffs, including three straight title runs. In 2023, he was also named USFL Coach of the Year. His Stallions team never finished lower than 1st in their division. There has already been an outcry by Stallions fans claiming they refuse to support the team if Holtz is gone.
We have to assume Holtz likely ends up coaching college football once again in 2026. He has been mentioned as a target for multiple openings over the years but always seemed to stick with the Stallions. Now Birmingham is no longer a factor in his decision making.
Anthony Becht
As of right now, there is no official word from the league on the return of Anthony Becht with St. Louis. Becht was likely the only Head Coach on the list prior to 2025 that fits the new approach by the league. Becht’s first opportunity to coach at any level came in 2019 with the AAF, and his first opportunity to be a Head Coach came with the Battlehawks in 2023. Becht is just 48 years old, and as a former player seems to connect with his players well.
The fact that Becht’s squad holds a 22-8 record in three seasons, and has steadily held the best attendance in the league, doesn’t hurt his case to remain with the Battlehawks in 2026. A small benefit to retaining Becht is his visibility. He has been involved with several facets of media over the years, keeping in the public eye and relevant in fans’ minds. In a League looking to evolve and keep fans engaged, Becht may be the shining example of the coaches the UFL is looking for in 2026 and beyond.
With just two coaches currently still under contract, the UFL has a lot of work to do in a very short amount of time. Assuming the season continues to kick off in March as it has the last two seasons, they have less than 3 months until kick off to find 6 Head Coaches. Those 6 coaches also need to find and assemble their staff and begin their talent evaluation process.
Now, my assumption is the league has some coaches already in place, and are just waiting for the right time to announce them.
Potential Coaching Candidates
Let’s look at some potential candidates the league has been connected to or even alluded to themselves, as well as a few we are suggesting. One factor to consider is that Repole has stated that they would like coaches who are great leaders but have “real ties” to the city they are hired to coach in.
Louisville Kings
Teddy Bridgewater
Earlier this offseason, there were talks that the league had reached out to a player who later signed with an NFL team. This was shortly after the news broke that Teddy Bridgewater had returned to the NFL. Bridgewater is from Florida, but spent his college career with Louisville. After announcing his retirement following the 2023 season, he was named the Head Coach of his alma mater, Miami Northwest High School.
In his first season with the team they went 12-2 winning the 3A Florida State title. After the season was complete, he decided to return to the NFL. Reuniting with Dan Campbell for the end of the 2024 season and adding much needed depth behind Jared Goff for the playoffs.
Heading into the 2025 offseason, Bridgewater seemed poised to return to his coaching position, until it was announced he was suspended. The kicker? Bridgewater was suspended for giving kids impermissable benefits such as; uber rides, meals, and injury recovery. All of which was funded by Bridgewater himself.
Due to this situation, Bridgewater opted to resign, instead signing with the Buccaneers for the 2025 season. Given how Bridgewater approached the 2024 season, he could still be a very viable candidate. Serving as a UFL Head Coach during the spring, while returning to the playing field in the fall. This could even potentially attract younger players to sign earlier, seeing the benefits of being involved with the league.
Birmingham Stallions
Aj McCarron
One name that has been floated out there as a potential candidate for the Stallions’ opening is Aj McCarron. McCaron’s ties to Alabama run deep. Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, he later attended the University of Alabama for 5 seasons. Declaring for the draft in 2014 and playing an 8-year NFL career before first joining the XFL as the quarterback for the St. Louis Battlehawks in 2023.
During his first season in the XFL, he led the league in passing touchdowns, completion percentage, and passer rating. After this performance, he was brought back by the Bengals, the team that drafted him. McCaron returned for the 2024 season with the Battlehawks.
However, this is where this story takes a turn. After the 2024 season, the relationship between the Battlehawks and McCarron became contentious. As the team ushered him out the door, McCarron expressed his displeasure with how the situation was handled. He also voiced how he once nearly quit the UFL due to his team and the opposition sharing a plane to travel to games in 2023.
I personally don’t believe McCarron would be the best fit simply due to his comments at times. As a league, you would have to wonder if his opinions on the league could be voiced in a public setting, shining a negative light on the UFL.
From an entertainment value perspective, he may be the perfect hire, but only if Becht remains with the Battlehawks. Given the way their relationship ended, McCarron coaching against Becht would make for a match-up rife with storylines that would glue spring football fans to their seats in 2026.
It would also make for one of the more interesting hires the league could target. McCarron once expressed a desire to remain in the UFL, but preferably in the XFL conference, so he could beat Becht twice per year. Sounds like a man who wouldn’t mind returning and getting one over his former coach.
One caveat to this scenario is that McCarron announced his intentions to run as a Republican for Lieutenant Governor of Alabama in October of 2025, following the murder of Charlie Kirk. He however has backed off of this declaration to instead pursue other opportunities. Speculation is he will be announced today.
Houston Gamblers
Payton Pardee
Payton Pardee is only 29 years old and was remarkably young when placed in the position of interim Head Coach during the 2025 season. He briefly held the titles of Interim Head Coach, Interim Offensive Coordinator, Special Teams Coordinator, and Wide Receivers Coach all in one season. While his overall record after taking over the Brahmas was not pretty: 1-6, not many people could have found success in the circumstances he was placed in.
If the league is hoping to find coaches who could still elevate to the NFL or prominent jobs in the college ranks, Pardee is a coach who makes plenty of sense. Not only has he spent the last three seasons coaching under Wade Phillips in the XFL and UFL, but he also recently served as an intern with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, getting his name into NFL circles for future hiring cycles. Most coaches may not have as realistic a path to the NFL, but Payton’s last name carries weight in the NFL.
Related to legendary coach Jack Pardee, Payton’s family is well respected in the coaching ranks. Make no mistake, Payton is not attempting to ride on the coattails of his predecessors. He has paved his own path, playing college football for Houston before finding his way into coaching with Texas A&M Commerce in 2019. He stuck with the program for four seasons, serving as wide receivers coach, tight ends coach, and recruiting coordinator.
After the 2022 season was announced as the Wide Receivers coach for the Houston Roughnecks. This was a full-circle moment for Payton. Jack Pardee was known for his time spent in Houston coaching the University of Houston, the Houston Gamblers, and the Houston Oilers. Payton would get his first coaching experience in the professional ranks with a team based in Houston, where his grandfather built a legacy.
Being named the Head Coach of the Gamblers and being gifted the Brahmas staff and roster for 2026 would be a best case scenario for the league. Bringing in a potential future NFL coach to lead a team his grandfather once coached nearly 40 years ago is poetic justice at it’s finest. Do the right thing, UFL, hire Pardee as the Head Coach of the Gamblers and let him pick up where his grandfather left off in 1985. Payton could take this one step further and hire his brother Luke as his quarterback coach.
Luke Pardee is currently the Quarterback Coach for Incarnate Word and served as a graduate assistant in 2024. He played college football at TCU.
Dallas Renegades
For the Renegades, why not consider a name like Jon Kitna? If we were discussing the next Head Coach for the return of the Seattle Sea Dragons, this would be a no-brainer. Kitna is a Washington native who attended Central Washington University. He then made the Seattle Seahawks roster as an undrafted Free agent.
He would spend five seasons in Seattle before moving on to Cincinnati, Detroit, and later finishing his career with the Cowboys. He would play four seasons for Dallas: 09-11, 13. He also later returned as the quarterback coach during the 2019 season. Upon his initial retirement in 2012, he took a job as a head coach at a local Washington high school, a position he held for three seasons.
He has continued to coach at the high school level, only taking a year off to coach with the Cowboys in 2019. He has been in high school at five different programs for a total of 13 seasons. This includes stints with two teams in Texas. He spent 2015-2017 and 2020-2022 coaching Waxahachie High School and Burleson High School, respectively.
Collectively, Kitna has spent 11 seasons coaching or playing in Texas. It has become a second home of sorts for him and his family. While older fans will remember him as a quarterback with the Cowboys and other teams in the NFL, the younger generation will likely remember him more for his time in Texas, which will certainly not hurt his popularity in the current day.
It would also make for an interesting story as Kitna once was named World Bowl MVP in 1997 when he was relegated to the NFLEL with the Barcelona Dragons. Getting his first opportunity as a professional Head Coach in the UFL would make for another interesting storyline. Perhaps under the new territory system, he could even potentially bring some of his former players from the state of Texas, all of whom are likely nearing college graduation in 2026 if they have not already graduated.
Orlando Storm
Jameis Winston
We saved the best suggestion, and arguably at least likely for last. Jameis Winston. That’s right, Winston, who is probably one of the most popular personalities in the NFL currently, could be the best potential candidate for 2026. While Winston is not originally from Florida, his career really took off when he committed to Florida State University.
Winston played so well during his college career that he ended up being the first overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he went on to play the entirety of his rookie contract. By the time he left Tampa Bay, Winston had played eight straight seasons in the state of Florida.
While some situations in college were less than popular, he has since been nothing but a model citizen, and as of late has become a media sensation. Many NFL fans would watch UFL games if Winston were involved. They would also likely stay glued to the screen for the post-game press conferences with Winston.
As mentioned before, this is a highly unlikely scenario due to his current playing career and other prospects he could pursue in the off-season. However, if we are going to dream, we may as well dream big, and now there may not be any bigger NFL player for this role than Winston.
Toby Johnson
While Toby Johnson is not a household name for NFL fans, he is one of the most recognizable names among former spring football players. Having spent time with the Indoor Football League in 2019, and 2021, XFL in 2020, USFL in 2022, and 2023, and UFL in 2024. In 2025 he began his coaching career with the Massachusetts Pirates of the Indoor Football League.
Johnson held many titles in 2025: Assistant Head Coach, Defensive Line Coach, and Defensive Run Game Coordinator. The Pirates knew the man they were hiring well and were not scared to pile on a workload. Johnson held his own as a rookie coach, and wound up one of the few members of the staff that stuck with the team from start to finish as ownership tried to find the right combination of coaches.
The Pirates wound up just missing the playoffs, but Johnson was welcomed back for 2026 by a New Head Coach amidst a relocation to….Orlando. Johnson could assist the UFL, and still manage to help the IFL following the UFL season as well, albeit in more of a part time capacity. Johnson would be a welcomed addition to any team looking to fill out their staff.
Final Thoughts
While there are obvious benefits to targeting inexperienced former players as coaches, it remains to be seen how successful this approach will be on the field and in the areas of player development. Will Ted Ginn Jr. really provide the same level of coaching and development that a Skip Holtz can provide?
If the answer is no, hopefully the difference in pay for these two coaches is a substantial savings for the league. If the UFL is truly a league of opportunity, high level coaching is a must to help players fix the weaknesses in their game in an effort to get another look at the NFL level.
Time will tell if hiring coaches with local ties provides the necessary results for the UFL to continue to grow in 2026 and beyond. While these names may help improve attendance slightly, if the league expects these hires to create huge gains in attendance they may be sorely disappointed.
We live in the digital age where football fans would rather watch the game from the comfort of their living room rather than spend money to attend games each week. Finding more ways to monetize the television viewers is the way for this league and others to prosper in the future. The model where ticket sales is a large chunk of your income as a franchise may be a thing of the past at this point.
It may come to a point sooner rather than later that the league realizes the USFL model of selling tickets for $10 may have a better effect on attendance. More fans in turn should create a better atmosphere for the television product. In a league of this level tickets may be used as a loss leader, sell them nearly at cost, make minimal profit but get people in the doors where they are likely to spend more money on concessions, merchandise etc. Focus on the revenue generated by these items as well as the television revenue coming in.
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