UFL Louisville Kings head coach Chris Redman announced his staff for the 2026 season.
Jamie Sharper, Defensive Coordinator:
Jamie Sharper, a name familiar to fans of spring football, is the Kings’ defensive coordinator. A former linebacker who played for the University of Virginia, Sharper was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft. Along with Redman, he earned a ring in 2001 as a member of Baltimore’s Super Bowl team when the 12-4 Ravens dominated the 12-4 New York Giants by a score of 34-7.
After five seasons with the Ravens, Sharper was selected by the Houston Texans in the 2002 expansion draft. During his two years with the team, he led the league with a combined total of 301 tackles. In 2004, while playing for the Seattle Seahawks, Sharper appeared in his second Super Bowl. Although he didn’t miss any games for Seattle, Sharper retired after that season due to a knee injury.
Turning to coaching in 2016, Sharper began as a high school linebackers coach before becoming an assistant defensive line coach in 2018 for Georgetown University. After he was promoted to defensive line coach in 2021, Sharper was hired by the XFL D.C. Defenders the following season as the DL and special teams coach.
In addition to his responsibility as DC, Sharper will also coach the Kings’ defensive line.
Steve Logan, Offensive Coordinator:
In a coaching career spanning more than five decades, Steve Logan gained experience at the collegiate level, the NFL, as well as the AAF. Throughout his career, he’s served in a wide spectrum of coaching positions from quarterbacks to wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends.
East Carolina University hired Logan in 1989 as a running backs coach. Three years later, he was promoted to head coach, where he compiled a winning record during his decade-long tenure. Returning to the U.S in 2007 after five years as a coach for NFL Europe, he took over as the offensive coordinator for Boston College. Working with young quarterback Matt Ryan, he helped him earn the AAC Offensive Player of the Year Award.
Logan’s success at B.C. led to coaching opportunities with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under head coach Raheem Morris from 2009-2011. When Morris was fired in 2011, his entire staff was subsequently dismissed as well. In 2015, he was hired as the quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers.
Although new to the UFL, he previously coached spring football with the AAF Birmingham Iron in 2019. It’s also possible that Logan is acquainted with quarterback Jason Bean since the two share a connection through the Kansas Jayhawks.
Early in his career, Logan coached a junior college football program in Hutchinson, Kansas. Named the Kansas Jayhawks Conference Coach of the Year, Logan undoubtedly followed the University of Kansas program. Over the years as an alumnae of the program, he undoubtedly cheered Bean’s success in the 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
Tony Banks, Wide Receivers Coach:
A graduate of Michigan State University, Tony Banks spent a decade as an NFL quarterback. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in 1996 in the second round with the 42nd pick as the first quarterback drafted that year. After two years with the Rams, Banks joined the Baltimore Ravens and was a teammate of Jamie Sharper when the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2001. Subsequent stints with the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and the Houston Texans followed. Although serving as a WR coach for the Kings will be his first professional football coaching position, Banks inherits a talented wide receivers room, including experienced UFL players Jonathan Adams, Kwamie Lassiter, and newcomer Dez Fitzpatrick.
Jeff Jagodzinski, Tight Ends Coach:
Throughout his coaching career, Jeff Jagodzinski was an offensive coordinator for several NFL teams. Additionally, he has an impressive resume of collegiate and spring football coaching roles, including an overlapping role in 2007 as the head coach at Boston College when Steve Logan was the QB coach. Two years later, the pair worked together again in Tampa Bay with Jagodzinski as the OC.
Now, Jagodzinski assumes responsibility for the Louisville tight ends room, including former Memphis Showboats TE Chris Pierce and former NFL player Jalen Wydermyer. During his time at Texas A&M, Wydermyer was a collegiate standout, recording 118 receptions for 1,468 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Although Pierce only spent one season with the showboats, he previously played for the Birmingham Stallions in the UFL’s inaugural season and spent time on the Carolina Panthers practice squad. He signed with the Showboats on Jan. 22, 2025.
Breno Giacomini, Offensive Line Coach:
A graduate of the University of Louisville, Breno Giacomini was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played in the league for 10 years, during which time he earned a Super Bowl ring in 2014, playing as a member of the Seattle Seahawks. The year Seattle emerged victorious, beating the Denver Broncos by a score of 43-8. Now, Giacomini returns to Louisville to coach the Kings’ offensive line. Like Banks, Giacomini is a first-time coach.
Chris McAlister, Defensive Back Coach:
A three-time NFL Pro Bowl cornerback, Chris McAlister is now the coach for the Louisville DBs. A former first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 1999, McAlister was the 10th overall pick. A native of California, McAlister grew up in the shadow of the Rose Bowl, where he played quarterback at Pasadena High School. Recognized as the state MVP his senior year, he recorded a record of 1,153 passing yards, 1,302 rushing yards, while returning three punts and two interceptions for touchdowns.
McAlister continued to excel, smashing records as a star cornerback for Arizona. He set a school record with a career total of 18 interceptions. McAlister made history as only the 7th collegiate player to return a kickoff, punt, and interception for touchdowns in a single season.
Distinguishing himself in the NFL, McAlister was a teammate of Sharper, Banks, and Jackson during the Ravens’ 2001 Super Bowl victory, where he came up with a key interception.
Brad Jackson, Linebacker Coach:
Selected in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins, Brad Jackson holds the record for the program’s third leading tackler at the University of Cincinnati. After briefly spending time on the Dolphins’ practice squad, he was poached by the Baltimore Ravens during the 1998 season. Jackson was also teammates with Sharper, Banks, and McAlister during the Ravens’ 2001 Super Bowl victory.
What stands out about Redman’s choices is the overlapping history shared by staff members. Four of the coaches (Sharper, Banks, McAlister, and Jackson) were members with Redman on the 2001 Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl-winning team. Logan and Jagodzinski previously worked together at Boston College and as members of the Tampa Bay coaching staff.
The fact that these men know each other as teammates and as coaching staff members suggests a common bond and the ability to work well together. Furthermore, despite his own lack of coaching experience, Redman is undeterred by the fact that his staff is also comprised of several first-time coaches.
Bringing a wealth of experience as players who reached the pinnacle of success in the NFL gives these coaches instant locker room credibility that may negate the need for previous coaching expertise.
