A former Dallas Cowboy is running for president of the United States ... Football League.
Three-time Super Bowl champion Daryl Johnston has been taken the spring's league's top spot, president of the football operations, the promotion revealed by Jeff Fedotin of Forbes on Thursday. His promotion, having served as the USFL's vice president last season, comes nine days before the league kicks off its second season.
Johnston, 57, is no stranger to managerial roles in spring football, having previously held the title of general manager with the San Antonio Commanders (Alliance of American Football, 2019) before becoming the director of player personnel for the Dallas Renegades (XFL, 2020).
The former fullback will now oversee the second season of the rebooted USFL, which uses aesthetics and team identities from a previous attempt that ran three seasons in the mid-1980s (1983-85). Upon completion of its inaugural season last July, the USFL became the first nationally-televised spring football league to complete a full campaign since the original incarnation of the XFL in 2001.
Kenny Albert, Johnston's frequent booth partner in calling games for Fox Sports' NFL coverage, hardly finds the fullback's success surprising and hinted that his time at the helm of a spring league could eventually lead to a greater promotion in a future fall.
“He is a really smart guy, always been well-organized,” Albert told Forbes. “It’s no surprise that success has followed Daryl around. I could definitely see him becoming an NFL general manager in the very near future. He’s gotten so much great experience … as one of the top executives in the USFL, putting the entire league together.”
Johnston faces new challenges as the USFL now seeks longevity: whereas the entirety of last year's 40-game regular season slate was held exclusively in the Birmingham, Alabama area, the USFL's eight teams are now stationed in four hub cities. Birmingham's Protective Stadium will be retained and host the local Stallions and New Orleans Breakers while Canton, Detroit, and Memphis join the fold. Canton will host the New Jersey Generals and Pittsburgh Maulers on the campus of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which will also stage the USFL Championship Game for the second straight season.
Elsewhere, the USFL will also experiment with kickoffs from the 20-yard-line, five yards back from last year's spot. Kickoffs have proven polarizing in the evolving discussion around player safety but Johnston is confident in the play's future.
“I know it’s a play that the NFL is concerned about with the safety elements,” Johnston admitted. “Our data didn’t show an uptick in concussions or injuries in general on our kickoff returns, but it did make our game much more exciting.”
Kickoffs in the USFL proved vital to the Cowboys' special teams success last season: Dallas landed league MVP KaVontae Turpin, formerly of New Jersey, shortly after the inaugural campaign and he went on to 811 total return yards en route to Pro Bowl honors. Johnston remarked that was "excited" about "changing the trajectory of a young man’s life.”
The 2023 USFL season kicks off with a doubleheader on April 15.
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