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Former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley has a new coaching gig. But it’s not in the NFL.
Haley has been named the head coach for the United States Football League’s (USFL) Tampa Bay Bandits, according to The Herd’s Colin Cowherd and Joy Taylor, who unveiled four of the head coaches in the league on Thursday, January 6.
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The other head coaches named were Kevin Sumlin, who will coach the Houston Gamblers, Mike Riley, who will coach the New Jersey Generals, and Bart Andrus, who will coach the Philadelphia Stars.
“Today is a monumental day for the new USFL as we hit the 100 days to kickoff mark,” USFL President of Football Operations Brian Woods said in a statement. “To attract Mike Riley and Todd Haley, two former NFL head coaches, Bart Andrus, a former head coach in NFL Europe and CFL, plus an experienced college head coach in Kevin Sumlin, to the USFL, speaks to the quality of the league we’re building.
“They all share our belief in high-quality spring football, and we’re honored to have them lead their respective teams this year. We can’t wait to hit the field!”
Haley’s NFL Career Ramped up in KC
Haley began his NFL coaching career in 1997 as an offensive assistant and quality control coach for the New York Jets under Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells. From then until the potential end of his NFL coaching career, which was in 2018, he held positions as the wide receiver coach for the Jets (1999-2000), wide receivers coach for the Chicago Bears (2001-03), wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals (2007-08), and offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers (2012-17) and Cleveland Browns (2018), per Pro Football Reference.
Sprinkled in his NFL tenure was a stint as the head coach for the Chiefs as well. From 2009-11 he accumulated a 19-26 overall record in Kansas City, which included one winning season in 2010 when the Chiefs went 10-6 during the regular season.
In that season, quarterback Matt Cassel went to the Pro Bowl for the one time in his career after throwing for 3,116 yards, 27 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, per Pro Football Reference. Running back Jamaal Charles earned the first of two All-Pro nods in his career in ’10, after rushing for 1,467 yards on 6.4 yards per attempt along with another 468 receiving yards. Receiver Dwayne Bowe received his lone Pro Bowl nod that season thanks to career-highs in receiving yards (1,162) and touchdowns (15).
Unfortunately, the success in the regular season for Kansas City didn’t translate well into the postseason. The Chiefs would lose in the Wild Card round 30-7 to the Joe Flacco-led Baltimore Ravens.
Now, Haley gets to coach again at the professional level.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for me to get back into coaching at the professional level,” Haley told Fox Sports. “It’s been a while since I led a team on-field, and I’ve missed it. It’s also rare that a head coach, as it was once put, gets to pick all the groceries and fix the meal. This is going to be a lot of fun and I expect the fans to enjoy the competition.”
USFL Begins in April
If you are interested in watching some football when the NFL and college football seasons aren’t happening, look no further than the USFL. As a former entity that was founded in 1982 and played three seasons from 1993-95, the revamped league will begin playing again in April of 2022.
The USFL will start off as eight teams that will each have a 12-game schedule. The teams in the league are named the Tampa Bay Bandits, Houston Gamblers, New Jersey Generals, Philadelphia Stars, Michigan Panthers, Birmingham Stallions, New Orleans Breakers, and Pittsburgh Maulers.
A player selection process will be held February 22-23, and training camps will open March 21. Each squad will have a 38-player roster and a seven-member practice squad, per Fox Sports.
Fox Sports will carry 22 of the 43 games, with 12 broadcast on Fox and 10 on FS1. NBC Sports will be the home of the other 21 games, with eight on NBC, nine on USA Network, and four on Peacock.
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