Becht to become head coach in Orlando

ARLINGTON, Tex. — Anthony Becht is leaving the Show-Me State for the Sunshine State, according to reports Tuesday.

The Orlando Storm, one of the UFL’s newest expansion teams, announced Becht as its head coach.

The announcement marks a bittersweet transition for Becht, who leaves behind the St. Louis Battlehawks after three successful seasons at the helm.

Becht led the Battlehawks to a strong 22-8 regular season record from the league’s relaunch in 2023 through 2025. This helped launch St. Louis into two consecutive playoff appearances in 2024 and 2025.

His tenure in St. Louis was instrumental in building a winning culture, developing numerous talents, and advancing them to the NFL.

However, the move to Orlando will represent a fresh challenge: building a brand-new team from scratch from the ground up.

“I am filled with mixed emotions as I leave a city and a team that I love — the St. Louis Battlehawks — to take on the exciting challenge of building a new team — the Orlando Storm — in my home state,” Becht said in a statement. “I look forward to the task that faces me and adding to the great tradition of football in the Sunshine State. I want to thank the Battlehawks faithful for all of their support. You will forever be in my heart.”

League expansion and restructuring

The decision comes as the UFL undergoes expansion and restructuring. It was previously announced that the Michigan Panthers, Memphis Showboats, and San Antonio Brahmas were being retired, or in some instances, temporarily retired.

The Panthers’ issues came with stadium issues at Ford Field. The team had good attendance, which allows for a potential return in 2028.

The shuttering of the Showboats simply came as a combined lack of sustainable fan support and attendance.

The end of the Brahmas was considered a somewhat surprising move. The league’s reasoning: the Alamodome is misaligned with the league’s vision. How exactly? League officials won’t say.

Rebranding

Two teams were rebranded in this restructuring.

The Houston Roughnecks, which had been around since the initial XFL relaunch in 2020, lost a lot of its identity when the XFL’s Roughnecks and the USFL’s Houston Gamblers were combined as a result of the 2024 merger to form the United Football League.

Even in the merger, it was simply the Gamblers’ front office, players, and staff with what was a once-powerful social media team that did the Roughnecks’ social media from 2020 to 2023.

With all that in play, the league opted to rename the team to the Houston Gamblers. After playing in various venues, the Gamblers will play in their sixth stadium in league history at Shell Energy Stadium.

Also being rebranded is the Renegades. The Dallas Renegades were part of the original XFL group of teams when the league revived in 2020 under Vince McMahon.

In 2023, the team was renamed to the Arlington Renegades per changes by the league ownership.

Along with the rebrand, the Renegades will play in a new stadium at Toyota Stadium in Frisco.

Who are the new teams in the league?

Other than the Orlando Storm, two other teams are joining the league in time for the 2026 season: the Louisville Kings and the Columbus Aviators.

The Storm, not to be confused with the former World TeamTennis franchise of the same name, is the sixth team to be placed in central Florida. This includes the Orlando Rage from the original XFL, Tampa Bay Vipers and Orlando Guardians of the revived XFL, the AAF’s Orlando Apollos, and the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits.

The Storm will play their home games at Inter&Co Stadium in downtown Orlando.

For the Aviators, this is their first professional team in Columbus since the short-lived Ohio Glory in the World League, which only played one season in 1992.

The Aviators are in good company, as Columbus is home to the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer and the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL. It’s also home to the second-tier Columbus Crew 2 of the MLS Next Pro league and the Columbus Clippers, a Triple-A affiliate of MLB’s Cleveland Guardians playing in the International League.

The team, coached by former NFL wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr., will play its home games in Historic Crew Stadium, home of the Columbus Crew.

Ginn Jr., an Ohio State alum and 14-year veteran of the NFL, will enter his first experience as a coach since retiring as a player in 2021.

For the Aviators, it marks the first professional football team in Louisville and Kentucky since the American Football Association’s Kentucky Trackers folded its operations in 1980.

Louisville is home to the Louisville Bats of the International League (Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds), Louisville City FC of the USL Championship (the second tier in American soccer just below MLS), Racing Louisville FC of the National Women’s Soccer League, and the Louisville Cardinals from the NCAA.

The team will play its games at Lynn Family Stadium.

Former Battlehawk coaching in the UFL

Remember former NFL quarterback AJ McCarron? The AJ McCarron who spent two stints in St. Louis with the Battlehawks?

Make him the second former NFL player and first XFL/UFL player to enter a coaching position in the league.

There had been discussions earlier this year about McCarron possibly entering a coaching position. That officially came to fruition on December 18 when he was announced as the head coach of the Birmingham Stallions. He had initial thoughts on joining the Stallions as their quarterback to beat Becht’s team twice in one season. That came after his November 2024 release from the Battlehawks.

Maybe that could still happen, but Coach Becht isn’t in St. Louis anymore.

COACHING CAROUSEL: How the league looks with Becht move

As of publication, there are only four coaches announced for the 2026 UFL season, with four vacancies to fill:

Becht brings along a decent resume to Orlando

Becht played 11 years in the NFL, including stints with the New York Jets, St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals, and Kansas City Chiefs.

He transitioned to broadcasting after football, serving as a college football analyst for ESPN. He currently works as the color commentator for Jets radio broadcasts.

In 2019, he started his coaching career in the Alliance of Professional Football with the San Diego Fleet. He was announced as the Battlehawks’ head coach leading up to the 2023 reboot of the XFL, succeeding Jonathan Hayes, who coached the team in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 revival of the league. By that time, Hayes had already taken a new position with the Renegades under head coach Bob Stoops.

No additional statements from UFL, Battlehawks

Not much additional context was provided before publication on what’s next in St. Louis.

However, league officials did indicate that a successor will be announced soon. They cited that they wish to focus on building momentum in Orlando and will focus on selecting a new head coach for the Battlehawks at a later date, but in plenty of time for the 2026 UFL season.

The Battlehawks did not immediately respond to a request for comment before publication.

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us