USFL ready to make a comeback

[starbuck]

yes, the USFL is set to return

United States Football League | Portal

[BALLCOACH]

The USFL was the only football league that gave the NFL fits. This could be interesting to see.

[R13]

No league will ever come close to the NFL's status.

[GC_Quincy]

Maybe not, but the USFL was very good back then.

[starbuck]

No league will ever come close to the NFL's status.

never say never, the AFL was dismissed as a nothing league at one time .

USFL threw the money around and got some big names coming out of college. Reggie White, Steve Young,Jim Kelly and Hershel Walker (who was great in Dallas till they traded him to the Vikings, where the Vikings couldn't figure out GIVE HIM THE BALL. Dallas build a dynasty on that trade).

Dan Marino was the first player drafted by a USFL team, but never signed. The Los Angeles Express picked him with the 1st overall pick. Jerry Rice was also selected first overall pick in the 1985 Draft, by the Birmingham Stallions, but never played a game for them.

[dmike2009]

are the michigan panthers comming back? My cousin Jim Stanley (who recently retired from the Arizona Cardinals as director of player personel) was the head coach of the panthers when they became the first usfl team to win the league championship bowl. I remember I think it was 83 being a fan before the first game, he was mom's first cousin and he sent us actual team jerseys, coaches hats and other panthers stuff. We watched every game the panthers played on tv, and were thrilled when they won the title in the league's first year. I never met the man until 1999 when my grandfather (his favorite uncle) passed away. Jim was from Lynch or benham KY near Appy, and stayed with my mom's parent's his final year of high school in Jenkins KY. Paul "bear" bryant made a recruiting visit to that house when my mom was a child. So if this league does get off the ground, I will be pulling for the Panthers. Although it will be different from the team he coached, it will be tradition.
Forgive me if this is too long, but I found this about him on the web, after reading this, I would have to say Jim Stanley had one of the most notable careers in football, and you hadn't heard of him until now

Jim Stanley
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For the baseball player, see Jim Stanley (baseball).

Jim Stanley may be best known as the head football coach of the 1983 USFL champion Michigan Panthers, but his career in football is a long and storied one. Stanley was a 3 year starter for Paul "Bear" Bryant's Texas A&M Aggies teams in the 1950's. He was a member of the undefeated 1956 A&M team. He began his coaching career in Amarillo, TX, coaching high school football from 1959-1960. He served as defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State from 1963-68, before moving to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1969-70, and then the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1971-72.

He returned to Stillwater to become the head coach of the OSU Cowboys in 1973. He coached at Oklahoma State University from 1973 to 1978, emassing a career record of 35-31-2. His Cowboys teams earned a Fiesta Bowl victory in 1974 and his 1976 team ended the season 9-3 finishing as a Big 8 co-champion on their way to a Tangerine Bowl victory. His success at OSU earned him many accolades, including being invited to coach 3 collegiate all-star bowl games --- the 1973 East-West Shrine Game, the 1977 Hula Bowl, and the 1977 Japan Bowl.

In 1978 the Big Eight Conference (now the Big 12) instituted an investigation into the Oklahoma State University football program in response to allegations that it had violated various NCAA rules and regulations, while Stanley was head coach. Stanley successfully filed suit against the conference to require it to provide various due process protections in its final hearing on the charges.[1] A decade later, however, the United States Supreme Court, in a case involving UNLV Coach Jerry Tarkanian, held that the 14th Amendment's due process guarantees were not applicable to the NCAA and similar athletic organizations, since their investigations did not amount to the requisite state action necessary for the constitutional protections to apply.[2]

After OSU, Stanley served as the defensive line coach for the New York Giants in 1979 and the Atlanta Falcons from 1980-1982 before moving to the USFL. Stanley was in the running to be the head coach of the USFL's Birmingham Stallions, but was passed over for Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Line coach Rollie Dotsch.

Stanley was later signed by the Panthers to serve as their head coach, a position he held in both of their seasons (1983 and 1984). His 1983 team won the league championship after starting off 1-4. Following the poor start, Stanley recognized that his offensive line was too porous to allow rookie QB Bobby Hebert to succeed and so he lobbied management to bring in some veteran NFL offensive linemen to fill the gaps. Management addressed the issue by signing a bevy of experienced offensive linemen in OG Tyrone McGriff and OG Thom Dornbrook of the NY Giants and OT Ray Pinney of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Dornbrook and McGriff would both make USFL all-league teams in 1983 and Pinney was considered one of the best tackles in the league. The team finished the regular season 11-2 and then ran through the playoffs defeating Jim Mora's Philadelphia Stars. His 1984 squad started out looking like a favorite to repeat, going 6-0 to start the season, but then star WR Anthony Carter --- the league's premiere deep threat --- was lost for the season. That combined with reports of player salary complaints, led the team to struggle, going 4-8 for the remainder of the season. The Panthers were eliminated in the first round by Steve Young's Los Angeles Express, 27-21 in a hard fought, 93+ minute, triple-overtime game. It would be pro football's longest game and the Panther's last. Stanley would finish with a 24-15 record in the USFL.

After the season, the majority of USFL owners, lead by New Jersey Generals owner Donald Trump and Chicago franchise owner Eddie Einhorn voted to move the league to a fall schedule. The Panthers' owner A. Alfred Taubman had no desire to compete head to head with his friend, Detroit Lions owner William Clay Ford. Following the vote, the Panthers delegation surprised the league owners and commissioner by announcing the team would be merged with the Oakland Invaders in a pre-negotiated conditional deal. The new team went with a new head coach, Charlie Sumner.

Stanley moved back into the NFL. He joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their defensive line coach before moving up to Defensive Coordinator in 1986. He was a defensive coach for the Houston Oilers for 6 years before joining the Arizona Cardinals' Player Personnel Department. He recently retired as the Director of Player Personnel for the Cardinals after serving in that role for 12 years. Among all of his tremendous career achievements, one of his last with the Cardinals may be among his greatest. Stanley was involved in the acquisition of Super Bowl QB Kurt Warner by the Cardinals. Warner's play was key in leading the Cardinals to their first NFL Championship game in decades.

Stanley has also served as an assistant coach at Southern Methodist University and UTEP.

[starbuck]

The New USFL - News & Updates

[burton2019]

hey ballcoach, nice sig

[Jason]

When do they think it will be up and running?

[MikMo]

You know, I still have an Oakland Invaders hat! If the USFL comes back, just don't let Donald Trump in the door....he was the ruination of the league the first time around.