The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home games at the Alamodome. The team was led by head coach Mike Riley.
On April 2, 2019, the league's football operations were reportedly suspended, and on April 4 the league allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams. The league filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17, 2019. The league left debts of over $1.4 million to three local hotels and $200,000 to a catering business.
History The Alliance San Antonio charter team of the Alliance of American Football spring league was announced on June 21, 2018. Also, the league announced former San Diego Chargers coach Mike Riley as head coach and former Dallas Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston as General Manager of the team. The western four teams' names and logos were revealed on September 25 with San Antonio as the Commanders. The name is a tribute to San Antonio's military history, with maroon and silver representing the city and the small swords carried by military officers, respectively.
The final 52-man roster was set on January 30, 2019. The team's first game was a 15–6 win at home against the San Diego Fleet on Saturday, February 9, 2019.
The Commanders, who drew an average of approximately 27,720 fans to each home game, were by far the best-attended team in the AAF.
The league was suspended on April 2, 2019, with about 20 minutes left in the Commanders' practice. "It ended in the blink of an eye. Like that," Riley said later.
The next year, the XFL began discussions about relocating one of its eight teams to San Antonio; this would eventually bear fruit with the San Antonio Brahmas in 2023.
Final roster
Allocation pool The team's assigned area, which designated player rights, included the following:
Colleges Abilene Christian Angelo State Baylor Houston Houston Baptist Incarnate Word Lamar Midwestern State North Texas Oklahoma Prairie View A&M Rice
Sam Houston SMU Stephen F. Austin Tarleton State TCU Texas Texas A&M Texas A&M–Kingsville UT Permian Basin Texas Southern Texas State Toledo UTSA West Texas A&M
National Football League (NFL) Dallas Cowboys Houston Texans Kansas City Chiefs Philadelphia Eagles
Canadian Football League (CFL) Saskatchewan Roughriders
Staff San Antonio commanders staffFront office General manager – Daryl Johnston Director of player personnel – Robert Morris Director of football operations – John Peterson
Head coach Head coach – Mike Riley
Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Matt Troxel Running backs – Lyle Moevao Wide Receivers – Keith Williams Tight ends – Josh Oglesby Offensive line/Run game coordinator – Jonathan Himebauch Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Inside linebackers – Jim Grobe Defensive line/Special teams – Jeff McInerney Outside linebackers – James Rodgers Defensive backs – Bill Bradley Assistant defensive backs – Kenny Watson
2019 season
Final standings
Schedule Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue – Atlanta Legends W 37–11 1–0 Alamodome
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 San Diego Fleet W 15–6 1–0 Alamodome 27,857 2 February 17 Orlando Apollos L 29–37 1–1 Alamodome 29,176 3 February 24 at San Diego Fleet L 11–31 1–2 SDCCU Stadium 14,789 4 March 3 at Birmingham Iron W 12–11 2–2 Legion Field 6,539 5 March 10 at Arizona Hotshots W 29–25 3–2 Sun Devil Stadium 9,351 6 March 17 at Atlanta Legends W 37–6 4–2 Georgia State Stadium 10,619 7 Salt Lake Stallions W 19–15 5–2 Alamodome 30,345 8 March 31 Arizona Hotshots L 6–23 5–3 Alamodome 23,504 9 Memphis Express Not played Alamodome 10 at Salt Lake Stallions Rice–Eccles Stadium Changed from original time and network.
Game summaries Week 1: San Diego
With the win, the Commanders started 1–0.
Week 2: Orlando
First loss in Commanders history. San Antonio fell to 1-1.
Week 3: at San Diego
First time in Commanders history with consecutive losses. Commanders drop to 1-2.
Week 4: at Birmingham
First road win in Commanders history. Commanders improve to 2-2.
Week 5: at Arizona
First time in Commanders history with consecutive wins. Commanders improve to 3-2.
Week 6: at Atlanta
Commanders improve to 4-2.
Week 7: Salt Lake
Commanders improve to 5-2. Also, this game marks the first time in league history that single game attendance was above 30,000.
Week 8: Arizona
Media In addition to league-wide television coverage through NFL Network, CBS Sports Network, TNT, and B/R Live, Commanders' games were also broadcast on local radio by KZDC, an ESPN Radio affiliate. The team also had a television agreement with local station KMYS of the Sinclair Broadcast Group to carry all Commanders' games that were not broadcast nationally.
References
Further reading