XFL put many Commanders back on the field
Just two days after the collapse of the Alliance of American Football last April, former San Antonio Commanders linebacker Nick Temple left the city for good, heading home to Indianapolis.
About a month later, he was on the road again, traveling to Winnipeg for a second stint with the Canadian Football League’s Blue Bombers.
But that run ended even more abruptly than his time in the AAF. By mid-July, Temple was making another trip home, wondering if he’d find further opportunity to play professional football.
Then, Daryl Johnston, the former Commanders general manager,
Editor’s Note: This is the third story in a series chronicling how the Alliance of American Football failed, where the players are now and why the Commanders franchise connected with the city. Coming Tuesday: A look at the former San Antonio Commanders players who turned to coaching after the downfall of the short-lived Alliance of American Football.
called to gauge Temple’s interest in another startup league. The XFL was preparing for a relaunch in 2020 and Johnston had signed on as the director of player personnel with the Dallas Renegades.
“I said, ‘Yeah, that would be a great opportunity,’ ” Temple said.
“Teams started calling me right away and when the draft was about to happen, I didn’t know for sure where I was going to go at that point, but I had interest from everybody.”
Temple was selected in the second round of the XFL’s defensive front seven draft by the Seattle Dragons — the team that hired former Commanders head coach Mike Riley to be its offensive coordinator.
The Dragons drafted seven former Commanders, while Johnston helped Dallas select five San Antonio products. Twenty-five exCommanders were drafted into the XFL overall and 20 advanced to the league’s active rosters.
Though the XFL also proved to
be short-lived, filing for bankruptcy last week before the conclusion of its first season, the league provided former Commanders a platform to extend their careers or continue chasing NFL dreams — much like the Alliance a year earlier.
“There’s nothing wrong with being in the XFL or AAF,” Temple said. “It’s something that you have to do. If this is what you really want to do, then you have to continue working at it and get your name out there.”
Temple was the most productive former Commanders defender in the XFL, making 26 tackles through the league’s five weeks. He said his time in the Alliance, learning from San Antonio teammates Jayrone Elliott and Tyrone Holmes, helped him grow and gain the exposure needed to capitalize in the XFL.
Seattle’s offense was also dotted with past Commanders: running backs Kenneth Farrow (209 total yards and two touchdowns) and Trey Williams (166 total yards and two TDs), plus receiver Alonzo Moore (eight catches, 110 yards).
New York, which became home to former Commanders defensive line coach Jeff McInerney and director of football operations John
Peterson, also felt a San Antonio influence. Marquise Williams threw for 145 yards as the third quarterback, Mekale McKay hauled in 12 receptions for 184 yards and a touchdown and Joey Mbu made nine stops at defensive tackle.
Johnston’s Renegades received contributions from a pair of former Commanders. Defensive tackle Winston Craig made four stops and Derron Smith racked up 16 tackles, two passes defended and an interception after Dallas made him the No. 1 overall pick in the defensive back portion of the XFL draft.
“When we practiced against Seattle, it was amazing how many guys were there,” Johnston said. “Everybody had targeted Derron. We showed our coaching staff about him. The big thing was during the course of the season, he was everything we said he was and our coaches were very grateful to the knowledge we had of him and grateful to how Derron handled himself.”
Most XFL players aimed to use the showcase as a path to the NFL, though no former Commanders have made the leap since the new league’s collapse.
But Johnston said the XFL, like the Alliance before it, offered a different type of opportunity for players whose NFL dreams are past or starting to fade.
Former Commanders center
Brian Folkerts, tackle Andrew McDonald and tight end Evan Rodriguez chose to play in the XFL despite being on the wrong side of 30 and multiple years removed from their last NFL roster spot.
“Some of these guys are going to be playing in this league to get another opportunity to play at the NFL level,” Johnston said. “But there is also going to be another group of guys that is going to play here because they know they can’t play in the NFL, they already tried, but they love the game and don’t want to give up the game.”
By most accounts, the XFL offered a similar experience to the AAF. Both leagues introduced innovative rules changes that captivated fans and both created a football product stronger than many observers expected.
The Alliance paid players $70,000 salaries during the league’s first year, compared to an average of about $55,000 on XFL contracts that included incentives for wins and roster activation.
Both leagues struggled with attendance in most markets, though ESPN reported the XFL’s average attendance of 18,614 fans per game was about 20 percent higher than the average in the Alliance.
Both boasted television ratings that were declining through the season but still considered passable by league executives.
And, of course, both leagues failed to survive their first year.
When the XFL suspended play on March 12 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the league said it was “committed to playing a full season in 2021 and future years.” The league reversed course within a month, laying off most of its employees a few days before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 13.
“Unfortunately, as a new enterprise, we were not insulated from the harsh economic impacts and uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 crisis,” the league said in a statement.
Folkerts, a St. Louis native, had taken pride in bringing football back to the area as a member of the St. Louis BattleHawks. The fan response had been overwhelming, as the team led the XFL in average attendance at 28,541 — even surpassing the 27,720 the Commanders drew in San Antonio.
For the second straight year, Folkerts is saying goodbye to a passionate fan base as a horde of players and coaches try to figure out what comes next.
“For a lot of guys, the dream is over,” Folkerts told St. Louis television station KMOV. “It’s just kind of a punch in the gut. We’re all just in a bit of shock, I would say. You can’t help but feel that you were cheated out of something great.”