D.C. Defenders Survive Move From XFL to UFL
The D.C. Defenders fell just short of an XFL title in 2023, but they will get the chance to win a title in 2024 with the merger between the XFL and the USFL.
The Defenders were one of the four XFL teams to make it into the UFL, along with Arlington Renegades, San Antonio Brahmas and St. Louis Battlehawks. The quartet will play in the XFL Conference.
That means the Defenders will get another crack at Arlington, which beat them for the XFL title last spring.
Below is a recap of how the Defenders did last season and its history in the XFL.
D.C. in 2023
The Defenders were the top team in the North Division, finishing with a 9-1 record under coach Reggie Barlow, who was named XFL Coach of the Year. Barlow is returning this season.
In the playoffs, the Defenders faced the Seattle Sea Dragons in the North Division Championship game, winning 37-21.
After that, the Defenders headed to San Antonio to face the Renegades in the XFL title game, but lost 35-26.
Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta'amu was the XFL’s Offensive Player of the Year. He played in the USFL in 2022 for the Tampa Bay Bandits, where he led the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns. His rights are now currently held by the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Modern XFL History
When the XFL rebooted in 2020, D.C. had a team, but an entirely different coaching staff. Pep Hamilton was the head coach, Tanner Engstrand was the offensive coordinator and the team went through two defensive coordinators — Jeff FitzGerald and Louie Cioffi.
Those Defenders, which featured former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones and wide receiver Eli Rogers, went 3-2 to start that season before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season prematurely.
At the time, it was unclear if the XFL, re-formed under Alpha Entertainment’s Vince McMahon, would return. But later in the 2020, a group of buyers led by entertainer Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson bought the league for $15 million.
Legacy XFL History
When the XFL originally formed in 2001, the Washington D.C. area did not have a team. The closest team to that market was New York/New Jersey. That version of the XFL only lasted one season.
Football in the nation’s capital has long been dominated by the Washington Commanders, though they haven’t called the D.C. area proper home since they moved from RFK Stadium more than 20 years ago to their current stadium in Landover, Md.
UFL Provides Last Hope For Long-Term Viability
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Matthew Postins writes about baseball for Fan Nation/SI and covers Big 12 basketball for Heartland College Sports. He formerly covered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and USports football for the College Football America Yearbook.