It was April 3rd, 2001, and a sell-out crowd of 30,389 screaming loud, ruthless football fans at Sam Boyd Stadium, eager to escape the No Fun League as XFL owner himself called it. At the time, the Las Vegas Outlaws took out the New Jersey/New York Hitman, winning their inaugural game 19-0; the Las Vegas Outlaws, in the original XFL, would 4-6 in the XFL’s Western Division and end up in dead last. Fast forward 21 years later, and the Co-Owner Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson look to recapture the already hot Las Vegas football market by reintroducing the new re-branded XFL.
Dany Garica and Dwayne Johnson will not be alone when they hit the Las Vegas strip in the XFL; according to preliminary reports made back in March of this year by our very own Mike Mitchell, Rod Woodson will be making his head coaching debut with the XFL’s Las Vegas franchise. Rod Woodson himself is no stranger to Las Vegas’s very own NFL team, the Las Vegas Raiders, as he played for the then Oakland Raiders from 2002-to 2003 and then rejoined the team in 2011 as their Cornerbacks coach 2011. He would then go on to Coach the 2015-2016 seasons as an assistant defensive backs coach and then moved to a Cornerbacks coach in 2017. The Las Vegas Raiders fan base will be sure to flock to the XFL Las Vegas franchise to see the star-studded Rod Woodson coach their very own team.
Rod Woodson is not alone on the journey and has signed Joey Clinkscales as the Director of Player Personnel
Rod Woodson won’t be alone this upcoming Friday when the XFL introduces their first XFL Showcase, The Washington D.C. Showcase, with 200 players attending the sold-out event in College Park, Maryland. Rod Woodson will be joined by his newly announced DPP, Joey Clinkscales, who will resume the position of the DPP and assist Rod Woodson up from with player scouting and recruitment strategies, and then during training camp and the season, will likely help in ongoing player support.
Clinkscales is no stranger to this executive career field with being a Director of Player Personnel and was the DPP back in 2020 for the XFL 2.0 with the Los Angeles Wildcats. Presumably, if the reports are correct, with the move of the Los Angeles team to Las Vegas, he will resume the same position he had with the Wildcats. Before the XFL, he also had close ties with the Raiders. He was their Director of Player Personnel from May 2012 to January 2019, when he was let go along with the Raiders General Manager; he worked under Reggie McKenzie. It’ll be interesting if these two former Raider legends come together to bring their experience to the field when the XFL returns to its origins in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Now unlike the other 7, XFL Franchises Rod Woodson and Joey Clinkscale currently have their offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator to be announced at another point, seemingly a bizarre situation. But according to Mike Mitchell’s article just days ago about the breakdown of all eight franchises coaching staffs mentioned he recently reported “ that Alabama A&M offensive coordinator Duane Taylor is scheduled to join the XFL in 2023. There is a catch; however, Taylor, who has been one of the most successful offensive minds in the FCS, will complete the 2022 season at A&M. Meaning that he wouldn’t join the league until presumably at some point late in 2022. Right around minicamps and training camp. Seeing that Rod Woodson does not have an offensive coordinator listed, it’s reasonable to assume that this is where Taylor will set up residence.” as for the Defensive Coordinator, he states, “As for the defensive coordinator spot in Las Vegas, a natural connection would be Rod Woodson’s former defensive coordinator with the Raiders, Chuck Bresnahan. They hired Rod on his staff over a decade ago.
If Woodson hired Bresnahan to work under him, it would make for a strange sequence of role reversal. But Bresnahan has shown that he is willing to work in alternative pro leagues in the past. Most recently, in the Spring League back in 2020 and in the United Football League with Florida and Sacramento.” Either way, it will be interesting no matter what Rod Woodson chooses for this position. Unless a change happens over the next few weeks, Woodson will not have his Offensive or Defensive Coordinators with him during the XFL Showcases.
Continue to follow XFL News Hub for all XFL related news and updates and any updates on this coaching situation for the Las Vegas market. .
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