Since Mike Repole joined forces with the UFL, change has become the norm for the Spring football league. Repole has moved teams and changed names and logos, replaced the UFL general managers with a central player personnel department, and will likely blow-up current rosters and put them back together in early January.
While all of these changes have quickly taken place in the UFL for 2026, veteran head coaches from the league are moving on and seeking more comfortable jobs. But one coach that has only found success in the UFL is former Saint Louis Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht. According to an announcement today by UFL Insider James Larsen, Anthony Becht is the new head coach of the Orlando Storm.
Obtaining Anthony Becht as the new head coach of the Orlando Storm gives the Storm a big leg up on the rest of the teams in the UFL heading into 2026. Becht matches the profile the UFL is looking to establish, with team leadership being a face and name already recognizable to the team’s fans in the region. Becht has lived in Florida for the past 20 years, giving him a foothold in the Orlando community. In addition, the UFL is currently purging its experienced coaches from the league, and Becht has been chosen to survive that purge.
Because the rest of the UFL coaches in 2026 will likely be learning on the job, the door is open for the Orlando Storm to take full control of the UFL during their first season. Becht’s football experience and knowledge make him a superior candidate in a league that sometimes lacks experience. The level of experience will allow Becht and Storm to excel in five areas in 2026.
5. Tactical Versatility
As all UFL teams prepare to start a “Re-Draft” period to build their rosters for 2026, Becht already has experience building a roster in this format. Becht should navigate the roster-building process easily after leading the Saint Louis Battlehawks through the USFL-XFL merger to build the UFL. The biggest advantage that Becht has over the rest of the coaches in the 2026 UFL is a wealth of direct experience working with the players that will form the player pool for the “Re-Draft” process, which means he should have the easiest time building a roster that fits his style of play.
4. Becht’s Ability to Develop NFL Players
In addition to his current knowledge of the UFL talent pool, he has a track record of helping his players reach the NFL. As a tight end, Becht played in the NFL for five teams and 11 seasons, including three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If a player is trying to decide whether or not he wants to play in the UFL or determine which team to play for in the UFL, the Storm will be an attractive option because of Becht’s ability to move players onto bigger and better opportunities, including running back Jacob Saylors and defensive tackle LaCale London.
3. Ability to Build a Championship Culture
Since Becht became the head coach of the Saint Louis Battlehawks in 2023, the team has been a dominant force in the XFL and during its two seasons in the UFL. Over the course of his head coaching career, Becht has a 22-8 regular season record. The Battlehawks also played in the only two XFL Conference Championship games in XFL history. Although he has a 0-2 record during the UFL playoffs, his ability to get a team to the postseason should make it easy for fans to build an attachment to the Orlando Storm in 2026.
2. Deep Ties to the Florida Community
Along with being a great head coach in the UFL, Becht is also an outstanding communicator. That ability to communicate will help Becht build unity within his team, but it will also give him a good chance to rally loyalty in the Orlando area in support of the Storm. Many Tampa Bay fans will be drawn to supporting their once-great tight end, and the fact that he is already living in Florida shows that he is not just trying to use the Storm as a stepping stone, but is likely bought into the Storm’s long-term future in the UFL.
1. Becht Expects the Storm to Win Now
While this is the first season for the Orlando Storm in the UFL, it is the third for Anthony Becht. Becht will have the most career wins among UFL head coaches. But what Becht is missing is a championship, and with all UFL teams going through a reset, the Storm have a chance to hit the ground running. If in January, Becht can get the players he needs to build the best team he can, using his vision of a championship UFL team, then the Storm should have a fast start toward becoming a legacy of greatness in the UFL.
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3 Comments
by 4th&long
Can’t argue with any of that analysis
UFL once again leveraging its one owner corp status to make a move that’s benefits the whole. UFL gets an experienced and winning spring FB coach into one of its not only new but bigger TV markets, Becht gets closer to his real home. Win-win for UFL.
Becht is also a great league cheerleader. Loves a mic and camera, works the local media well.
More Buzz in 5 months of MR than 3 years of DG and Russ. And its not slowing down.
What’s there Not to like.
UFL.. LFG!
by Frank Dux
What a huge disservice to an already eroding fan base in St Louis. I hope Orlando stumbles and stumbles badly.
by Gary Winter
I’m curious, is this move made for Anthony Becht, the City of Orlando or Mike Repole (Who lives in or near Orlando.)? Why is it important for Orlando to have an experienced coach while everyone else (It appears.) are going to have new, inexperienced coaches? It seems a bit like MR makes decisions on the fly without much fore thought. Moving Becht to Orlando is fine…for Orlando. Once MR blows up the rosters, his home team will have a coach in place who is familiar with the league’s players and will know who to pickup to fill out his roster. The other teams? Good luck. Why is Orlando special and not Columbus or Louisville when naming a coach? Don’t those franchises need “setting up”?
Anthony Becht’s coaching ability really isn’t the issue so much as his familiarity with players and the fact that this year, it appears that familiarity is going to be extremely important. It feels very unfair to the rest of the league. Certainly not a good look, but a look brought on by quick, rash decisions with no thought to the back end of that decision.
I was truly excited when Mike Repole bought into the UFL. Finally some action! Well, just like owners elsewhere, with his investment, he has become a football expert along with his supposed great marketing skills. Well, I have no idea how the other old markets are being handled but here in St. Louis, no ads have been run trying to sell season tickets or the overpriced merch, our coach was sent to Orlando because he lives there (Even though he coaches out of Texas.) and we can’t even get a peak at something as simple as newly designed uniforms. WTF? All attention is going to the new cities and that’s ok as long as the older cities aren’t being ignored. I’m concerned that the way the league is going, our attendance is going to drop dramatically and this guy will move us to Utah or somewhere because we have a large venue that we’re playing out of and “the optics aren’t good”.