USFL SEASON AND WEEK 1 PREVIEW

BY ADAM GREENE

When it comes to the USFL, I will admit to you that I have gone full Jon Snow from Game of Thrones. I know nothing. I’m coming in almost blind and considering the odds for Week 1, I am not alone.

They say in football playing at home is worth three points and that’s where pretty much every game sits considering they’re all being played at the same place. There are exceptions, the New Orleans Breakers have been publicly shamed as a -2 favorite and the Tampa Bay Bandits are obviously the juggernaut of the USFL as -4 favorites. With the Breakers, I can only take it as a personal indictment of hilariously named head coach Larry Fedora and the roster they’ve cobbled together from NFL castoffs, Subway Sandwich Artists and guys that were just few hours away from earning their real estate licenses.

This should be a league boasting guys like Johnny Manziel, Colin Kaepernick, Tim Tebow and eventually Baker Mayfield and/or Sam Darnold. Instead we get guys like Case Cookus and Alex McGough, two guys you could not have convinced me yesterday were real people. Case Cookus? Really?

But, hey, it’s football. Real football of a sort and if the last two shots at a minor league NFL are any indication, we should get some good action (and potential NFL quarterbacks) out of this league. And make some money wagering while we’re at it.

The USFL will play 10 weeks, all in Birmingham, Ala. There’ll be a four-team playoff held in Canton, Ohio at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium beginning on June. 25. Now we just have to figure out who’ll make it there.

NORTH DIVISION

MICHIGAN PANTHERS

Head Coach: Jeff Fisher (NFL Record: 178-171-1)

Projected Record: 7-3

Championship Odds: +450

Notable players: Paxton Lynch – QB, Quincy Adeboyejo – WR, Jeff Badet – WR, Marquel Harrell – OG, Sean Pollard – OL, Cameron Scott – RB, TJ Carter – DT, Joseph Putu – CB

With all these teams coming in fresh and with very few of these guys playing actual football in a while, the defenses should have the early edge in some low scoring games. No one has coached in more low scoring games than Fisher, who never once saw a 17-14 final score with which he didn’t fall madly in love.

The irony of picking Fisher’s team to win seven games is that just so happens to be where he topped out in his last stint in the NFL with the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams. And while I do think the Panthers will be the best team in the north, nothing would be funnier than Fisher, in the USFL, finishing at .500 or below.

NEW JERSEY GENERALS

Head Coach: Mike Riley (College Record: 112-99, NFL Record: 14-34, CFL Record: 40-32, WLAF Record: 11-9, AAF Record: 5-3)

Projected Record: 6-4

Championship Odds: +700

Notable Players: Luis Perez – QB, Toby Johnson – DT, Trae Elston – CB, Cameron Echols-Luper – WR, J’Mon Moore – WR, Kavonte Turpin – WR, Chrisitan Tutt – CB, Bryson Young – DE

No man in history has coached more meaningless games than Mike Riley. As such, he should be more prepared than anyone to put a ragtag group of misfits together and make a run at the first 21^st Century USFL title.

Riley’s AAF squad, the San Antonio Commanders, was one of the best in that league before it folded. He should have better players a few more resources to work with in the USFL.

PITTSBURGH MAULERS

Head Coach: Kirby Wilson (No Head Coaching Experience)

Projected Record: 5-5

Championship Odds: +600

Notable Players: Isaiah Battle – OL, Kyle Lauletta – QB, Jeff Thomas – WR, Ajene Harris – CB, Vadale Alexander – OL, Nico Falah – OL, Madre London – RB, Carlo Kemp – DE,

This is Wilson’s first shot at running a team after serving as the running backs coach for seven NFL teams since 2002.

So why the .500 prediction? This isn’t the worst roster. And the fact that Wilson has consistently kept NFL jobs, learning from some of the best (Mike Tomlin, Kliff Kingsburty) and worst (Jon Gruden, Hue Jackson) head coaches in the NFL means that he’s seen it all. Plus, he’s got a couple of Super Bowl rings with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (XXXVII) and Steelers (XLIII) in the process. This is a guy that could have probably landed an NFL job, something none of these other guys can say. Instead, he chose to be a head coach in the USFL to prove he has the chops.

PHILADELPHIA STARS

Head Coach: Bart Andrus (College Record: 6-4, Junior College Record: 2-8)

Projected Record: 3-7

Championship Odds: +600

Notable Players: Devin Gray – WR, Jahir Jones – OL, Diondre Overton – WR, Bradley Sylve – CB, Blake Camper – OT, Brennan Eagles – WR, Michael Barnett – DT, Te-Von Coney – LB, Gus Cumberlander – DE, Channing Stribling – CB

While Riley might have coached more meaningless, games, no one has been an assistant coach in more forgettable football contests than Andrus. His last NFL job was in 2013 with the St. Louis Rams. Since then he’s coached for such revered institutions as Feather River College, the Ottawa Gee-Gees and, I kid you not, the 2019 version of the XFL’s practice squad. 

SOUTH DIVISION

TAMPA BAY BANDITS

Head Coach: Todd Haley (NFL Coaching Record: 19-27)

Projected Record: 7-3

Championship Odds: +400

Notable Players: Derrick Dillon – WR, Jarron Jones – OT, Eli Rogers – WR, Jordan Ta’amu – QB, Quenton Meeks – CB, Adam Shuler – DE

Haley’s best run in the NFL came with the Arizona Cardinals as their offensive coordinator, teaming with Kurt Warner for an NFC Championship. After he flamed out as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, he had a solid run as the playcaller for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He made the mistake of joining Hue Jackson’s staff in Cleveland as offensive coordinator and that was it for him.

Haley can call a professional offense, but his Cleveland faceplant is the reason he’s in the USFL instead of working in the NFL. The Bandits should be able to play offense and score points. If Haley could do that in Cleveland under Jackson, he should be able to do it anywhere. Plus, it doesn’t hurt the mojo that this was the team originally owned by Burt Reynolds in the USFL’s first go-round.

HOUSTON GAMBLERS

Head Coach: Kevin Sumlin (College Record: 95-63)

Projected Record: 6-4

Championship Odds: +750

Notable Players: Tyler Simmons – WR, Mark Thompson – RB, Clayton Thorson – QB, Micah Abernathy – CB, Ryan White – CB

Sumlin’s collegiate career flamed out in Arizona after an 0-5 start in 2020. In his previous stints with Texas A&M and Housotn, he’d only coached in one losing season and hit double digit wins three times.

In a league where everyone’s on the same talent level and there’s no recruiting, Sumlin should be able to shine. If these minor leagues can serve as training ground for NFL players, a guy like Sumlin can use it to get back into the NCAA ranks.

NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS

Head Coach: Larry Fedora (College Record: 79-62)

Projected record: 4-6

Championship Odds: +450

Notable Players: Sal Cannella – TE, Johnnie Dixon – WR, Taywan Taylor – WR, Kyle Sloter – QB, Adonis Alexander – CB, Shareef Miller – DE

Fedora didn’t have the college career and success that Sumlin can boast, but it wasn’t bad. A flame out at North Carolina brings him to the USFL and an opportunity to rehab his career and land back in Division I.

Unfortunately, his roster doesn’t hold a lot of promise and he doesn’t quite have the chops of some of his fellow coaches.

BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS

Head Coach: Skip Holtz (College Record: 152-121)

Projected Record: 2-8

Championship Odds: +800

Notable Players: Tony Brooks-James – RB, Osirus Mitchell – WR, DeMarquis Gates – LB, Tyree Robinson – Safety, Scooby Wright – LB

Skip Holtz finds his way to the USFL courtesy of his own NCAA crash and burn. He had a decent run at Louisiana Tech, but two straight losing seasons sent him to the unemployment line.

Holtz, the son of Lou Holtz, is used to building rosters from players no one else wants, having never coached at any school that mattered. But, hey,  somebody’s got to finish last and I’m picking him.

PROJECTED CHAMPION: Tampa Bay Bandits

The odds favor the Bandits and if Haley can’t get it done against these coaches, he should hang up his whistle.

WEEK ONE

SATURDAY

NEW JERSEY GENERALS AT BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (-3, O/U: 42.5)

The Generals and Stallions kick off the league in the Saturday featured game. Generals 24, Stallions 13

SUNDAY

HOUSTON GAMBLERS AT MICHIGAN PANTHERS (-3, O/U: 43)

Jeff Fisher will probably enjoy his largest TV audience as a head coach since his time with the Tennessee Titans. Panthers 17, Gamblers 13

PHILADELPHIA STARS AT NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS (-2, O/U: 43)

By my reckoning, these are two of the worst teams in the league. But since I’m Jon Snow, they could end up playing for the title. Stars 20, Breakers 17

TAMPA BAY BANDITS AT PITTSBURGH MAULERS (+4, O/U: 42)

Finally, we have Haley’s Bandits, the team the odds like the best and so do I. This would be a great time to trip face first into a bucket of horse manure for old Todd, but I’m rolling with him. This looks like the best game of the week. Bandits 31, Maulers 24

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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