Former NFL coaches among XFL’s hires
The XFL has added some prominent former NFL names to its coaching staffs.
The league announced Thursday that all eight of its teams now have a director of player personnel, and seven of them also have an offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. Among the new hires are former Atlanta Falcons head coach June Jones, longtime NFL defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and exNFL quarterback Bruce Gradkowski.
Ron Zook, formerly the head coach at Florida and Illinois, also is among the new coaches.
Among the 22 people added to the coaching staffs on Thursday, 10 of them have previous ties to the XFL.
The XFL draft will be held in November, and the season is set to kick off on Feb. 18.
“It is exciting to have both new and returning names joining our growing League,” said Russ Brandon, president of the XFL, in a news release. “For me, this is a clear signal that the reimagined XFL, guided by the innovative vision of our new ownership group, has the potential to make a positive impact on the entire football ecosystem, and people want to be a part of building this new league of opportunity for players and coaches, alike.”
Jones will be the offensive coordinator and Zook will run the defense on the staff of head coach Jim Haslett, who formerly was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
Gradkowski will serve as offensive coordinator for head coach Anthony Becht, and Williams will be the defensive coordinator for head coach Reggie Barlow.
Jones coached the Falcons (1994-96) and was the interim head coach of the San Diego Chargers for 10 games in the 1998 season. He has an overall 22-36 record.
He also was the head coach of SMU and Hawaii in the NCAA, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League and the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL. Houston was 5-0 in 2020 before the league suspended play, then folded, amid the pandemic.
Williams was head coach of the Buffalo Bills (2001-03) and interim head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2018 and has a 22-34 overall record. He was a defensive coordinator of eight NFL teams, most recently the New York Jets (2019-20).
He was suspended by the NFL for the 2012 season after an investigation into the New Orleans Saints’ “bountygate” scandal.
Zook had a 57-65 record over 10 college seasons.