As the game of football continues to get more popular all over the world, flag football has started to get more attention. With the announcement that flag football will be in the Summer Olympics, there’s even more interest in the sport.
USA Football, which runs the USA flag football team for the 2028 Olympics, has enlisted some NFL talent to help continue building the sport. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, USA Football has hired former Las Vegas Raiders Pro Bowl fullback Marcel Reece to a full-time role where he’ll oversee their entire football operation.
“Driving the strategy, vision and success of the organization’s national team programs, Olympic and high-performance pathways, scouting and talent identification, athlete development and grassroots growth, as well as USA Football’s events portfolio,” USA Football said in a statement.
Reece is most known for his time as a player, but he does have experience as an executive. He was a senior advisor to the owner/president for the Raiders from 2020 to 2021 and then got promoted to senior vice president/chief of staff in 2022. However, he resigned from the role in 2023. It’s not clear why he left the Raiders, but he’ll now be getting back involved in football for the foreseeable future.
Reece Was Previously An Advisor for USA Football
USA Football’s decision to hire Reece to run football operations doesn’t come out of nowhere. He was previously hired as a senior advisor earlier this year and has apparently impressed them enough to earn a larger role.
Reece knows football, and his experience with the NFL should be an asset for USA Football. This is a big time for flag football, so there will be a lot of pressure for him to succeed early on.
Is Mark Davis Planning to Sell Raiders Soon?
Reece used to be the closest confidant of Raiders owner Mark Davis before he resigned. Now that he’s gone, Davis has a much different inner circle. This has led to him selling off chunks of the team.
Recently, it was revealed that chunks of the team were being sold off to various groups. Davis has been adamant that he’s not planning to go anywhere anytime soon, but Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio floated the idea that he’s setting himself up to cash out soon.
“Earlier this year, Davis created a succession plan that would give Durban an option to buy controlling interest in the team, if/when Davis decides to cash out entirely,” Florio wrote. “For now, Davis is cashing out partially. He still has enough to run the team. It’s starting to feel like Davis is inching toward exiting the business he inherited when his father, Al Davis, died in 2011.
“As Davis, who turned 72 on Monday, said earlier this year, he’s not married. He has no children. He can’t take it with him, and he can’t pass it on. Why not turn it into a mountain of cash while he’s still young enough to properly spend it?”
Time will tell if Davis sells his controlling interest in the near future, but it will be a situation to watch as other groups acquire more equity.
Former Raiders Pro Bowler & Executive Lands Big-Time Football Job