A brand new team, yet the same old story. The Memphis Showboats were once again locked and re-loaded for the 2025 UFL season, hoping to get things back on track after a poor 2-8 outing in 2024.
With a new Head Coach in Ken Whisenhunt, Memphis cleared house. They came into the season with almost an entirely new staff, alongside mostly new players as well.
However, the Showboats’ renewed spirit would be short-lived. What looked like a promising campaign quickly faded into disaster, featuring circumstances that made winning games more difficult than originally anticipated. Memphis would finish with a 2-8 record – matching 2024, this time finishing in 4th place in the USFL Conference.
Let’s take a look at what all went down in Memphis this UFL season.
Early Coaching Debacle
To begin the year, Memphis got off on a brutal foot. Just days before their first game, Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt had to take a leave of absence. This resulted in Jim Turner being promoted to interim HC, with WR’s coach T.J. Vernieri calling the plays.
Memphis put their best foot forward, but they were hampered by Turner’s desire to put as many players as possible on the field. Neither QB in E.J. Perry or Troy Williams could get into much of a rhythm, with Williams ultimately throwing the game-sealing pick six late.
The Showboats would receive some excellent news just one day later: Whisenhunt was back. Their HC and offensive play caller was back in the building, and remained with the team for two more weeks.
Unfortunately, this wouldn’t translate into wins. E.J. Perry played inconsistent football – as has been the story of his career in spring ball. On the road in DC, the Showboats came up just short, with a blocked field goal ending their chances of getting back into the ball game.
Throughout Ken’s stint as HC, he primarily played Perry at quarterback. After taking an early lead against Houston in week three, Perry would throw the game away – tossing two picks in the 3Q (including a pick six) that put the Roughnecks in front. A late surge from Troy wasn’t enough, and Houston held on for the 18-17 victory.
After an 0-3 start, Ken Whisenhunt decided to resign entirely due to ongoing health issues – leaving Memphis without their leader once again.
With Jim Turner back in the saddle as interim HC, he brought in Noel Mazzone as his OC – who quickly changed things up in the offense. In a week four loss to Michigan, the Showboats were blown out 27-9. It wasn’t a loss that was surprising, considering the nonstop coaching turmoil that had taken its toll on the team.
Offensively, Memphis was a mess. Troy Williams got the start in that game, throwing for just 13 yards. Perry wasn’t much better, with just 74 yards and an interception. Their only positive play was a blocked punt, which set up their lone touchdown of the night. With virtually no offensive firepower whatsoever, the Showboats desperately needed to find some sort of spark – as the season was quickly slipping away at 0-4.
The Dresser Winn Era
Enter Dresser Winn. Jim Turner made the decision in week five to start Winn, who had joined the team late in training camp (after cutting spring vet Quinten Dormady). He was QB3 up until this point, but they wanted to see what the younger gunslinger was capable of – and he shined. Winn threw for 235 yards and a touchdown in the upset overtime win on the road in Birmingham, taking down the Stallions for the first time in franchise history.
Winn wasn’t perfect by any means, but provided the team with grit and playmaking abilities that the other two QB’s didn’t have. After their big overtime win, Memphis seemed primed to make a midseason run.
Those hopes would be dashed in week six though – suffering another bitter one point loss to Houston. It was a game that was in Memphis’ hands, until Winn turned the ball over twice in the 3Q – identical to what lost them the game back in week three. They had opportunities to score late, but settled for field goals – which ultimately cost them.
Even with the addition of Wes Hills (who quickly left the team due to injury), Memphis couldn’t find much cohesion offensively. The ground game was inconsistent, and Dresser struggled to show up in the big moments. A 19-9 loss to the Battlehawks in week seven sealed their postseason fate, sending them to 1-6 on the season.
The Final Stretch: Quarterback Carousel
Over the next three games, Jim Turner would make a rather strange move – starting all three quarterbacks once. In week eight against San Antonio, it was a defensive slugfest with Troy Williams at the helm. He threw for just 36 yards, but somehow managed to get the overtime win. A strong effort from Jarren Horton’s defense was able to outdo all of the Showboats’ mistakes, including multiple turnovers via blocked punts and fumbles.
In week nine, it was E.J. Perry who got the nod. He only got to play a half of football, as Turner pulled him for Winn in an effort to win the game. Dresser ended up throwing an interception and giving Arlington momentum – which the Renegades took full advantage of. Luis Perez turned it up a notch in the second half, and Arlington came away with a dominant 30-12 victory.
Week 10 was a poetic way to end the year…blown out by the Birmingham Stallions. Two pick sixes from Tae Crowder, paired with an outstanding performance from QB J’Mar Smith, lifted Birmingham to the 46-9 victory. Defensively, Memphis had zero answers for Smith – and their offense couldn’t do much of anything to keep pace.
It is worth pointing out – a no-call on a facemask call on Tae Crowder’s first pick six was a tough pill to swallow for Memphis. That momentum pushed the Stallions to a 14 point halftime lead, and they didn’t relent the final two quarters.
Defensive Ups & Downs
With Jarren Horton coming over to Memphis as Defensive Coordinator – the former USFL Assistant COTY with the Pittsburgh Maulers – the Showboats were primed to improve upon their defensive play in 2025. Rewinding to 2024, Memphis had the worst defense in the UFL – allowing nearly 30 PPG under Carnell Lake.
With Horton at the helm, things improved. It was far from a perfect defensive campaign, but Memphis featured some stout defensive players. It was their defense that kept them in most of these games, until the final couple of outings where things simply got out of hand against Arlington and Birmingham.
Injuries played a factor. Up front, they lost DT John Atkins in week two to IR, while the team also had to part ways with standout DT P.J. Hall halfway through the year due to personal matters. This greatly impacted their run defense – which in turn, affected the play of the secondary. Not to mention, star CB Cameron Dantzler was on IR for the first four weeks of the year.
Getting pressure on the QB was a problem. Memphis had the fewest sacks in the UFL (12), alongside the most missed tackles of any team. They also had just six turnovers, 8th in the league. Even with those rough statistics, they found ways to make enough plays to keep things close with most teams through the first several weeks, at least.
The bright spot on this defense was their secondary. DB’s such as Lance Boykin, Kyree Woods, Eric Garror, Keaton Ellis, and Cam Dantzler all were playmakers throughout the year.
Not to mention, safety Eli Walker was arguably a top 3 S in the UFL – constantly flying around the field to make plays for Memphis’ defense week in and week out.
“I think across the board, we were very deep at corner. I need to do a better job of calling more pressure, and allow those corners to live out there by themselves. For us as a unit, we need to improve in our two-high coverages. Whether that’s cover 6, or tampa, we didn’t fit the run as well as we wanted to in those coverages. We played a lot more single high, based on that’s what we did well. Next year, we’re going to have to put an emphasis on our two-high run fits and improve with that.” – DC Jarren Horton
Takeaways From The Offense
Memphis did feature some solid talent offensively, despite the lack of consistent production. At running back, Deneric Prince was the lead horse for Memphis, fitting into Jim Turner’s style of offense quite well. He’s not the flashiest back, but he’s got decent vision and is a strong runner.
Jonathan Adams was a star once again, finishing top 10 in receiving yards. Adams has been one of spring football’s best over the past several years, and continued to build upon that legacy in 2025.
Additionally, the emergence of Kai Locksley was encouraging to see. After Memphis traded away Dee Anderson midway through the year (who was one of their top targets), Locksley stood out as a bigger-framed receiver who has excellent hands, and his smooth route running abilities were put on display over the final few games.
Disappointingly, Daewood Davis didn’t return to All-UFL form. He missed over half the year on IR, and when he came back, quarterbacks could never find him in stride.
The offensive line was a position group that also saw improvements. They weren’t perfect, but compared to a disastrous 2024 campaign (allowing the most sacks in the UFL), new additions in Nate Gilliam and Nash Jensen proved to be beneficial. Jensen, in particular, had a great year – allowing zero sacks and just seven pressures on 583 snaps (via PFF).
Inconsistent Special Teams
One area that plagued Memphis at times: their special teams play. Most notably, it was their lack of protection for punter Matt Mengel – who had a heck of year all things considered. Mengel had four of his punts blocked in the year. It was an area that had some glaring mistakes (i.e. Jay Jay Wilson’s missed block in W8 vs. San Antonio).
Matt Coghlin had a consistent season at the kicker position, no surprise. Turner Bernard didn’t have his best year at LS, though, with his placement off on quite a few snaps (specifically punts). These issues will be something for GM Jim Monos and ST coach Marc Hull to address in the offseason.
That said, the return game was strong. Isiah Hennie and Eric Garror were both tremendous when their names were called upon. Hennie took the internet by storm with his 108 yard “kick six” in their week five win over Birmingham, taking a field goal attempt to the house at halftime.
Will Jim Turner Return?
There’s no question about it: Jim Turner did a rather respectable job given the circumstances in Memphis this year. To lose your head coach not once – but twice – and to be stuck in as interim is no easy task.
It’s even more difficult when you consider the fact that Turner has never once been a coordinator or head coach in his life – primarily serving as an O-Line coach throughout his career.
That said, his lack of experience was on display. Most notably, some of his decisions with the offense (i.e. how he handled the QB’s) were rather odd, and hurt the potential development of a guy like Dresser Winn late in the year.
There’s a lot of players who love Jim Turner, and for good reason. He’s someone who is always going to have the back of his guys, which is something that this Showboats organization took pride in.
For the UFL, they’ll have a big decision to make. Do they bring Jim Turner back, to give him and this staff a chance to run it back under more normal circumstances? Or, do they bring Memphis their fifth head coach in the last four years?
Heading Towards 2026
The good news for General Manager Jim Monos: there isn’t really a need to blow it all up. When he took over this Showboats organization back in 2024, it was clear that they had to clean house at most position groups, making plenty of changes.
While both teams featured 2-8 records, this current Showboats team definitely showcased more talent and potential. It wasn’t necessarily a lack of talent that lost them games – it was coaching turmoil, paired up with a lack of execution. Add in some rookie mistakes from guys like Dresser Winn at inopportune times, and you get what you expect: a losing record.
With several months to reflect on the direction of where this team goes, expect Monos & Co. to make some changes – but not nearly as drastic as they did in the 24-25 offseason. The biggest question will be quarterback: as Winn’s late slump puts an asterisk on his potential to be the team’s leader heading into 2026.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, this isn’t the end of the Memphis Showboats as we know it. With Memphis being one of the league’s weakest markets the last two years, combined with their 4-16 record, they’d be the first franchise to go if relocation does happen. That remains to be seen. For now, fans will have to hope that their beloved Showboats can run it back at least one more time – ideally with more stability compared to the last two seasons.
So far, we’ve seen a few Showboats have NFL workouts. QB Dresser Winn is also the first to sign an NFL contract – returning to the Los Angeles Rams, a place he’s very familiar with.
What are your thoughts on the Memphis Showboats 2025 UFL season? What needs to change heading towards next year? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
