UFL News Hub Mailbag #2 – Answering Questions on New Head Coaches, Upcoming Player Allocation Plan, More

After the more recent big announcements – and leaks – related to the upcoming UFL season, I felt it appropriate to open up the UFL News Hub mailbag for the second time, answering the questions you, dear readers, posted on social media. The first mailbag column was printed back in October, and you cand see how hindsight has changed – or confirmed – some of the things I wrote. I’ll aim for another mailbag edition after the UFL draft(s) when teams have populated their rosters and all head coaches are presumably announced. Follow me on Twitter/X, Bluesky, and Instagram, all the places you can send your questions when I send out the request.

Some questions may be edited for length and/or clarity.

Ed Helinski asks, “How long might the experiment with these new franchise locations go?”

Unfortunately, this is a reasonable question in this era of spring football where it seems no franchise is safe so long as the leagues’ existences are tenuous enough to hinge on the whims of people from the outside coming in and putting up big money. While initial ticket sales seem to be going well in at least a few of the new locations, there may be concern in a place like Orlando, which already had poor attendance for the XFL Guardians just three years ago.

However, part of the idea of moving to smaller stadiums is to both mask lower attendance on television and also for the league to pay less in rent. Therefore, lower attendance is less of a financial or visual burden in these locations. That said, each new franchise should get at least three years to prove themselves (provided the UFL itself lasts that long) before seeking greener pastures. All this movement of teams is not good for the perception of the league both nationally and locally. They really need to stay in these locations for the foreseeable future.

Chris asks, “Do you think the Birmingham Stallions have a future with the UFL? After hearing one of A.J. McCarron’s interviews, I just get the feeling Repole would rather move on to a different city?”

Birmingham survived the big-stadium purge of 2025, as Protective Field seats 47,000, less than The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, but more cavernous due to lower attendance. New owner Mike Repole could’ve pulled Birmingham and located them elsewhere – if Repole is to be believed, there were no shortage of suitors for UFL franchises during this process – but instead opted to tease the fanbase a bit in an effort to fill that stadium a little more.

One thing Birmingham has going for it is that the city is behind the franchise. The mayor memorably got involved on social media when Repole was challenging the Stallion fans to buy season tickets or he’d move the team, and the USFL got the sweetheart deal from Birmingham when the league kicked off in 2022. Right now, it sure seems like the fans will be the ones to make the decision on the future of the Stallions – by either showing up or not.

Cameron Schiller asks, “When can we expect to know all eight head coaches?”

If the players are dispersed beginning January 5 with quarterbacks as rumored, you’d imagine head coaches would all be announced by then. The UFL could wait to make public those QB allocations for a few days so as to give them more time to make the announcements. The January 9 date of College Allocation would therefore probably be the deadline to have all announced, assuming the allocations are also declared on that day. So far, we have D.C. (Shannon Harris), Orlando (Anthony Becht), Birmingham (A.J. McCarron), Columbus (Ted Ginn Jr.) and St. Louis (Ricky Proehl). It would not surprise me if more, perhaps even the rest, are announced this week.

Aaron Schiro asks, “Do you agree with the youth movement the league seems to be pushing for players and coaches?”

I’m a bit torn. I think it’ll make for some interesting storylines as the season unfolds but I worry about the lack of true coaching experience for guys like Ginn and McCarron. I remember the handwringing from XFL fans when Terrell Buckley and Hines Ward were hired for 2023, and they were old coaching hands compared to Ginn and McCarron. It’s not just about being able to lead a team through the doldrums of training camp and keep them motivated when things don’t go their way; it’s also about in-game management, communication, and so much more.

In some ways, these other coaches like Becht, who’ve not only been head coach for a few years but also are familiar with the unique timing and scoring rules of the UFL that someone like Ginn wouldn’t be, have a much bigger advantage. Again, that’s another storyline that could be emphasized this season, but you don’t want that lack of experience to completely hinder a team’s chances of competing at a high level.

As for the players, I think it’s a mistake. You have older players still capable of playing, and if they want to help support a league like the UFL and a team wants their services, they should be able to play. Talent is talent regardless of age and the UFL should not be in the business of thumbing their nose at talent. I think inherently teams will more often than not take a younger player over an older player if all things are equal for all of the obvious reasons so it’s not as if Repole’s previous comments apply to a large swath of the league. We’ll see if anything is put into practice to ensure a more youthful UFL.

Abdul Memon asks, “For the 2026 Draft Allocation Plan, it says the head coach may choose a maximum of 10 players from those designated local colleges. If a head coach only wants 2-3 guys, are they then good to have the remainder of the 64 players be from anywhere?“

Abdul is referencing the leaked documents posted by State of the Stallions on social media, showing the tentative plan for player allocation for the upcoming UFL season. The question brings up a good point, that while Repole has heavily emphasized the college allocation process, there is a way for head coaches to basically bypass it in filling out their roster.

Ulitmately, the question is what role head coaches will have in selecting players during the UFL Player Draft and the Free Agents Draft. Will head coaches have final say on draft picks, or will it be the league office and its scouting staff? If it’s the league office, you can imagine a scenario where players from those allocated colleges are weighted heavily toward their respective UFL teams. But yes, it does appear there could be a scenario where teams do not have as many players from allocated colleges as Repole would like. If that’s the case, it would not surprise me if those rules are tightened up to further encourage teams to take on those players in future seasons.

Sam Shady asks, “Why would the league choose to do another dispersal draft effectively killing any and all continuity or recognition fans can currently latch on to? Better yet how would you have handled rosters in 2026?”

One thing spring leagues, and particularly this version of the UFL, seem to undervalue is the importance of continuity. That’s continuity so that players are recognized by their fanbase, but also continuity that is inherent in competent football. Part of the reason the product put on the field by spring football teams has improved year-over-year for the last several seasons is because many of these players and teams (and coaches) have been together for three or four seasons. Practicing together, working out together, playing together more naturally breeds better game play.

I think the UFL looked at the relocated teams from last year, including the 2-8 Memphis Showboats and 1-9 San Antonio Brahmas, and didn’t feel from a competitive balance standpoint it was worth carrying over those rosters to a new team in 2026. So my plan would’ve been to do an expansion draft where those players, in addition to select players from surviving teams, are made available to the new squads. That way, you keep the bulk of the players on the teams that will carry over.

Three reasons I don’t think it happened this way: One, for competitive balance. I think they realize teams like St. Louis and Birmingham would have an advantage if they were able to keep players that have played together for years while others had brand-new rosters. Two, with so many new head coaches, the league may have felt that those coaches would not necessarily be able to utilize players already on those rosters. McCarron in Birmingham, for example, may not run a style conducive to the players Skip Holtz had, so he may want to turn that roster over anyway. Three, I believe Repole really is intent on making the college allocation aspect a big thing and starting from scratch with rosters will, in theory, allow teams to populate them more with local talent.

Ethan Fabel asks, “Who is the best player available in the UFL vet draft?

There will be two separate drafts per the document above: A draft of players that ended last year on UFL rosters, plus those that have signed with teams this off-season; and a separate draft for players not currently affiliated with the UFL. The quarterbacks will be assigned separately, so I’ll leave them out of the discussion here. Based on last year, I’d say WR Chris Rowland has to be in the conversation for the mismatches he can create on offense and for the value he brings in the return game. I’d expect his name to be called early in the receivers position group.