The St. Louis Battlehawks are another XFL 2.0 carry over franchise. St. Louis has been itching for football since the Rams left to LA in 2015. The Battlehawks will call the The Dome @ America’s Center home, which was once home to the “greatest show on turf” when Mike Martz’ Rams played.

Coaches:

The Battlehawks’ coaching staff will have the least amount of coaching experience in the XFL. The head coach will be ex-NFL tight end Antony Becht. Becht may seem like a long shot for the head coaching position with only one year of experience with the AAF San Diego Fleet. The XFL believes in development and his opportunity is part of the XFL pillars of growth. Leading the offense will be NFL journeyman Bruce Gradkowski. Gradkowski famously took over the starting QB role from Chris Simms when Simms had his spleen ruptured on a touchdown run. As far as coaching experience, Gradkowski has spent his time at the high school level. The defensive coordinator position will be held by ex-NFL cornerback Donnie Abraham. Abraham has the most coaching experience of the three main coaches. Again, most of his experience comes at the high school level. Another notable coach on staff is the defensive line coach La’Roi Glover. Glover was a monster defensive lineman in the NFL from 1996-2008. La’Roi comes with NFL coaching experience.

Team:

The Battlehawks come into the season with a decent amount of talent on their roster. The leader of the offense will be 3x BCS national champion quarterback A.J. McCarron. Holding backup roles for the last 7 seasons in the NFL, McCarron is looking for his opportunity to play. The Battlehawks back field also has some NFL experience, starter Brian Hill who carried for over 1,200 all purpose yards in the NFL. The receiving targets have some decent talent as well with players to watch such as, Hakeem Butler, Marcell Ateman, and Darrius Shepard.

The defense has quite a few young players that have graduated in either 2021 or 2022 mixed with some quality ex NFL veterans which is usually a positive for a defense. Players to watch on the defense are Travis Feeney, Ben DeLuca, Kevin Atkins and Freedom Akinmoladun.  

Season Prediction:

The St. Louis Battlehawks are a strong team in the North division. They have a balanced of talent at multiple aspects of their team. The question remains if the lack of coaching experience will cost them in clutch moments in games. I see them finishing in the 2 or 3 spot in the North division.