Jake Leonard 
ST. LOUIS — It did not take long for the St. Louis Battlehawks to find a new head coach, following the departure of Anthony Becht for the Orlando Storm. The Battlehawks’ front office announced the hire of Ricky Proehl as their new head coach just days before the new year.
Proehl, a former St. Louis Ram, much like Becht, was an instrumental member of the Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf,” nicknamed for the team’s explosive, high-powered offense from 1999 to 2001 alongside Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Orlando Pace, and other players.
Proehl was a third-round pick in the 1990 NFL Draft by the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, who would play stints with the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, and Carolina Panthers before retiring initially in 2005.
He would help the Rams win Super Bowl XXXIV against the Tennessee Titans in 1999 and briefly came out of retirement to help the Indianapolis Colts win Super Bowl XLI in 2006 in relief of injured wide receiver Brandon Stokley.
Proehl’s coaching career got its start in 2011 with the Carolina Panthers as an offensive consultant. He would hold that position until he received a promotion to wide receivers coach in 2013. During his tenure, the Panthers made it to Super Bowl L, but fell to the Denver Broncos.
This marks Proehl’s second tenure with the Battlehawks. In September 2022, Proehl was hired by Becht to be the team’s wide receivers coach. Among that squad of receivers that he coached for the 2023 XFL season was his son, Austin Proehl.
Proehl did not return for the 2024 season, although it might not be related to Austin not being on the team’s roster after the 2024 dispersal draft that took place as a result of the merger of spring leagues XFL and the United States Football League (USFL) to form the United Football League (UFL).
Proehl looks to add on to the Battlehawks’ winning ways with a career regular-season record of 25-10, but improve on its postseason performance, which currently sits at 0-2.
A new coach likely means a new coaching corps for Proehl
Proehl will have to build an entirely new coaching corps due to the departure of several coaches from the Becht regime.
Offensive coordinator Phil McGeoghan left the organization in late October 2025 to become the head coach of the Berlin Thunder, which is in the European League of Football.
Defensive coordinator Donnie Abraham was appointed as senior defensive analyst for the East Tennessee State University football program. Abraham contended that his tenure with the team ended at the end of the 2025 UFL season. It’s currently unknown his status in the UFL for the 2026 season.
Who might return?
There are rumblings within the Battlehawks fan community that two coaches may be returning for the 2026 season, and both individuals are also former Rams.
Defensive coaches LaRoi Glover and Chris Claiborne may be returning for the 2026 season.
Glover, a former defensive tackle for the Rams from 2006 to 2008, joined the Battlehawks as a defensive line coach in 2023. Before that, he served as the Director of Player Engagement for the Rams from 2010 to 2016.
Claiborne, who also joined the team in 2023, has served as the team’s linebacker coach for the past three seasons. He was appointed in March 2023 following the resignation of Dave Steckel. Clairborne played for the Rams for one season in 2005.
As of now, their return remains speculative.
