Gene Chizik and Kevin Sumlin reportedly land new head coaching opportunities

Gene Chizik and Kevin Sumlin are reportedly heading back to the sidelines as head coaches.

According to Cole Cubelic, both former college coaches have landed jobs leading franchises in the USFL, that is preparing a re-launch.

Chizik will lead a team based out of Birmingham and Sumlin will lead Houston's franchise.

The former Houston and Texas A&M head coach last coached at Arizona from 2018-20 where he went 5-7 and then 4-8 in his first two years. During the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Sumlin was let go after an 0-5 start following a very lopsided 70-7 loss to rival Arizona State.

In 13 seasons as a college head coach, Sumlin has gone 95-63 overall.

Chizik, the veteran defensive coordinator with head coaching stops at Iowa State and Auburn brought a national title back to The Plains with a perfect 14-0 season in 2010. He was fired two years later after a 3-9 season. 

With a 3-19 mark in two seasons at Iowa State and 33-19 in four seasons at Auburn, Chizik carries a six-year college head coaching record of 38-38.

He most recently served as defensive coordinator at UNC in 2015-16 before stepping away from the game to spend more time with his family. 

(Update >> Chizik has since come out and shared that while they have had several discussions, nothing has been finalized)

Two additional coaching veterans have also been announced in Todd Haley and Bart Adrus. 

Haley, the veteran NFL offensive coordinator and former Chiefs head coach, will lead Tampa's team after spending the last few seasons as a high school offensive coordinator.

Andrus, a well traveled coaching veteran who had been coaching college ball in Canada most recently, has coached in The Spring League and will now oversee New Orleans newest franchise.

The re-launch of the USFL will initially feature eight teams that are being split into a North and South Division.

In the North are the Michigan Panthers, New Jersey Generals, Philadelphia Stars and Pittsburgh Maulers. 

The team mascots for the South, whose head coaches we have shared above, will be the Birmingham Stallions, Houston Gamblers, New Orleans Breakers, and Tampa Bay Bandits.

The 2022 season will be played in the spring at one host city for the first year and that location has yet to be announced. Both Fox and NBC have come on board as broadcast partners.

Teams will play a 10-game schedule. The top two teams in each division will face off in a semifinal to crown the division's winner and those winners will face off in the title game. 

Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest, as the North Division of the league still need to name their head coaches.

Update >> The league has now formally announced the hires of Sumlin, Andrus, and Haley as well as former Oregon State and Nebraska head coach Mike Riley.

Riley will serve as the head coach of the New Jersey Generals.