In a perfect world things would happen when we want it to. But, to everything great there was a process behind it. The famous saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” perfectly applies to the XFL. What needs to happen is going to take a while. Coaches will need to be rehired, the front office and staff need to be hired, they need to re-sign players, get training camp going. The list goes on. It will take time, so patience is key for the fans of the league. Here’s everything known that needs to happen before the league kicks off.
The most important thing to do first? Hire a commissioner. Oliver Luck will not be returning, so the new XFL needs to find someone who will fill big shoes. Jeffrey Pollack is a good choice to do so. There is a lot of speculation going on around his name and the commissioner job, especially after he led the league’s parent company Alpha Entertainment through the bankruptcy process.
Next up is filling the executive and league front office jobs. During the bankruptcy the league went down to only nine members, including Jeffrey Pollack. Another notable role that needs to be filled in those categories is the XFL social media manager. Bailey Carlin did a fantastic job with that role, and the league has big shoes to fill as Carlin said he will not be returning to the XFL. Once they fill in that role they have to rebuild their social media presence.
Then you have to hire players, coaches, and every coaching staff. This process depends on how many Coaches you can get back. The player pool should be even greater than it was for XFL 2.0 especially with the CFLs season being cancelled and many players have opted out of their contracts. A question some have been asking is, will they do a draft? That question could be answered fairly soon, but probably not till November if I had to guess.
Another key thing will be re-negotiating stadium leases with Saint Louis, New York, Seattle and Washington DC. Something to note, while the Dome lease has not been assumed and assigned, the BattleHawks training facility was assumed and assigned as part of the Bankruptcy process.
The draft and Training Camp will be a key time for the XFL. Especially if they decide to play in 2021. But, every day without news a 2021 season looks less likely. If you follow the same timeline as before the 2020 season it looks almost impossible to get that done. The XFL draft was on October 15, at the time this article was being written that is 42 days away. October 9th they announced the full player pool which is too close to right now. So, don’t count on a 2021 season unless they push the timeline back.
However, the good news is that they have names and jerseys and such, that takes a lot of the process out of the equation. The hiring process is the main thing that is needed. Sure, they may need to make some rule changes but they have plenty of time and that should be one of the last things they should do. The rules were near perfect, so no need to rush on changing or perfecting rules. I firmly believe that 2022 is a prime time for the XFL to start their season.
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