This week, The Football Beat will have previews of all eight of the United Football League (UFL) teams prior to the league’s kickoff next weekend.
And there’s a major update for one of them the week before the season starts.
(Washington) D.C. Defenders coach Reggie Barlow is in the wind.
Barlow has accepted the head football coaching vacancy at Tennessee State University, replacing Eddie George, who took the coaching job at Bowling Green.
Barlow led the Defenders for two seasons, and had a 13-7 record. He was the XFL Coach of the Year in 2023.
The UFL, which owns each of its eight franchises, has promoted within the Defenders coaching staff, and quarterbacks coach Shannon Harris will now be the head coach. Also on the Defenders’ staff is Gregg Williams, the former NFL defensive coordinator for many years and a handful of franchises.
But Harris is the pick as Barlow’s replacement, and the Defenders are on a short clock; they open the 2025 season at home against the defending (no pun intended) UFL champion, the Birmingham Stallions, next Sunday, March 30.
The Stallions actually are three-time defending champs: they were the USFL’s champions in both 2022 and 2023, and won the UFL title last spring, the first year the league played, beating the San Antonio Brahmas in the UFL Championship Game on June 16, 2024, in St. Louis.
The Football Beat will have previews of all eight of the UFL teams, along with rosters and schedules, this week, beginning on Monday with the aforementioned Stallions and Brahmas. We’ll have two previews a day, Monday through Thursday, then game previews on Friday for next weekend’s opening weekend.
