Houston Roughnecks (2020)
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| Founded | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Based in | Houston, Texas |
| Home stadium | TDECU Stadium |
| Head coach | Curtis Johnson |
| Owner(s) | Alpha Acquico, LLC[1]
|
| League | UFL |
| Division | XFL West (2020) XFL South (2023) XFL Conference (2024) |
| Colors | Navy, red[2] |
| Website | xfl.com/teams/houston |
The Houston Roughnecks were a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The Roughnecks competed in the XFL football league. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and were an owned-and-operated by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. The Roughnecks played their home games at TDECU Stadium. The Roughnecks had a franchise regular season record of 12-3 (.800), the highest win percentage among all current XFL teams (tied with DC Defenders).
Following the merger of the USFL and XFL in 2024 as the United Football League, the Houston Roughnecks branding was transferred to the Houston Gamblers.
History
McMahon Era (2020)
On December 5, 2018, Houston was announced as one of eight cities that would join the newly reformed XFL, as well as Seattle, St. Louis, Los Angeles, New York, DC, Tampa Bay, and Dallas.[3] On May 13, 2019, June Jones left his position with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to become Houston's head coach.[4] The XFL confirmed the hire May 20.
On October 15, 2019, the Roughnecks announced their first player in team history, being assigned former Temple Owls QB P. J. Walker.[5]
On February 8, 2020, the Roughnecks defeated the Los Angeles Wildcats in the second game in league history by a score of 37–17.[6] The XFL announced that the remainder of the 2020 XFL season had been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team finished with an undefeated regular season 5–0 record. On April 10, 2020, the XFL suspended operations, with all employees, players, and staff being terminated.[7]
Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia Era (2023-present)
On August 3, 2020, it was reported that a consortium led by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale (through Cardinale's fund RedBird Capital Partners) purchased the XFL for $15 million just hours before an auction could take place; the purchase received court approval on August 7, 2020.[8][9] The XFL hired Wade Phillips as a head coach on April 13, 2022, with the expectation that he would be coaching the Houston team.[10] On July 24, 2022, the return of a Houston XFL franchise was confirmed, as well as the hiring of Wade Phillips.[11] On October 31, 2022, the XFL officially announced that the Roughnecks name would be returning, with a new logo.
Merger with the Houston Gamblers
The Roughnecks released a large portion of its roster ahead of the 2024 season[12] and reassigned Phillips and his staff to the San Antonio Brahmas.[13] At the same time, the United States Football League, ahead of its planned merger with the XFL for 2024, indicated that its putative Houston team, the Gamblers (which never played in Houston during its two years in that league), would be one of the four surviving teams in said merger in a notice to its players union.[14] With the announcement of the merger on December 31, The Washington Post reported that the merged league's Houston team would take on the Roughnecks identity.[15] The UFL confirmed this on January 1, 2024.[16]
Current Roster
Players
Staff
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Coach History
Head Coach History
| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| Houston Roughnecks | ||||||||||
| 1 | June Jones | 2020 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | - | - | - | *2020 XFL Head Coach of the Year |
| 2 | Wade Phillips | 2023-present | 10 | 7 | 3 | .700 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Offensive Coordinator History
| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| Houston Roughnecks | ||||||||||
| 1 | Chris Miller | 2020 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | - | - | - | |
| 2 | A. J. Smith | 2023-present | 10 | 7 | 3 | .700 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Defensive Coordinator History
| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| Houston Roughnecks | ||||||||||
| 1 | Ted Cottrell | 2020 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | - | - | - | |
| 2 | Brian Stewart | 2023 | 10 | 7 | 3 | .700 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Player History
Current NFL Players
| XFL Season | Pos | Name | NFL Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | QB | P. J. Walker | Cleveland Browns |
| 2020 | LB | DeMarquis Gates | Chicago Bears |
| 2023 | WR | Michael Bandy | Denver Broncos |
| 2023 | WR | Jontre Kirklin | New Orleans Saints |
| 2023 | DT | Jack Heflin | New Orleans Saints |
| 2023 | DE | C. J. Brewer | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
Notable Players
| XFL Season | Pos | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | QB | Connor Cook | Former Oakland Raiders Quarterback, 2016 4th Round Pick |
| 2020 | DE | Kony Ealy | Former Carolina Panthers Defensive Tackle, 2014 2nd Round Pick |
| 2023-present | SS | Sean Davis | Former Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive Back, 2016 2nd Round Pick |
Rivalries
The Roughnecks are in-state rivals with the Arlington Renegades. Games between the two are marketed as the Texas Throwdown.[17] Another in-state rival was added in 2023 with the addition of the San Antonio Brahmas to the XFL, with that rivalry billed as the Lone Star Showdown (not to be confused with the Texas/Texas A&M collegiate rivalry also known as the Lone Star Showdown).[18]
Overall Regular Season Record vs. Opponents
| Team | Record | Win % |
|---|---|---|
| Arlington Renegades | 3-0 | 1.000 |
| San Antonio Brahmas | 2-0 | 1.000 |
| Vegas Vipers | 2-0 | 1.000 |
| Orlando Guardians | 2-0 | 1.000 |
| Los Angeles Wildcats | 1-0 | 1.000 |
| Seattle Sea Dragons | 1-1 | .500 |
| St. Louis Battlehawks | 1-1 | .500 |
| DC Defenders | 0-1 | .000 |
Records
| All-time Roughnecks leaders | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leader | Player | Record | Years with Roughnecks | |
| Passing Yards | Brandon Silvers | 1,551 passing yards | 2023 | |
| Passing Touchdowns | P. J. Walker | 15 passing touchdowns | 2020 | |
| Rushing Yards | Max Borghi | 310 rushing yards | 2023-present | |
| Rushing Touchdowns | Max Borghi | 6 rushing touchdowns | 2023-present | |
| Receiving Yards | Cam Phillips | 455 receiving yards | 2020 | |
| Receiving Touchdowns | Cam Phillips | 9 receiving touchdowns | 2020 | |
| Receptions | Cedric Byrd | 37 receptions | 2023 | |
| Tackles | Tavante Beckett | 63 tackles | 2023-present | |
| Sacks | Trent Harris | 9.5 sacks | 2023-present | |
| Interceptions | Ajene Harris | 5 interceptions | 2020-present | |
| Coaching wins | Wade Phillips | 7 wins | 2023-present | |
Market overview
Houston currently has three professional football teams: the Texans of the NFL, the Roughnecks of the XFL, and the Gamblers of the United States Football League (USFL) (though the last of these is in name only as the Gamblers have never played nor practiced in Texas). They also host the Houston Astros of the MLB, the Houston Rockets of the NBA, the Houston Dynamo of the MLS, the Houston Dash of the NWSL, and the Houston SaberCats of the MLR.
Houston has also previously hosted several other alternative professional football teams, including the Texans of the World Football League (unrelated to the current NFL team of the same name), the Gamblers of the original United States Football League, and the Thunderbears of the Arena Football League.
In the winter, the Roughnecks compete economically with the Houston Rockets. In the spring, the Roughnecks compete economically against the Dynamo, the Dash, the SaberCats, the Gamblers, and the beginning of the Astros season.
Logo change
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On January 8, 2021, it was revealed that the NFL filed an opposition against the XFL's trademark application for the Houston Roughnecks logo on December 28, 2020, claiming that the logo was too similar to the Houston Oilers logo.[19] It was then later revealed that the NFL filed another trademark opposition to the Roughneck's secondary logo on behalf of the New England Patriots, claiming that the secondary logo was too similar to the Patriots' current logo.[20] On April 7, 2021, it was revealed that the two logos were abandoned "with prejudice" which means that new applications for the logos could not be made.[21]
The Roughnecks revealed their new logo on October 31, 2022, which is similar in shape to the previous derrick logo but with greater emphasis on the H (stylized to appear as if constructed from steel girders) and the star portion lowered so that the logo no longer explicitly resembles a derrick.
References
- ^ Perry, Mark (August 3, 2020). "More Details On The Rock Purchase Of The XFL, How Many Bidders". XFL News Hub. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ^ "Houston Roughnecks' uniforms, helmet". XFL.com (Press release). December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
- ^ www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/12/05/xfl-picks-houston-as-an-inaugural-city-announces.html. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ McClain, John (May 13, 2019). "June Jones to coach Houston's XFL team". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ Florio, Mike (2019-10-15). "XFL announces its eight allocated quarterbacks". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
- ^ "XFL scores Week 1: Final results, highlights from Saturday's games". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- ^ composer., Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827. Symphonie Nr. 5 c-Moll = Symphony no. 5 in C minor, op. 67. OCLC 994793754.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "THE ROCK BUYS THE XFL FOR $15 MILLION". RingsideNews.com. August 2, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ Kerr, Jeff (August 2, 2020). "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson buys XFL for $15 million with partners RedBird Capital and Dany Garcia". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "XFL Announces Head Coaches: Reggie Barlow, Anthony Becht, Terrell Buckley, Jim Haslett, Wade Phillips, Bob Stoops, Hines Ward and Rod Woodson". www.xfl.com. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
- ^ "XFL UNVEILS TEAM MARKETS AND VENUES: ARLINGTON, HOUSTON, ORLANDO, LAS VEGAS, SAN ANTONIO, SEATTLE, ST. LOUIS, WASHINGTON D.C." www.xfl.com. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
- ^ Kozora, Alex (2023-12-28). "Report: Hines Ward Out As San Antonio Brahmas Head Coach". Steelers Depot. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ^ Perry, Mark (2023-12-28). "Exclusive: HC Hines Ward, GM Will Lewis Out With Brahmas, HC Phillips & OC Smith In, Full Details". xflnewshub.com. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ^ "Four USFL teams survive merger with XFL". NBC Sports. 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
- ^ Russell, Jake (December 31, 2023). "XFL, USFL announce merger to form the United Football League". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
- ^ UNITED FOOTBALL LEAGUE REVEALS TEAM MARKETS AND HEAD COACHES FOR 2024 SEASON. Press release. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
- ^ Halliburton, Suzanne (February 29, 2020). "XFL's first rivalry? Houston vs. Dallas is a 'Texas throwdown'". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- ^ "San Antonio Brahmas fall to Houston Roughnecks 22-13 in first intra-state XFL matchup". KSAT. 2023-03-06. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
… the Brahmas fall to the Roughnecks on the road in their first XFL Lone Star Showdown.
- ^ "NFL Opposes XFL's Trademark for Houston Roughnecks Logo - Gerben Law Firm". www.gerbenlaw.com. 2021-01-08. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
- ^ Davis, Josh. "XFL's Houston Roughnecks Secondary Logo Opposed by NFL". Retrieved 2021-12-26.
- ^ "Houston Roughnecks Forced to Abandon Logos in Trademark Dispute". Pro Football Newsroom. 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
