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There isn't a head coach in the UFL who has shown more passion for the league than St. Louis Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht has in the past two years.
Becht spoke on Iowa Everywhere's show "The CW Pod" on Tuesday and discussed his experience in the UFL, noting that his passion doesn't match what other coaches feel in the league.
“I’m the one guy that’s probably out of all of the head coaches in our league who is striving for greatness and trying to excel in this platform," Becht said. "Because, you know Stoops, great mentor to me, great friend to me and he's helping me, but he’s done, right? Like Ken Whisenhunt has been brought on, he’s done like he’s doing his thing. Wade Phillips, he’s done."
"I am emotionally attached to this personnel-wise. I’m on it," he continued. "Like every day, me and my GM, we don’t do anything without each other full on it. Stoops and these guys aren’t looking at personal. Go make our team I’ll show up and coach. Like I’m trying to win now, and I gotta be a part of that because if I’m not a part if it and I lean on somebody else that’s doing it and we lose, then I’m gonna have regrets. If I lose and I fail it’s because of me and I’m a part of it, I can live with that.”
"I'm emotionally attached to this personnel-wise, I'm on it. Me and my GM we don't do anything without each other"
— United Football Media (@The_UFM) October 22, 2024
St Louis Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht talks about how personally invested he is in building this Battlehawks team.
( Via @IowaEverywhere /YT) pic.twitter.com/EdUh6uQWlU
Becht's journey into spring football is well known as he reached out to everyone from the original and 2.0 XFL to get his foot in the door. He eventually landed the St. Louis Battlehawks job, receiving praise for his first year as the head coach with a 7-3 overall record in 2023.
After narrowly missing the playoffs, no one had doubts that Becht and the Battlehawks would survive the merger and become a part of the UFL. His team once again finished 7-3 and won the XFL Conference regular-season title before losing to the San Antonio Brahmas in the playoffs.
Stability has been key to the success of the team. Becht and his general manager Dave Boller have done a great job finding and retaining talent. Having veteran players like quarterback A.J. McCarron and wide receiver Hakeem Butler has kept the ship afloat for two seasons.
The point of Becht's argument is that coaches like Stoops, Phillips and Whisenhunt have won on the biggest stage. For Becht, it's about giving him his moment to win it all. That's the kind of passion and competitiveness the league is looking for in its coaches.
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Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
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NFL Hall of Famer reveals why he chose to join Deion Sanders' Colorado coaching staff
Marshall Faulk is Colorado's new running backs coach, and the Buffaloes could not ask for someone with better experience for the job. That's, of course, because this is Faulk's first coaching gig. As a player, though, there were few better than the Pro Football Hall of Famer. In 12 seasons in the NFL, he rushed 2,836 times for 12,279 yards and 100 total touchdowns. He was a league MVP, a seven-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champ. Faulk was the real deal, and now he has a chance to pass his experiences on to the running backs at Colorado. For him, it's more than just the opportunity to coach football, though. He gets to coach under Deion Sanders, whom he views as a major difference-maker for the game of football. "You guys know him in a different way than I know him," Faulk said in a recent media availability (h/t On3). "We’ve been friends for many years. We worked together in television. We always talk just about the game and probably more about kids coming up in the game. How do you affect and make sure they come into the game the right way? He’s one of those way makers. When you pay attention to kids that’s gonna leave this program and go to the next level, they’re gonna do it in a certain way and you’re gonna say, 'Wow, they were coached by a guy who understands how to get it done.' I identify with that." Colorado can certainly use Faulk's expertise heading into 2025. There are several players battling for the starting role after Isaiah Augustave transferred to South Carolina. Even then, he was Colorado's leading rusher last season while rushing for just 384 yards and four touchdowns, so it's not like the Buffs have a big gap that they're trying to replace. Dekalon Taylor transferred in from Incarnate Word, where he rushed for 909 yards and nine touchdowns last season, so he'll be a player to watch. Dallan Hayden, Micah Welch, Simeon Price and Charlie Offerdahl are also names to know. Faulk will have his work cut out for him, but he seems excited to make a difference both on and off the field for these young Buffaloes. "So coming here not just to win games on the field, but to win the game off the field, which is to make sure that these young men in life become what they want to become outside of football. They become the father that they want to be, the brother, the husband. Making sure that they do that, that’s the important part. That was attractive," he said.
Tonka Hemingway Earning First Teams Reps With Las Vegas Raiders
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Cardinals Address Elephant In The Room After 2025 Trade Deadline
The St. Louis Cardinals don’t look the same right now as they did on July 30th. The 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline came and passed on July 31st. St. Louis got the ball rolling early by sending Steven Matz to the Boston Red Sox. On deadline day, the Cardinals completed two more deals sending Ryan Helsey to the New York Mets and Phil Maton to the Texas Rangers. It was the second time in three years that the Cardinals held a sort of firesale ahead of the trade deadline. But, this one was different from two years ago. Cardinals At Significant Crossroads in trade deadline aftermath So, what’s next? The Athletic’s Katie Woo addressed the recent trade deadline and talked about the difference between the two and quoted manager Oli Marmol in the process. "There will be no mistaking what the rest of the year will look like," Woo said. "Manager Oli Marmol will spend each of the remaining 48 games trying to help answer what things will look like come 2026 and beyond. This is not the same case as the team’s last selloff season, he insists. In 2023, the final two months consisted of the Cardinals simply trying to survive the remainder of the calendar. Many of the rostered players were not part of the team’s future. At least this year, the roster reflects what the organization hopes will develop into a prominent core. "'This lineup is what’s next,' Marmol said. 'Some of these guys in the ‘pen, that’s what’s next. There is way more enthusiasm in a year like this compared to a 2023 standpoint because you’re investing in what the future is going to look like. That wasn’t the case last time.' But given the Cardinals’ current roster construction, it’s fair to question if the organization can accurately do that. As Woo noted, the Cardinals' bullpen seems to be set up well for the rest of the season now to see what the club has. But, the lineup gives questions each day. The two guys to watch closely throughout the rest of the season surely are Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman. The amount of time they get -- and obviously how they do -- with surely have a big impact on whether they are a part of the long-term vision for the organization. There's work to do, but this sale was different.
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