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Revision as of 05:06, 23 February 2011 by DASHBot (talk | contribs) (Removing fair use file(s), per WP:NFCC#9 (Shutoff | Log ))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Template:United Football League (2009) team The Florida Tuskers were a professional American football team in Orlando, Florida that played in the United Football League. The team played its home games at the Citrus Bowl. Their head coach for the 2009 season was Jim Haslett, who led the team to the 2009 UFL Championship Game. Their head coach and general manager for the 2010 was Jay Gruden. The team folded after the 2010 season and partially merged with the expansion franchise, Virginia Destroyers.
Franchise history
2009 season
Main article: 2009 Florida Tuskers season See also: 2009 UFL seasonOrlando was awarded a franchise for the UFL's 2009 season. Former New Orleans Saints and St. Louis Rams head coach Jim Haslett was named the first head coach of the team on March 11, 2009.
Tryouts for the four teams that would play in the 2009 season took place in Orlando and Las Vegas during the summer, with the draft taking place on June 19. With their first selection, the Tuskers picked Fred Bledsoe, who had gone undrafted in the 2008 NFL Draft before signing with the Green Bay Packers as a practice squad member.
The team's name, along with its colors and uniforms, were unveiled to the public in August, two months before the start of the season. On the same day it was announced that the Tampa Bay Rays had bought interest in the team.
In their inaugural season, the Tuskers were led by quarterback Brooks Bollinger, and wide receiver Taye Biddle. Bollinger was the league leader in passing yards, while Biddle led in receiving yards. On the defensive side of the ball, Odell Thurman led the team in tackles, Patrick Chukwurah was the league leader in sacks, and Jerome Carter led the league in interceptions.
The team was noted for having a large number of former players from the nearby Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Among the Buccaneer alumnus were Matt Bryant, who once kicked a game-winning 62-yard field goal as time expired, which is also the third-longest successful attempt in NFL history, Micheal Spurlock, the first player in Tampa Bay history to return a kickoff for a touchdown, and Super Bowl XXXVII MVP Dexter Jackson.
The Tuskers put together a league-best undefeated 6–0 record in the regular season, clinching a spot in the championship game in Week 4. However in the championship game, the Tuskers were beaten by the Las Vegas Locomotives, losing on a game-winning field goal in overtime. Despite the team being unable to complete a perfect season, Jim Haslett was named Coach of the Year, while Bollinger was given the league's MVP award.
2010 season
Main article: 2010 Florida Tuskers season See also: 2010 UFL seasonIn January 2010, head coach Jim Haslett left the team to become the defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins. On February 9, 2010, UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue named Jay Gruden as head coach and general manager. On the same day it was announced that the Tampa Bay Rays had sold their interest in the team, meaning the Tuskers would be fully based in Orlando for the 2010 season. After several months of league ownership, a group led by Joe Theismann purchased the team in October 2010. The Tuskers signed WYGM as their radio affiliate, becoming the second UFL team to have one.
Florida extended their regular season winning streak to seven games when they defeated the Las Vegas Locos in their opener on September 18, 27–20. The Tuskers lost their first regular season game in franchise history in week 2 when they were defeated by the Sacramento Mountain Lions, 24–20. They dropped their next contest on September 30 against the Locos, 20–17, the first time Las Vegas had beaten Florida in a regular season matchup. After splitting their next two games, the Tuskers were 2–3 and in danger of being eliminated from championship contention. After backup quarterback Chris Greisen became the new starter in week 8, the Tuskers went on to win their final three games, sending them back to the championship game, once again facing Las Vegas.
2010 schedule
| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Game site | Attendance | TV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Team record | |||||||
| 1 | Saturday, September 18 | 11:00 p.m. ET | at Las Vegas Locomotives | W 27–20 | 1–0 | Sam Boyd Stadium | 9,103 | HDNet |
| 2 | Saturday, September 25 | 11:00 p.m. ET | at Sacramento Mountain Lions | L 20–24 | 1–1 | Hornet Stadium | 20,000 | Versus |
| 3 | Thursday, September 30 | 6:00 p.m. ET | Las Vegas Locomotives | L 17–20 | 1–2 | Citrus Bowl | 9,053 | Versus |
| 4 | Saturday, October 9 | 3:00 p.m. ET | at Hartford Colonials | W 33–20 | 2–2 | Rentschler Field | 14,468 | Versus |
| 5 | Bye | |||||||
| 6 | Thursday, October 21 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Sacramento Mountain Lions | L 17–21 | 2–3 | Citrus Bowl | 10,066 | HDNet |
| 7 | Bye | |||||||
| 8 | Friday, November 5 | 8:00 p.m. ET | Omaha Nighthawks | W 31–14 | 3–3 | Citrus Bowl | 9,203 | HDNet |
| 9 | Thursday, November 11 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Hartford Colonials | W 41–7 | 4–3 | Citrus Bowl | 9,367 | HDNet |
| 10 | Friday, November 19 | 8:30 p.m. ET | at Omaha Nighthawks | W 27–10 | 5–3 | Rosenblatt Stadium | 21,106 | HDNet |
2011
On January 12, 2011, it was announced that the UFL would cease operations in Orlando. Jay Gruden and staff would relocate to the new Virginia Destroyers team.
Season-by-season records
| Season | W | L | T | Avg. | Finish | Postseason | Awards |
| 2009 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1st | Lost Championship Game (Las Vegas) 20–17 (OT) | Brooks Bollinger (Season MVP) Jim Haslett (COY) |
| 2010 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 2nd | Lost Championship Game (Las Vegas) 23-20 | |
| Totals | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | - | 0–2 | - |
| Regular season and playoffs | 11 | 5 | 0 | .687 | - | - | - |
Records vs. teams
| Team | Record | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Hartford Colonials | 4–0 | 1.000 |
| Las Vegas Locomotives | 3–3 | .500 |
| Omaha Nighthawks | 2–0 | 1.000 |
| Sacramento Mountain Lions | 2–2 | .500 |
| Virginia Destroyers | 0–0 | .000 |
- Note: This includes postseason games.
Home, away, and neutral records
| Location | Record | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Home | 5–2 | .714 |
| Away | 6–1 | .857 |
| Neutral | 0–2 | .000 |
See Also
References
- "UFL Names Jim Haslett Head Coach of the Orlando Franchise". United Football League. 2009-03-11. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
- "United Football League Introduces Florida Tuskers as Team Name & Unveils Uniforms". United Football League. 2009-08-12. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
- Lancaster, Marc (2009-08-12). "Rays buy into UFL franchise, slate game at Trop". Tampa Bay Online. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
- Harry, Chris (2009-10-28). "Former Bucs presence being felt in UFL". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
- "United Football League Announces Season-End Awards". UFL. 2009-12-02. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- "Redskins hire Jim Haslett as defensive coordinator". The Washington Post. 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - "United Football League Names Jay Gruden Head Coach of Florida Tuskers". United Football League. 2010-02-09. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
- "Florida Tuskers To Make Orlando Home". United Football League. 2010-02-09. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
- "WYGM to Air Tuskers Games in 2010". United Football League. 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
- Dusty Sloan (November 20, 2010). "Tuskers to Join Locos in "The Championship" Rematch". United Football League. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
- "Jay Gruden to Coach the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League".
External links
| Virginia Destroyers | |
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| Key personnel |
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| UFL championships (1) | |
| UFL championship game appearances (3) | |
| Seasons (4) | |
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| United Football League (2009–2012) | |
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Virgina Destoyers
Template:United Football League (2009) team The Virginia Destroyers are a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They are scheduled to play in the United Football League (UFL) beginning in the 2011 season. They will play their home games at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The team is a successor to the Florida Tuskers, who began play as a charter UFL franchise in Orlando, Florida in 2009; the Tuskers appeared in both of the UFL Championship Games (losing both) before the team ceased operations and moved the remnants of the team to Virginia Beach to assume the identity (and some executive staff) of a previously announced expansion team that was to begin play in 2011.
History
Organizing
The UFL originally announced an expansion team based in Norfolk, Virginia, to begin play in 2011. Jim Speros, owner of the Baltimore Stallions and (briefly) the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, was named as the team's owner, but relinquished control of the team to the league on August 23, 2010 opening up bidding to other parties. Former NFL and USFL quarterback Doug Williams later was named the team's general manager. On February 21, 2011, Williams resigned from the Destroyers to become the head coach at Grambling State University.
2011 season
Joe Moglia, chairman of TD Ameritrade and a former college coordinator who last coached football in the 1980s, was given the head coaching position at the behest of league commissioner Michael Huyghue in November 2010; Williams had no input on the hire. However, in January 2011, the league announced Moglia would instead coach the Omaha Nighthawks.
Meanwhile, on January 12, 2011, the league announced that the Tuskers ceased operations in Orlando and moved to Virginia, with Jay Gruden remaining as the Destroyers' coach. Bret Munsey, the Tuskers' director of player personnel, assumed authority over player personnel upon Williams' resignation. Theismann, a minority owner of the team in Florida, was relegated to being a consultant for the league. In February 2011, Gruden was hired by the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL as their offensive coordinator.
Current personnel
Current staff
Template:Virginia Destroyers staff
Current roster
Template:Virginia Destroyers roster
References
- Cordes, Henry (2011-02-21). Full seats, empty pockets. Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
- "Statement on UFL Virginia". United Football League. 2010-08-20. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- "United Football League Board Grants Conditional Approval for Norfolk, Virginia, To Host Sixth Team". United Football League. 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
- "UFL to add Virginia team for 2011 season". Associated Press. Sports Illustrated. 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
- George, Thomas (2010-05-18). "Washington Redskins should bring Doug Williams home again". FanHouse. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
- Burke, Monte (2010-11-07). TD Ameritrade's Joe Moglia lands football coaching job. Forbes. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
- Robinson, Tom (2010-11-11). Destroyers' GM: Commissioner made call on coach. The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
- Karpeles, Robert (2011-01-12). "Joe Moglia to Coach Omaha Nighthawks". FanHouse. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
- "Jay Gruden to Coach the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League". United Football League. 2011-01-12. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
See also
External links
| Virginia Destroyers | |
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| Head coaches | |
| Key personnel |
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| UFL championships (1) | |
| UFL championship game appearances (3) | |
| Seasons (4) | |
| League affiliation | |
| United Football League (2009–2012) | |
|---|---|
| Teams | |
| Owners |
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| Front office |
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| Drafts | |
| Seasons | |
| Championships | |
| Stadiums | |
