As the UFL heads toward a historic 2026 season under new leadership, it was inevitable that change would be on the way. With Mike Repole and his group at the helm, introducing three new markets to the league (plus, two more rebrands), there’s plenty of adjustments being made at every level.
Since Mike Repole joined the fold, the UFL has been doing full forensic examinations across the board. This includes Football Operations. Pro Football Newsroom has learned that, as of this week, the UFL has parted ways with all eight of their General Managers:
Birmingham Stallions: Paul Roell
Dallas Renegades: Rick Mueller
DC Defenders: Von Hutchins
Houston Gamblers: Will Lewis
St. Louis Battlehawks: Dave Boller
Steve Kazor (Michigan), Jim Monos (Memphis), and Marc Lillibridge (San Antonio) have also been let go. Originally, the expectation was that those three GM’s, and their rosters, would be relocated/dispersed across the three new markets (Columbus, Louisville, Orlando).
New Structure Moving Forward
Instead, the league has shifted direction. The UFL is adopting a new personnel structure in Football Operations, which eliminates the need for each team to have their own General Managers. To be clear, this is not a cost-cutting move by the league, nor is it something that should concern fans about the UFL’s future stability.
The league is moving towards a centralized scouting model, resembling an NFL Front Office. Per league sources, Doug Whaley and Russ Giglio will be heading up Personnel and Administration, working directly with teams to approve and facilitate player signings. They will both still report to Russ Brandon, the league’s CEO and President.
We’re told that this may not be the end for these General Managers, either. The UFL plans to hire four regional scouts as part of this restructuring. Some of the GM’s who were let go could end up in those scouting roles (i.e. a Jim Monos or Von Hutchins, for example).
In addition, Head Coaches are expected to move to full-time contracts. This will help smoothen out this updated process within the league, as coaches work directly with the UFL’s scouting and personnel departments to recruit and sign players.
Final Thoughts
All of these changes are in line with the new vision of Mike Repole to regionalize the league. Repole’s belief is that by placing recognizable local players into their home markets, it can organically help grow those local fanbases. This regionalization aspect is still in development, and is expected to take a while longer to fully flesh out. As for players currently under contract, their futures with their respective teams remains to be seen.
There is a lot that the UFL will have to make decisions on over the coming months. They have not announced Head Coaches in any of the three new markets yet. Head Coaches for the remaining five teams aren’t under contract, either. This recent development is the first of many to come, as the UFL continues to work through its reorganization this offseason.
What are your thoughts on this development in the UFL, removing General Managers from their positions? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
