Yesterday, Colin Cowherd revealed the first four USFL head coaches live on The Herd. Before the announcement was made official there was a potential leak making the rounds, of what was reported to be the Southern Division coaches for the league. Shortly after the leak surfaced we were told that the names may not be 100% accurate.
After the news was official we saw that the leak had some of the names correct, but the locations were not represented correctly. Of the four names mentioned, Gene Chizik, spoke out to say that he had been in talks with the league but had not signed a contract.
Addressing a rumor this morning. I am honored that the new @USFL is interested in me for a HC position. We have had several discussions. Although this is a consideration, nothing has been finalized…#Facts
— Gene Chizik (@CoachGeneChizik) January 6, 2022
With the first four USFL head coaches now official, we wanted to talk about to two potential candidates we’ve seen emerge.
The first one, well… it looks as if Greg McElroy was on to something, because we’re hearing more rumors that Gene Chizik could be joining the league.
Chris Breece of CBS Sports followed up on the situation and he states that he’s “hearing the move is a done deal”.
Following up on the Gene Chizik @USFLStallions rumors. I’m hearing that the move is a done deal. #USFL #Stallions
— Chris Breece (@ChrisBreece) January 6, 2022
Whether that means that the two parties are close to finalizing a deal or the contract has been signed; we don’t know just yet. But, it seems that things are going in the right direction. When the next set of coaches are revealed, it seems likely that Chizik will be among the bunch.
The leak that was making the rounds pointed towards Chizik taking the reigns for the Birmingham Stallions. But as we saw, the names may be right, but the locations have proven to be off. We’ll just need to wait and see.
Gene Chizik was recently the defensive coordinator at North Carolina from 2015–2016. He’s probably most well-known for serving as head coach of Auburn from 2009 until the end of the 2012 season. Chizik’s 2010 Auburn Tigers football team completed a 14–0 season with a victory over Oregon in the BCS National Championship Game, and quarterback Cam Newton ultimately won the Heisman Trophy under his leadership.
That’s not the only name we’re seeing being floated around.
Alex Marvez of SiriusXM reports that Marvin Lewis “is under consideration for a head coaching position in the new USFL”.
We will see if Marvin Lewis drawers interest for any NFL head coaching vacancies, which he should. Regardless, a source confirms to @SiriusXMNFL that he is under consideration for a head coaching position in the new @USFL
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) January 6, 2022
Lewis previously served as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals for 16 seasons. He came to prominence as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens from 1996 to 2001, whose defense in 2000 set the record for the fewest points allowed in a 16-game season and led the franchise to their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXV.
He’s has some spring football experience under his belt as well. Lewis was also a commentator for the Alliance of American Football (AAF).
The USFL is set to hold their player selections late February, so we’ll definitely learn the rest of the coaches before then. If we were to guess, we think we’ll probably see them come through the pipeline in the next week or two.
What are your thoughts on the first four USFL coaches? How about the candidates we mentioned above? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.
