The XFL 2.0 saw large amounts of success in it’s 2020 season, and a lot of that can be attributed to Oliver Luck and the talent he brought to the league’s executive team. With his football expertise, he fit perfectly in the XFL as its commissioner and CEO. He built the league from the ground up, and put together an incredible team of staff which allowed the XFL to be as successful as it was.
The XFL season has officially been canceled.. I do like what Oliver Luck did with the league in its early stages. He's one of the brightest people in all of sports, and I think if anyone can make a second pro football league work here, it's him.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) March 20, 2020
Something that the XFL is missing right now is Luck’s presence. Of course, while his return hasn’t been completely ruled out, considering how ugly everything was when the league shut down, it would be highly unlikely to see him come back. Because of this current situation, the league has some holes that will need to be filled due to his vacancy.
Firstly, Oliver Luck has quite the resume when it comes to sports itself. He was an NFL Quarterback for the Houston Oilers during the 1980’s. He was the first President and General Manager for the Houston Dynamo of the MLS from 2006-2007, and led them to two back to back titles. He also served as the director of athletics at West Virginia for four years, before joining the NCAA in 2014. Right now, the league is missing this football experience that Luck brought to the organization, and it is something that they will look to replace.
Secondly, the XFL is now lacking his excellent mind for the game of football. He was a brilliant commissioner for the league, and ran everything incredibly well. He played an integral role in the XFL’s rule changes, such as the new style of kickoffs, and extra PAT options. In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Luck said “We tried to inject as much strategy as we could into some of these situations because at the end of the day, I think our fans love strategy. They love to second guess the coach”. These rules were welcomed by fans of the XFL, and it proved that Luck knew how to work with the game.
With his leadership, the XFL was poised to make an impressive run as a startup league. When the new owners hire a new commissioner, they need to find someone who can have the same positive impact that Luck did on the game of football.
Finally, Oliver Luck’s character is something that people raved about. From the players, to the staff members, to the fans, everyone loved him and what he was doing with the league. He has a down to earth personality, and it was something that resonated with everyone involved in the XFL.
GET YOU A LEAGUE COMMISSIONER WHO CONTRIBUTES A CUP TO THE GIANT BEER SNAKE.
OLIVER LUCK F O R E V E R.
THIS LEAGUE. pic.twitter.com/V41n5ndpNQ
— XFL (@XFL2023) March 8, 2020
When the league comes back, it is imperative that they find someone with a likable personality, similar to that of Oliver Luck. As we saw with the AAF, someone with the persona of Tom Dundon just doesn’t fit with spring football. Luck served as a much better commissioner, and the XFL’s shutdown was not his fault in the slightest. While it is impossible to find someone exactly like Oliver Luck, the new commissioner (whoever that may be) should follow Luck’s example, and learn from the good and bad decisions he made.
Who do you think will end up replacing Oliver Luck at the commissioner position? Let us know in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
