RIGHTING THE SHIP

Among those hoping to stop the Birmingham Stallions galloping to a fourth consecutive spring league title is a Memphis team that needs to pick itself up after a disappointing 2024 campaign.

Coming off a 2-8 season, the Showboats appointed Ken Whisenhunt — best known as the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers team that won Super Bowl XL and a six-year spell in Arizona, where his Cardinals reached Super Bowl XLIII, only to fall to his previous employer — as their new head coach. Already known to the Tennessee fanbase following two unsuccessful years in charge of the NFL’s Titans, Whisenhunt and new general manager Jim Monos — formerly director of player personnel for the Buffalo Bills — reached mid-February with just 16 players remaining from the 2024 team and 44 new faces eager to make the overhauled roster.

“It’s about players that fit what we think is gonna work for us in this environment,” Whisenhunt explained. “We’ve made a lot of changes [and] I think we’ve acquired some really good players. I’m excited to see the competition between those guys as I think one of the things that really makes a big difference is competition on your team. That’s where it starts.”

The head coach is happy with the most visible part of the roster, having traded for the Brahmas’ Quinten Dormady to go alongside 2024 QB Troy Williams and former Michigan Panther E.J. Perry in place of previous starter Case Cookus, and also has former NFL draft picks CB Cameron Dantzler and British-born safety Obi Melifonwu on the books, along with incoming talent, including University of Kansas QB Jason Bean, courtesy of having the first pick in each round of the UFL Draft. With each team taking 64 players to training camp at the end of February before trimming down to an opening-day roster of 50, Whisenhunt expects nothing less than a squad that is ready to fight from the opening weekend against Michigan.

“I’ve learned over the years what you’re looking for from a player, what you’re looking for from a team, and hopefully we can create that here,” he noted. “The biggest focus is to make sure our players understand what we’re trying to do, but that they do it with the proper technique — and that they do it very physically. We’ve got to work with our guys and see what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are. Whoever our quarterback’s going to be, what does he do best? Who’s going to be our best receiver? Who’s going to be our best running back? Who’s gonna be the guy that can put the most pressure on the opposing passer? Those are all questions that you build as you go through camp.”

Last year was the Showboats’ first UFL campaign in Memphis, and the front office is now looking to ramp up its efforts to market the team to the surrounding population in a bid to give the team — now sadly without Whisenhunt at the helm — a more intimidating atmosphere at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.

“I think Memphis is a great place to do it, because there is history here,” the head coach concluded. “If we can get some support from our fans and make it a more difficult environment for teams to come in and play, it’ll help us.

“The biggest thing we wanna do is make sure that we can be a good competitive football team that wins some games.”

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The Showboats have named their 50-man roster, which features former NFL stars Dantzler, Melifonwu and Alec Lindstrom alongside hopefuls looking to the UFL as another chance to show their worth to the big league. With former O-line coach Jim Turner taking the reins from Whisenhunt, who has been forced to take a leave of absence for personal reasons, the season gets off to an uncertain start. Memphis hosts the Michigan Panthers on Sunday 30th March with six of their eight coaches new to the team and Turner becoming the team’s fourth head coach in the three seasons since the Showboats franchise was resurrected for the 2023 USFL season.

With Dormady released in controversial fashion as players league-wide ramped up pressure in search of a collective bargaining agreement, Perry and Williams have competed for the starting signal-caller role throughout camp, while Dresser Winn was brought in midway through the process ‘for depth and development’.

The wide receiver room features two familiar names from last season, as Jonathan Adams and Dee Anderson both return for 2025, where they will be joined by five newcomers, four of whom — Kai Locksley (Canadian Football League), Kwamie Lassiter II (NFL), Eli Stove (CFL/USFL) and Isiah Hennie (USFL/UFL) — all have previous pro football experience.

The running back corps is a different story, however, with three newcomers — Jalen Jackson, Jacob Kibodi and Deneric Prince — having just three combined games of professional football between them. All have featured with NFL teams in some capacity: Kibodi had one game for the Cleveland Browns in 2024 and Jackson spent the same preseason with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but Prince, for all that he played in just two games for the Kansas City Chiefs, won a Super Bowl with them after spending most of the season on the practice squad.

Tight end Ryan Izzo is another Showboat to have received a ring, having been a member of the New England Patriots way back in 2018. Although he spent much of the year on IR, Izzo did at least have 18 games for the Pats under his belt. He is a new face in the Memphis TE room, with Jay Jay Wilson the only returning tight end this season. Wilson is one of three current members of the team who have been with the squad since the franchise was resurrected in 2023, along with DB Kyree Woods and DL John Atkins Sr. Chris Pierce Jr, a converted wide receiver moved to tight end in 2022 while on the Arizona Cardinals practice squad before filling a similar spot with the Carolina Panthers.

The Showboats will no doubt be glad to have Matt Coghlin back on the roster, having been the most accurate kicker in the United Football League last season. Coghlin converted on 94.1 percent of his field goal attempts (16-of-17) with a long of 57 yards and, in his entire professional career, has missed just three such kicks, going 34-of-37 (91.9 percent).

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The Showboats’ season-opener will carry the theme of ‘Community Champions Day’, celebrating the heroes of Memphis and the Mid South, including champions from the classroom and playing field as well as champions young and old in the community.

The team’s four remaining home games will also be themed, with the 12th April clash with the DC Defenders featuring the ‘Showboats Showdown’ where the gridiron meets the squared circle, before things are toned down a little for the 11th May celebration of ‘Mothers Day and Skipper’s Birthday’. The penultimate home game of the regular season, on 24th May against the Arlington Renegades will cap a ‘Hats Off To Heroes On Memorial Day Weekend’, as the Showboats salute the men and women of our Armed Forces, community first responders and other heroes that give their all to protect, serve, and guard the community. Wrapping up against the reigning champion Stallions on 1st June, the Showboats will turn the clock back to 1985 to highlight the accomplishment of the team of yesteryear, who made their lone appearance in the USFL playoffs. Gameday will featuring mid-80s era throwback merchandise and entertainment throughout.