The Los Angeles Wildcats (LA Wildcats) were a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and was an owned-and-operated member of the second XFL. The Wildcats played their home games at Dignity Health Sports Park. On March 8, 2020, the Wildcats played their final game against the Tampa Bay Vipers, which was the final XFL game before the league suspended operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
History On December 5, 2018, Los Angeles was announced as one of eight cities that would join the newly reformed XFL, as well as Seattle, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and Dallas. On May 7, 2019, Winston Moss was announced as the team's head coach. On August 21, 2019, the team revealed its name, logos, and identity as the Los Angeles Wildcats, alongside the rest of the XFL teams. A secondary logo was released August 24.
On October 15, 2019, the Wildcats announced their first player in team history, being assigned former Birmingham Iron Quarterback Luis Perez, who was later traded to the New York Guardians.
On February 8, 2020, the team played its first game losing to the Houston Roughnecks 37–17 in Houston. Chad Kanoff scored the first touchdown in franchise history with a scramble left for a five-yard score. On February 23, 2020, the Wildcats earned their first win in franchise history, defeating the DC Defenders 39–9. On March 8, 2020, the Wildcats came from behind to win against the Tampa Bay Vipers 41–34 in what was the final game of the 2020 iteration of the XFL. On March 12, 2020, The XFL announced that the remainder of the 2020 XFL season had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team finished with a 2–3 record. On April 10, 2020, the XFL suspended operations, with all of the league's employees, players, and staff terminated.
On July 24, 2022, the XFL announced its reactivation for the 2023 season, and confirmed that the Wildcats would not return for that season. On October 31, 2022, the league announced that the Wildcats' place in the league was taken by the San Antonio Brahmas.
Final roster
Staff 2020 Los Angeles Wildcats staffFront office Director of player personnel – Joey Clinkscales Director of football operations – Charles Bailey Manager of football operations – Ty Knott
Head coaches General manager/Head coach – Winston Moss Assistant head coach/tight ends – Ty Knott
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Norm Chow Running backs – Dave Atkins Receivers – Mike Wilson Offensive line – Jerry Fontenot Offensive quality control – Kade Rannings Defensive coaches Defensive line – Vince Amey Defensive backs – Otis Smith Defensive quality control – Al Brown
Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator/safeties – Martin Bayless
Player history
Current NFL players XFL SeasonPosNameNFL team2020QBJosh JohnsonCincinnati Bengals
Notable players XFL SeasonPosNameNotes2020RBDuJuan HarrisFormer Green Bay Packers Running Back2020PColton SchmidtFormer Buffalo Bills Punter2020KNick NovakFormer San Diego Chargers Kicker
Coach history
Head coach history #NameTermRegular seasonPlayoffsAwardsGCWLWin %GCWLLos Angeles Wildcats1Winston Moss2020523.400 – – –
Offensive coordinator history #NameTermRegular seasonPlayoffsAwardsGCWLWin %GCWLLos Angeles Wildcats1Norm Chow2020523.400 – – –
Defensive coordinator history #NameTermRegular seasonPlayoffsAwardsGCWLWin %GCWLLos Angeles Wildcats1Pepper Johnson2020101.000 – – –2Winston Moss2020422.500 – – –
Rivalries
Overall regular season record vs. opponents TeamRecordWin %Vegas Vipers1–01.000DC Defenders1–01.000Houston Roughnecks0–1.000Orlando Guardians0–1.000Arlington Renegades0–1.000Seattle Sea Dragons0–0N/ASt. Louis Battlehawks0–0N/A
Season-by-season record
SeasonTeamLeagueConferenceDivisionRegular seasonPostseason resultsAwardsHead coachesPct.Finish20202020XFLWest3rd23Season suspended after 5 games due to COVID-19Winston Moss
Records All-time WIldcats leadersLeader Player Record Years with Wildcats Passing yards Josh Johnson 1,092 passing yards 2020Passing TouchdownsJosh Johnson11 passing touchdowns2020 Rushing yards Elijah Hood 78 rushing yards 2020Rushing TouchdownsMartez Carter2 rushing touchdowns2020 Receiving yards Nelson Spruce 267 receiving yards 2020Receiving TouchdownsTre McBride4 receiving touchdowns2020ReceptionsNelson Spruce20 receptions2020TacklesAhmad Dixon45 tackles2020 Sacks Cedric Reed 3.0 sacks 2020 Interceptions Mike Stevens Jack Tocho 2 Interceptions 2 Interceptions 2020 2020Coaching winsWinston Moss2 wins2020
Market overview Los Angeles is one of two cities to have also hosted a team in the original XFL, the other being New York/New Jersey; the Los Angeles Xtreme was the champion of the earlier XFL in the league's only season. (A third broader megalopolis, Central Florida, has also hosted teams in both the 2001 and 2020 incarnations of the league.)
As television networks have traditionally required alternative leagues to field teams in New York and Los Angeles to secure television coverage without brokering the airtime,These failings aside, Byrne's observations on the league's extraordinary capacity for self-destruction are right on target. He painstakingly details the myriad problems: the overly restrictive TV contract with ABC in which the USFL was left powerless(...)Taube was the first USFL owner to notice the rather stringent clauses in the league's television contract with ABC, and fought hard over the league's three years to get them renegotiated. Southern California has a long history of alternative professional teams. In addition to the Xtreme, the city has hosted: the Los Angeles Avengers, LA KISS, Anaheim Piranhas and Los Angeles Cobras in the Arena Football League; the Los Angeles Express in the USFL; the Southern California Sun in the World Football League; the Orange County Ramblers and short-lived Long Beach Admirals in the Continental Football League; and numerous teams in the Pacific Coast Professional Football League in the 1930s and 1940s.
The Wildcats were in one of the most heavily crowded sports markets in the United States, competing for sports dollars against two NFL teams (Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers), two NHL teams (Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks), two NBA teams (Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers), multiple NCAA Division I college basketball and college football programs, and in March and April, both the LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC in MLS and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels in the MLB
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