What to expect from the USFL in 2023 Daryl Johnston explains biggest changes ahead of spring leagues second season
What to expect from the USFL in 2023 Daryl Johnston explains biggest changes ahead of spring leagues second season
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The USFL is doing something in 2023 that few spring football leagues have done over the course of history. It is playing a second season. The USFL always made it a goal to play beyond its first season after it was acquired by Fox and NBC. The league broadcast its intentions to play in 2023 before the end of the 2022 season, and it appears hopeful that it can establish itself as the long-term option for spring football. MORE: That said, the league was required to makea lotof changes ahead of its second campaign. Each team faced a great deal of roster turnover, there was competition for players with the XFL and NFL, and there were questions about how to get more fans to attend games after the league played its inaugural regular season entirely in Birmingham, Ala. (The playoffs were held in Canton, Ohio.) The league was able to negotiate that difficult landscape under the leadership of Daryl Johnston, its president of football operations. As the USFL enters what could be a watershed year, Johnston believes that the league is well-prepared for the challenges coming its way, as he told The Sporting News in a telephone interview. One of the biggest changes from Year 1 to Year 2 is that Maurice Harkless Jersey the league won't be playing just in Birmingham. It instead will hold games in four hub cities: Birmingham; Memphis, Tenn.; Detroit; and Canton. That is a monumental change, one that Johnston acknowledged was "expedited" from the league's original plan. The reason was all about attendance and fan service. "Every (Stallions) game was a home game for Birmingham," Johnston said. "If they played, we had good crowds, we had good energy in the stadium. But when we didn't have Birmingham playing, it was hard to get that traction of support for the other seven teams. And we struggled with that during the course of the season." Johnston said that the league anticipated it would eventually get some fans to games not involving the Stallions, but despite seeing some Birmingham residents flip to support some of the other franchises, it was never quite enough. "We never really just got the numbers we needed," Johnston said. (Attendance figures for USFL games in 2022 have not been released publicly.) The league's i sues with attendance weren't just about ticket revenue, though. They also involved broadcast coverage of the games, something the league viewed as a key differentiator for its busine s. Johnston said that there was a major focus on utilizing innovative camera shots including sky cam, drone cam and helmet cam to help fans experience watching the USFL in a different way than a traditional NFL broadcast.But fans needed to be in the stands for some of those shots to reach their full potential. "We had just pushed the envelope far enough and it felt, from a production standpoint, it was more important to have unique elements and unique camera angles. But we weren't going to be able to deal with the empty seats that may get caught in the background," said Johnston, who has been a Fox NFL game analyst for more than two decades. So, while the primary reason for multiple hub cities is to increase attendance and fan acce s, the USFL believes that they will also allow the presentation of its product to improve. That, in Johnston's opinion, is worth the increase in travel costs. As for the choice of hub cities, it was an easy decision to make Birmingham one of them after the city succe sfully hosted the 2022 season. The two northern hubs of Detroit and Canton were also fairly simple choices, according to Johnston. "Getting back into that Michigan fan base from the Panthers was something that I think we wanted to do," he said, referring to a charter franchise from the '80s USFL. "We wanted to have a presence up north. An opportunity to host games at Ford Field gives you a ton of credibility. So that was an opportunity we really couldn't pa s on. "And then just the relationship that we have with Canton in our playoffs, it was something that we wanted to maintain and potentially expand. They've been a great teammate." The choice of the final hub city, Memphis, was more complicated. It required a rebrand of one of the eight franchises that were established as part of the USFL's reboot. The USFL's decision to make one of its new hub cities Memphis required a big change by the league. It kept the Bandits' staff intact but rebranded the franchise. Johnston said the reason the league went in this direction was twofold. First, travel between Tampa and Birmingham would prove too costly for the league. That made it difficult for Tampa to be a hub city, which, in turn, would make it difficult for Tampa residents and fans to attend games. Second, the league is excited to have a team in Memphis, which has a rich USFL history. "To be able to bring back the Showboats, the franchise that Reggie White played for, to have an opportunity to be in that city and to reignite that fan base, the potential to have FedEx founder Fred Smith as a partner moving forward, there was a lot of pluses there," Johnston said. Johnston said it was a "hard decision" to part with the Bandits brand. He said that it resonates with many USFL fans, much like the Stallions and New Jersey Generals brands do. "But when we looked at it from a number of different perspectives," Johnston said, "it seemed that it was the right one for us moving forward." (Getty Images) Another important step for the USFL was to bring back some of its key players for 2023. " It was a huge priority for us going from Year 1 to Year 2," Johnston said. "We knew that we would be better football-wise with that continuity." Continuity didn't prove easy for the USFL, which placed 60 of its players on NFL rosters in 2022 after its season concluded. Some of those players went on to earn roster and practice squad spots during the NFL season. That is a good thing for the USFL, which prides itself on player development. That's part of why it has celebrated the succe s of 2022 MVP KaVontae Turpin, who became an All-Pro returner for the Cowboys and has been a "tremendous amba sador" for the USFL. Still, the league wanted to retain at least some of its stars from its first season, and that's why it's so important that Cookus and Smith will be returning to the Stars and Stallions, respectively. "Those were our starting quarterbacks in the championship game," Johnston said. "To have them with us again here in Season 2, I think that's a big validation on what we're building what we're trying to create." Cookus was arguably the USFL's best quarterback in 2022 and had a brief stint with the Rams last NFL season as Los Angeles dealt with injuries at quarterback. Josh Richardson Jersey Smith didn't get an NFL chance and has stayed loyal to the USFL as a result. He will look to lead the Stallions to a championship repeat and will serve as one of the league's more recognizable faces. "I really, really appreciate the faith and the belief that those two key guys had with us," Johnston said of Cookus and Smith. "There's a number of guys we can say that about." Of course, while the USFL has kept some of its key players, it has also lost some of its top players from 2022. Most notably, quarterbacks Jordan Ta'amu, Kyle Sloter and Luis Perez all joined the XFL for the 2023 season. Will replacing them be a problem for the USFL? Johnston doesn't anticipate that will be the case. "I wouldn't say it's a challenge for us to navigate," he said when asked about competing with the XFL for players. "I just think it's the competitivene s of having two opportunities for the guys as opposed to just one." Johnston said that the USFL made it a priority to examine why players chose to leave the USFL for the XFL. The league came to the conclusion that the USFL's calendar specifically, its mid-April start date was a part of the reason. It appears players liked having a break before getting a chance to attend NFL training camps. They would have more time to rest and recover. Therefore, some preferred the XFL's mid-February start. Despite that, Johnston doesn't believe the USFL calendar needs to change, because he still believes there is a key advantage in the USFL's mid-April to early-July schedule. "It's kind of funny because when we would talk to general managers and scouts at the NFL camps we attended, a lot of them would say, 'Hey, your guys, they came in football ready. They're in football shape, and they all popped on Day 1 of padded practice because they were not easing into it.'" he said. "So there is also a benefit to the later start date ." Johnston acknowledged that some players will choose the XFL, but he believes there are enough quality players around so that both leagues can play at a high level. "The talent pool it's a lot Avery Bradley Jersey larger," he said. (Getty Images) Player turnover hasn't been the only i sue for the USFL during the offseason. The league has also lost an unusually high number of its coaches. Larry Fedora, Jeff Fisher, Kevin Sumlin and Kirby Wilson all opted not to return for a second season. That's half the league's head coaches that needed replacing. The league looked for replacement candidates with strong NFL or college football ties. Mi sion accomplished. The league hired John DeFilippo, Ray Horton, Curtis Johnson and Mike Nolan. All have decades of NFL experience. Johnston is particularly happy that all have previously held head coach or coordinator positions at the NFL and/or college levels. He seemed especially enthused about the addition of the 44-year-old DeFilippo. "DeFilippo, in 2017, was one of the hottest names in the NFL as a prospective head coach," Johnston said. "For him to come to the USFL and bring his knowledge of the quarterback position to the offensive side of the football is a great opportunity for every player on the New Orleans Breakers." Johnston called Johnson a "quality guy," praised Nolan's experience as an NFL coordinator and head coach, and pointed out that Horton would have a chance to coach with his son Jarren, who is the Pittsburgh Maulers' defensive coordinator. "I mean, to lose 50 percent of your coaches from Year 1 and to find those guys interested in coming and helping the USFL family we couldn't be more happy to have them with us," he said. Johnston said that the league isn't preparing major technological changes for Season 2. It was happy with its broadcast innovations and is hoping that the league will be able to continue incorporating the drone cam, helmet cam and all-acce s sideline sound into game presentations. As far as rule changes, there are a few minor ones: Kickoffs will now take place from the 20-yard line instead of the 25 to increase the number of returnable kicks. The clock will continue to run after incomplete pa ses, except inthefinal five minutes of each half. Teams will be able to have an emergency quarterback enter the game if their two active players at the position get hurt. Fumbles in the field of play that go out of the end zone will no longer result in a touchback. They will be treated the same as all other fumbles and the offense will retain po se sion. Johnston and USFL head of officiating Mike Pereira believe that these changes will create more excitement. They also will help to shorten games and ensure that they are completed within their three-hour broadcast windows. Overall, Johnston is happy with the USFL's product. Even after an offseason of change, he expects that the league will hit the ground running and find succe s once again. "I'm really excited to see what Year 2 brings," he said.
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