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Jeff Fisher isn’t the only former Tennessee Titans coach looking to resume his career in a spring football league.
Jim Haslett expects to return to the sidelines as well.
Haslett, who spent the past two seasons as the Titans’ inside linebackers coach, has been named one of the eight head coaches in the XFL, which plans to kick off in February of 2023. Just where Haslett will coach remains unclear, as the XFL hasn’t officially announced its teams for the 2023 season.
But the list of eight head coaches does have some cachet to it.
The group features two former NFL head coaches – Haslett and Wade Phillips – along with former college head coaches Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) and Reggie Barlow (Virginia State); Super Bowl-champion players Rod Woodson, Hines Ward and Terrell Buckley; and 12-year NFL veteran Anthony Becht.
“This is yet another huge moment for the XFL,” said Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, one of the XFL’s co-owners. “I have experienced first-hand the positive influence and impact that coaches can have on a player’s life, and with our group of smart, accomplished and motivating head coaches, I expect nothing less.”
The XFL will be the latest stop of many for the 66-year-old Haslett, who played seven years in the NFL – and was named the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1979 – before he turned to coaching. In six years in charge at New Orleans (2000-05), Haslett led the Saints to a 45-51 record and guided them to the franchise's first playoff win. He also served as the St. Louis Rams’ interim head coach in 2008, posting a 2-10 mark.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel has not addressed Haslett’s departure following the 2021 season, but the team parted ways with him – along with three other assistants – in January. Former Houston Texans assistant Bobby King since has been hired as Haslett's replacement.
Haslett had mixed results with Tennessee's inside linebackers during his two seasons on the job. Starters Rashaan Evans and Jayon Brown didn’t appear to make a lot of progress on his watch, and both left as free agents last month. On the other hand, Haslett developed David Long into a starter and helped Zach Cunningham make a smooth late-season transition from Houston into the Titans’ starting lineup in 2021.
What should Haslett expect in the XFL?
The league’s website says its ownership group is “building a fan-first, fast-paced global professional football league with innovative rules and enhanced 360 game experience. The XFL will bring entertainment to world-class football, with the goal of advancing the game of football and expanding player opportunities when it launches in February 2023.”
Since January, XFL executives have been attending college pro days, the NFL Combine and actively recruiting players for the 2023 season.
In the meantime, Titans fans can check out the exploits of Fisher, who makes his United States Football League head-coaching debut this weekend. Fisher’s Michigan Panthers will take on the Houston Gamblers at 11 a.m. Sunday in Birmingham, Ala., a game that will be televised on NBC and Peacock.
It will mark Fisher’s first game as a pro football head coach since 2016, when he was fired by the Los Angeles Rams after posting a 4-9 record through 13 games that season.
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