Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › Martz to coach in new spring league?
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April 20, 2018 at 10:33 pm #85292
znModeratorMike Martz Accepts Head Coaching Job In San Diego For New Pro Football League
The former St. Louis Rams head coach told KMOX he has “tentatively” accepted the job in the AAF.APRIL 20, 2018
ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – Mike Martz has stayed out of the limelight in football since he ended his 19-year NFL coaching career in 2011, but he will return to the professional game next February in San Diego. He told KMOX’s Mike Claiborne that he has agreed to be a head coach in the recently announced Alliance of American Football.
The AAF is the new professional spring league created by television and film producer Charlie Ebersol, Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Polian, four-time All-Pro Jared Allen and two-time Super Bowl champions Justin Tuck and Troy Polamalu. The eight-team league will play its first games on Feb. 9, 2019, one week after Super Bowl LIII, with one game per week airing live on CBS.
The league’s creators are keeping a lot of information under wraps and thus far have only announced the host city and head coach of one of its eight teams. The Orlando Alliance will be coached by college football Hall of Famer Steve Spurrier.
Martz is just the second head coach and San Diego is the second host city we’ve heard from.
“I agreed to do it here in San Diego,” Martz says. “It’s being formalized now, but I tentatively agreed to do it.”
Martz currently lives in San Diego – the city which just lost the Chargers franchise to Los Angeles at the start of last year’s NFL season.
Martz’s career in the NFL included a Super Bowl victory in 2000 with St. Louis, as offensive coordinator under Dick Vermeil. The next year he was named head coach in St. Louis and two seasons later took the Rams back to the Super Bowl. He was 53-32 in six years with St. Louis, then between 2006-11 was an offensive coordinator in Detroit, San Francisco and Chicago. Since 2011 he hasn’t coached in the NFL.
Since the announcement of the AAF last month, Martz’s name has been rumored among a number for former NFL coaches as possible targets. The Sporting News listed his name along side Mike Singletary, Rick Neuheisel, Jeff Fischer, Rob Ryan, Pepper Johnson and Jim Fassel.
“I thought, what a great opportunity to hire a bunch of players, mixed in with some coaches that are done coaching, that are good mentors for them, that have this wealth of information,” Martz says. “And it can be a league that is preparing them for the NFL.”Each team in the league will have a roster of 50 players, created through regional drafts. The rules of the game have a few differences from the NFL, including two-and-half hour games, 30-second play clock, no kickoffs and mandatory 2-point conversions. The teams will all be owned by the league itself.
Martz believes a benefit of the league will not only be for the development of NFL players, but also NFL coaches.
“How do you teach them how to coach the right way? I think this is a great opportunity to do that,” Martz says.
The AAF is currently selling season tickets for the Orlando Alliance, who will play at University of Central Florida’s Spectrum Stadium.
April 21, 2018 at 7:00 am #85295
wvParticipantI think a professional ‘minor league’ is a good idea, if thats what the concept is. There oughta be a place young footballers can learn and grow outside of college. Like in baseball.
I think. I dunno. The concussion thing looms over everything, of course.
w
vApril 23, 2018 at 12:30 am #85331
joemadParticipanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_of_American_Football
Teams will have 50 players on each roster, with some selected by a territorial draft.[4]
Telecasts will feature no television timeouts and 60 percent fewer commercials, with the league aiming for an approximate real-time game length of 150 minutes, down from just over 180 in the NFL.[4][3]
All teams must attempt two-point conversions after each touchdown; there will be no extra point kicks.[3]
There will be no kickoffs; all possessions will begin on each team’s own 25-yard line, the same as touchbacks in the NFL and NCAA. The team on defense can keep the ball, in lieu of an onside kick, by attempting a scrimmage play from their own 35-yard line and gaining at least 10 yards.[3][1]
The play clock will run only 30 seconds, 10 seconds shorter than in the NFL.[3]
Two coach’s challenges per team are the only replays.[3]
Outside organizations will handle head-safety protocols.[7]April 23, 2018 at 8:33 am #85332znModeratorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_of_American_Football
Teams will have 50 players on each roster, with some selected by a territorial draft.[4]
Telecasts will feature no television timeouts and 60 percent fewer commercials, with the league aiming for an approximate real-time game length of 150 minutes, down from just over 180 in the NFL.[4][3]
All teams must attempt two-point conversions after each touchdown; there will be no extra point kicks.[3]
There will be no kickoffs; all possessions will begin on each team’s own 25-yard line, the same as touchbacks in the NFL and NCAA. The team on defense can keep the ball, in lieu of an onside kick, by attempting a scrimmage play from their own 35-yard line and gaining at least 10 yards.[3][1]
The play clock will run only 30 seconds, 10 seconds shorter than in the NFL.[3]
Two coach’s challenges per team are the only replays.[3]
Outside organizations will handle head-safety protocols.[7]This is all interesting. The question then becomes, can this league serve as a spring league/”NFL Europe” for the NFL. Let’s say each NFL team can assign 3 players to the new league. Assign, or sponsor (the way Warner was sponsored in Europe).
April 23, 2018 at 2:49 pm #85339joemadParticipantyes, Euro league was kind of cool…… Summer league concept for the NFL have been around since New Orleans wanted to land “pro football” for their planned “Superdome” …. with a spring league in 1965….
USFL was based on the same precedence, but some asshole who owned the NJ Generals wanted to compete in the fall months directly against the NFL to worm his way into the league:
USFL WIKI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Football_League
The ideas behind the USFL were conceived in 1965 by New Orleans businessman David Dixon, who saw a market for a professional football league that would play in the summer, when the National Football League and college football were in their off-season. Dixon had been a key player in the construction of the Louisiana Superdome and the expansion of the NFL into New Orleans in 1967.[1] He developed “The Dixon Plan”—a blueprint for the USFL based upon securing NFL-caliber stadiums in top TV markets, securing a national TV broadcast contract, and controlling spending—and found investors willing to buy in.
In 1985, the USFL voted to move from a spring to a fall schedule in 1986 to compete directly with the NFL. This was done at the urging of New Jersey Generals majority owner Donald Trump and a handful of other owners as a way to force a merger between the leagues. As part of this strategy, the USFL filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the National Football League in 1986, and a jury ruled that the NFL had violated anti-monopoly laws. However, in a victory in name only, the USFL was awarded a judgment of just $1, which under anti-trust laws, was tripled to $3.[2] This court decision effectively ended the USFL’s existence. The league never played the 1986 season, and by the time it folded, it had lost over US$163 million.
April 23, 2018 at 6:50 pm #85345
HerzogParticipanttrump killed the USFL… sounds about right
April 23, 2018 at 8:41 pm #85347
ZooeyModeratortrump killed the USFL… sounds about right
He was making football great again.
May 3, 2018 at 1:22 am #85841znModeratorSpring league Alliance of American Football to launch in 2019 on CBS
The league is the brainchild of the man who directed the ’30 for 30′ documentary about the XFL
Ryan Wilson
The XFL, the controversial football league founded by Vince McMahon in 1999 that lasted one season, is set to return in 2020. But it won’t be the only new professional football league — or even the first to begin play.
Charlie Ebersol — the son of NBC executive Dick Ebersol, McMahon’s partner during the XFL’s first stint — announced in a press release that the Alliance of American Football will debut on Feb. 9, 2019 on CBS.
The younger Ebersol, who directed ESPN’s “30 for 30” documentary on the XFL, brought in former NFL general manager Bill Polian to help oversee the league. Former Steelers safety Troy Polamalu will oversee the player side and former USC standout and executive J.K. McKay will oversee the team side. Advisors include former players Hines Ward and Justin Tuck, and Dick Ebersol.
“The Alliance of American Football represents a fundamental shift in the way we approach professional sports,” Charlie Ebersol said. “We believe fans and players are what’s most important, so our approach is simple — we’ve created an Alliance where fans and players share in the success of their teams.”
“Players have our commitment that we will seek the highest degree of safety and our support as we continue to invest in their success off the field with post-football career scholarships and financial wellness programs,” he continued. “With the expertise of Bill Polian and a leadership team of respected former All-Pro players and executives, we are committed to putting the best football product possible on the field every weekend, ensuring that 2018 will be the final year fans have to experience a six-month period without football.”
The plan, like the XFL, is to stock the league with players who don’t make it onto NFL rosters.
“There is a significant amount of football talent looking to begin or extend their professional careers,” Polian said. “The Alliance will provide those players with a new opportunity to compete at a high level. Our players and fans are the lifeblood of The Alliance, and we will treat them as such.”
“We will give players an opportunity to flourish on the field while establishing plans to support their personal and professional growth, health, safety and financial well-being. This is our commitment to them and will result in an exciting pro football product on the field that fans across the nation and in our markets can rally around.”
CBS will air the league’s debut game on Feb. 9, 2019, one week after Super Bowl LIII on CBS. The network will also carry the Alliance of American Football’s championship game on the final weekend of April 2019. One regular-season Alliance game will air exclusively on CBS Sports Network each week as well.
“As the Alliance of American Football launches next February we are excited to become the official television partner, adding more football to our robust programming line-up with a great package that includes two primetime games on CBS, as well as a full slate of regular-season spring football on CBS Sports Network,” said CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus. “With Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian at the helm we are confident that the product they will deliver will be entertaining, exciting, engaging and something that fans will really enjoy.”
The league will have eight teams in cities to be announced in the next three months. Rosters will have 50 players each and will be built primarily through a regionally-based draft. To differentiate the Alliance of American Football from its competitors, there will be no TV timeouts and 60 percent fewer commercials. Other differences will include no kickoffs and instead of onside kicks, the trailing team will receive the ball on their own 35-yard line facing fourth down and 10. There will also be a 30-second play clock and mandatory two-point conversion attempts after touchdowns.
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