TAMPA, Fla. — Todd Haley has been named head coach of the resurrected Tampa Bay Bandits football team.
The United States Football League, or USFL, announced Thursday that Haley and other head coaches across the league will be responsible for player evaluation and selection in addition to the team's on-field strategy.
Haley joined Sarasota's Riverview Rams in 2020 to be the team's offensive coordinator after spending years in the NFL. Prior to coaching at the high school level, he spent time with the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs and others.
"This is a tremendous opportunity for me to get back into coaching at the professional level," Haley said in a statement. "It’s been a while since I led a team on-field, and I’ve missed it. It’s also rare that a head coach, as it was once put, gets to pick all the groceries and fix the meal.
"This is going to be a lot of fun and I expect the fans to enjoy the competition."
The new football league owned by Fox Sports will be comprised of eight teams split into two divisions, the north and south, with a 10-game season running from mid-April through mid-June. Games are slated to air on Fox Sports, Fox, FS1, NBC, USA Network and the streaming service Peacock.
"Today is a monumental day for the new USFL as we hit the 100 days to kickoff mark," USFL President of Football Operations Brian Woods said in a statement.
Today's USFL organization has no ties to the defunct USFL from the 1980s, according to earlier reports.
USFL launches on April 16.
