Friday, January 25, 2019

New Pro Football League To Feature Five Horned Frogs

 

The Alliance of American Football (AAF), a new professional football league, is set to begin play on Saturday, February 9, just six days following the National Football League's (NFL) Super Bowl LIII on Sunday, February 3. 

Five Horned Frogs will be playing on AAF teams. They are Aaron Greene, Nick Orr, John Diarse, Cole Hunt and Tayo Fabuluje.

The AAF consists of eight teams: Atlanta Legends, Birmingham Iron, Memphis Express, Orlando Apollos, Arizona Hotshots, Salt Lake Stallions, San Antonio Commanders, and San Diego Fleet.

Green, Diarse, Hunt and Orr are with San Antonio. Fabuluje is with Memphis.

Head coach of the San Antonio is Mike Riley. Riley was the head football coach at the University of Nebraska from 2015 to 2017. Prior to Nebraska, he was the head coach at Oregon State from 2003 to 2014. Riley also has coached professional football, serving as head coach of the San Diego Chargers of the NFL from 1999 to 2001 and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Fotball League (CFL) from 1987 to 1990.

General Manager of the Commanders is former Dallas Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston.

The Commanders will play their home games in the Alamodome.

Head coach of Memphis is Mike Singletary. After playing at Baylor, Singletary was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft. After a standout professional career, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998. Singletary then pursued a career as a coach, first as a linebackers coach for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, then as a linebackers coach for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. In 2008, the 49ers promoted Singletary to the head coaching position after previous head coach Mike Nolan was fired during the season. Singetary remained in that position until he was fired after the 49ers were eliminated from playoff contention with one game remaining in the 2010 season. He then had coaching stints with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams.

General Manager of the Express is Will Lewis. Lewis is a former professional football player in the NFL and CFL. He also served for 20 years as an executive in the NFL, including tenures with the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs. Most notably, he was the Seahawks' vice president of football operations from 2010 to 2012.

The Express will play their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

The inaugural AAF season will be 10 weeks long (40 games). There will be a four-team playoff, followed by a championship game at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, during the weekend of April 26–28.

All of the teams are owned and operated by the league. As part of its formation, the AAF announced broadcast deals with CBS Sports. Opening day (consisting of two regionally-televised matches) and the championship game will air on CBS. The CBS Sports Network will air at least one game per week. Local stations are expected to pick up the other games for broadcast. Telecasts will feature no television timeouts and 60 percent fewer commercials.

Teams will have 50 players on each roster.

There will be no kickoffs. Halves, odd overtime periods and after scores will begin on each team's own 25-yard line.. In lieu of an onside kick, a team can keep possession of the ball by attempting a scrimmage play from their own 35-yard line and gaining at least 10 yards.

There will be no extra-point kicks. All teams must attempt two-point conversions after a touchdown.

There will be a 30-second play clock. In the NFL, there is a 40-second play clock.

The AAF was announced on March 20, 2018, by filmmaker Charlie Ebersol. The AAF will be overseen by former NFL general manager Bill Polian, former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and executive J.K. McKay.


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