Brian Westbrook, Other Key Figures Not Making Transition to UFL
Condensing two leagues has led to the dismissal of many employees from both the USFL and XFL who are not needed in the transition, largely due to redundancies in positions. The departures extend beyond just the teams, players and coaches who were left on the outside looking in following the merger; several occurred before the merger teams were approved and finalized.
For the XFL, EVP of Football Ops Mark Ross will not be coming along for the ride, as well as Jay Rothman and Mandy Cohen with broadcast operations.
The USFL and XFL both had public relations heads, with Darryn James working for the former and Jeff Altstadter for the latter. Altstadter has been retained going forward.
Beloved former NFL player Brian Westbrook Sr., who was the XFL's Director of Player Development last season, has not been retained. In his role, Westbrook oversaw team matters related to player experience, player and coach relations, off-field player development and player marketing.
Another former NFL player who had a role for the XFL in development doesn't appear to be returning to the new league. Jordan Palmer, who helped assist the league's quarterbacks with training sessions a year ago, is not on the books to return.
The football operations side sees Russ Brandon named as the league president, with Daryl Moose Johnston reporting to him as president of football operations. Under Moose is a combination of USFL and XFL personnel execs: Jim Popp, Doug Whaley, Russell Giglio, Doug West and David Dykeman.
Promises Kept? Continued Vision for 50/50 XFL-USFL Merger
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Mike Mitchell is a pro football writer/insider with decades of experience covering and following multiple leagues. He covers the New York Jets for TheJetPress.com at FanSided. He has also written for XFL Board and at Hub Publishing covering the CFL, XFL and USFL.