Looking At The Arlington Renegades 2024 UFL Coaching Staff - Bob Stoops
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Looking At The Arlington Renegades 2025 Coaching Staff

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It was a tough go for Bob Stoops and his Arlington Renegades in 2024. After an 0-6 start, the Renegades caught fire late, but it was too late – as they finished with a 3-7 record, last in the XFL Conference.

Arlington saw some coaching changes from 2023 to 2024, as Stoops had to shrink his staff down to the UFL’s requirements. Now, he’s heading into the 2025 season with similar personnel, but there are some notable changes. Let’s take a look at who’s going to be coaching these Renegades this upcoming spring.

Bob Stoops | Head Coach

Bob Stoops is back in action, ready to coach the Renegades for a fourth year. He was originally brought to the XFL in 2020, with the Dallas Renegades. After a three year hiatus, he returned to Arlington – bringing the Renegades an XFL Championship trophy that season.

It’s a tossup between Bob Stoops and Wade Phillips as to who the most recognizable name is in the UFL from a coaching perspective. Stoops is a legend at Oklahoma, having won 191 games with the franchise. Countless conference titles are under his belt as well, and after taking some time off, he decided to get back into the Coaching scene in the XFL.

Stoops and Co. had a rough go for most of the 2023 season, but a late trade for Luis Perez breathed new life into Arlington’s offense. They went on to win the Championship, despite a 4-6 record. Interestingly enough, Stoops has yet to have a winning season with this group – even with a Championship ring. As the Renegades’ HC, Bob is 11-16 all-time.

Chuck Long | Offensive Coordinator/QB’s/WR’s

Chuck Long returns to Arlington as their Offensive Coordinator, holding the role solely to himself for the second straight year. Chuck was on Stoops’ staff in 2023, but shared Offensive Coordinator duties with former Battlehawks HC Jonathan Hayes.

Chuck Long was drafted in the first round of the 1986 draft with the Detroit Lions, after an incredible career as an Iowa Hawkeye. Long then played in the NFL for eight years, and eventually began his coaching tenure shortly after his exit from the league.

Since then, Long has decades of coaching experience at the collegiate level, at all different positions. In the UFL this past year, Long played a major role in Luis Perez’ success – as he led the UFL in almost every passing category. While Arlington had their moments, they did play solid offensive ball throughout most of the year – and with Chuck in charge yet again, we should expect more of the same.

Jay Hayes | Run Game Coordinator/DL

Speaking of experience in the spring football scene, Jay Hayes returns to help coach this defense once again. He also shared the position in 2023, with Tim Lewis as Co-DC. With Lewis moving to Boston College in the offseason, Jay took over in 2024 as the main DC.

Hayes had a bit of a rough go defensively this year in Arlington. The Renegades had one of the weakest defenses throughout the first half of the UFL season; and failed to get late stops against St. Louis, DC, and Michigan which resulted in an 0-6 start.

That said, Jay has had some excellent moments in spring ball. Hayes was also on the St. Louis Battlehawks staff in 2020, as the defensive coordinator under his brother Jonathan. In 2021, he coached with the Jousters in The Spring League, helping lead that team to their “Mega Bowl” Championship berth.

What’s interesting about this upcoming season is that he’s going back to sharing DC roles with another member of the staff (this time, Marvin Sanders). Hayes will be focusing more on coaching the D-Line as he did a year ago, while also helping coordinate the run game.

Reggie Davis | Running Backs/Tight Ends

Reggie Davis is back on the staff for 2025, after coaching the running backs in 2023, and then coaching both the RB’s and tight ends in 2024. Davis saw Sal Cannella produce at a high level, leading all tight ends in receiving yards and touchdowns.

Davis was a tight end who played for one season in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers. Since then, he’s been in the coaching scene for decades – coaching running backs, tight ends, and even offensive lines. Reggie has NFL experience with the San Francisco 49ers (offensive line, tight ends), and collegiately with UNLV, Oregon State, and Nebraska. Interestingly enough, he was also on the Battlehawks staff back in 2020 when the XFL rebooted.

Jonathan Himebauch | Offensive Line

For the spring football nerds, Jonathan Himebauch is one of the most fascinating stories in the scene. Himebauch actually played in the XFL back in 2001, when it was first launched by Vince McMahon. Jonathan won the Championship that year with the Los Angeles Xtreme. Fast forward a couple of decades, and Himebauch was coaching with the Tampa Bay Vipers in the XFL 2.0 as their offensive line coach. After that iteration folded, Jonathan spent some time with the Air Force as their tight ends coach.

Then, spring football burst back onto the scene. Himebauch served with the Birmingham Stallions under Skip Holtz, winning a Championship in 2022 with the team. Jonathan opted to switch to the XFL in 2023, and won the Championship with the Arlington Renegades – making him the first two time Champion in the XFL.

Himebauch returned to Arlington in 2024, as the Renegades boasted one of the top O-lines in the UFL. Considering there will be plenty of new pieces this year, expect Jonathan’s unit to see some changes – but still perform at a high level.

Chris Woods | Linebackers

Taking over at linebackers coach is Chris Woods, as Bill Sheridan is no longer on Arlington’s staff. Chris reunites with Bob Stoops once again – as Woods was Stoops’ defensive coordinator for the Dallas Renegades back in 2020. Dallas had one of the top defenses in the XFL that year, prior to the league folding due to COVID.

In fact, Chris’ relationship with Bob goes way further back than just the XFL. They spent time together at Oklahoma, when Chris was a Defensive Quality Control coach for the Sooners. Woods has a plethora of experience in various coaching roles at high schools and colleges.

Recently, he was a Senior Defensive Analyst at the University of Kansas – and then served as the interim defensive coordinator at Temple. Arlington’s linebackers – and defense – will no doubt be positively impacted by Woods’ presence.

UPDATE: Chris Woods has taken a job at Ohio University. His replacement is Tommy Thigpen, who you can read about here.

Marvin Sanders | Defensive Backs/PGC

Under Jay Hayes, Marvin Sanders will continue to coach the defensive backs, holding the same role he did the last two seasons. However, he will also be working with Arlington as their Pass Game Coordinator – and splitting DC duties with Jay Hayes, according to Mike Mitchell.

Sanders has been serving in various defensive roles since 1992, most notably as Coastal Carolina’s defensive coordinator in 2018. Marvin was on Bob Stoops’ Renegades team back in 2020, and will now enter his fourth year in the spring football scene.

Scott Spurrier | Special Teams

Scott Spurrier is a familiar name, as he’s also been with the Renegades in 2020 and 2023-2024. He’s got experience working with tight ends alongside special teams, but will remain solely as the special teams coordinator heading into 2025.

Spurrier is the son of legendary coach Steve Spurrier, and he was a part of his dad’s staff in the Alliance Of American Football, with the Orlando Apollos. Scott also has coaching experience with South Carolina and Arizona collegiately. Scott had to navigate some special teams turnover last year, most notably, switching kickers from Taylor Russolino to Jonathan Garibay.

Spencer Duncan | Defensive Quality Control

Joining the staff this year is Spencer Duncan, who will help out with Defensive Quality Control. Duncan has spent time as a coach with Valparaiso, working with their tight ends – and most recently was a defensive analyst at Florida International University. Duncan spent time at UNLV as an assistant defensive coach for a couple of years. He was a walk-on tight end at Alabama, winning two championships with the team in 2011 and 2012.

Rick Mueller | General Manager

Rick Mueller has a vast history of being an executive in professional football – including alt-leagues. Mueller served as a scout with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1994-2000, and then moved to Player Personnel with the New Orleans Saints for the next eight years.

Here’s an interesting nugget: Mueller was the Vice President for the United Football League, back in its first iteration. He held that role from 2009-2010, and then served as the Omaha Nighthawks General Manager for the next two years.

Rick Mueller went back to the NFL to serve with the Philadelphia Eagles, and after some time at Coastal Carolina, entered the spring scene again with the Arlington Renegades. He built a Championship roster in 2023 – and now is in the process of retooling this team so it can get back to glory in 2025.

Mueller is very involved in Arlington’s personnel throughout the year. On top of his duties as a GM, he also provides the coaches with scouting reports on each UFL opponent weekly.

As we head towards season two of the UFL, the Arlington Renegades are certainly in a position to improve upon their 3-7 record. This coaching staff has a ton of experience, and with the talent on this roster, expect the Renegades to see things shift this season.

What are your thoughts on the Arlington Renegades roster heading towards 2025? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!

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