Los Angeles Wildcats (XFL)

The Los Angeles Wildcats (LA Wildcats) were a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and was an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL. The Wildcats played their home games at Dignity Health Sports Park. On March 8, 2020, the Wildcats played their final game against the Tampa Bay Vipers, which was the final XFL game before the league suspended operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Los Angeles Wildcats
Team logo
Established2018
Folded2020 (2022 Officially)
Based inLos Angeles, California
Home stadiumDignity Health Sports Park
Carson, California
Head coachWinston Moss
General managerWinston Moss
Team presidentHeather Brooks Karatz
Owner(s)Alpha Acquico, LLC[1]
LeagueXFL
DivisionWest (2020)[2]
ColorsBlack, red, light orange[3]
     
Websitexfl.com/teams/los-angeles

History

On December 5, 2018, Los Angeles. was announced as one of eight cities that would join the newly reformed XFL, as well as Seattle, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and Dallas.[4] On May 7, 2019, Winston Moss was announced as the team's head coach.[5] On August 21, 2019, the team revealed its name, logos, and identity as the Los Angeles Wildcats, alongside the rest of the XFL teams.[6] A secondary logo was released August 24.

On October 15, 2019, the Wildcats announced their first player in team history, being assigned former Birmingham Iron Quarterback Luis Perez, who was later traded to the New York Guardians.[7]

On February 8, 2020, the team played its first game losing to the Houston Roughnecks 37–17 in Houston.[8] Chad Kanoff scored the first touchdown in franchise history with a scramble left for a five yard score.[9] On February 23, 2020, the Wildcats earned their first win in franchise history, defeating the DC Defenders 39–9.[10] On March 8, 2020, the Wildcats came from behind to win against the Tampa Bay Vipers 41-34 in what was the final game of the 2020 iteration of the XFL. On March 12, 2020, The XFL announced that the remainder of the 2020 XFL season had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team finished with a 2–3 record. On April 10, 2020, the XFL suspended operations, with all of the league's employees, players, and staff terminated.[11]

On July 24, 2022, the XFL announced its reactivation for the 2023 season, and confirmed that the Wildcats would not return for that season. On October 31, 2022, the league announced that the Wildcats' place in the league was taken by the San Antonio Brahmas.

Final Roster

2020 Los Angeles Wildcats final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

  • 99 Latarius Brady DE
  • 90 Roderick Henderson NT
  • 97 Reggie Howard NT
  • 95 Alex Jenkins DE
  • 77 Shawn Oakman DE
  • 91 Boogie Roberts DE
  • 96 Andrew Stelter NT
  • 98 Devin Taylor DE
Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


57 active, 10 inactive

Staff

2020 Los Angeles Wildcats staff
Front office
  • Director of player personnel – Joey Clinkscales
  • Director of football operations – Charles Bailey
  • Manager of football operations – Ty Knott
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
 
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches

Player History

Current NFL Players

XFL Season Pos Name NFL Team
2020 OT Storm Norton New Orleans Saints
2020 QB Josh Johnson Baltimore Ravens

Notable Players

XFL Season Pos Name Notes
2020 RB DuJuan Harris Former Green Bay Packers Running Back
2020 P Colton Schmidt Former Buffalo Bills Punter
2020 K Nick Novak Former San Diego Chargers Kicker

Coach History

Head Coach history

# Name Term Regular season Playoffs Awards
GC W L Win % GC W L
Los Angeles Wildcats
1 Winston Moss 2020 5 2 3 .400 - - -

Offensive Coordinator history

# Name Term Regular season Playoffs Awards
GC W L Win % GC W L
Los Angeles Wildcats
1 Norm Chow 2020 5 2 3 .400 - - -

Defensive Coordinator history

# Name Term Regular season Playoffs Awards
GC W L Win % GC W L
Los Angeles Wildcats
1 Pepper Johnson 2020 1 0 1 .000 - - -
2 Winston Moss 2020 4 2 2 .500 - - -

Rivalries

Overall Regular Season Record vs. Opponents

Team Record Win %
Vegas Vipers 1-0 1.000
DC Defenders 1-0 1.000
Houston Roughnecks 0-1 .000
Orlando Guardians 0-1 .000
Arlington Renegades 0-1 .000
Seattle Sea Dragons 0-0 N/A
St. Louis Battlehawks 0-0 N/A

Records

All-time WIldcats leaders
LeaderPlayerRecordYears with Wildcats
PassingJosh Johnson1,092 passing yards2020
RushingElijah Hood78 rushing yards2020
ReceivingNelson Spruce267 receiving yards2020
Coaching winsWinston Moss2 wins2020
Tackles Ahmad Dixon 45 tackles 2020
SacksCedric Reed3.0 sacks2020
InterceptionsMike Stevens

Jack Tocho

2 Interceptions

2 Interceptions

2020

2020

Market overview

Los Angeles is one of two cities to have also hosted a team in the original XFL, the other being New York/New Jersey; the Los Angeles Xtreme was the champion of the earlier XFL in the league's only season. (A third broader megalopolis, Central Florida, has also hosted teams in both the 2001 and 2020 incarnations of the league.)

As television networks have traditionally required alternative leagues to field teams in New York and Los Angeles to secure television coverage without brokering the airtime,[12][13] Southern California has a long history of alternative professional teams. In addition to the Xtreme, the city has hosted: the Los Angeles Avengers, LA KISS, Anaheim Piranhas and Los Angeles Cobras in the Arena Football League; the Los Angeles Express in the USFL; the Southern California Sun in the World Football League; the Orange County Ramblers and short-lived Long Beach Admirals in the Continental Football League; and numerous teams in the Pacific Coast Professional Football League in the 1930s and 1940s.

The Wildcats were in one of the most heavily crowded sports markets in the United States, competing for sports dollars against two NFL teams (Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers), two NHL teams (Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks), two NBA teams (Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers), multiple NCAA Division I college basketball and college football programs, and in March and April, both the LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC in MLS and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels in the MLB

References

  1. Perry, Mark (August 3, 2020). "More Details On The Rock Purchase Of The XFL, How Many Bidders". XFL News Hub. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  2. "FOX Sports announces 2020 XFL schedule". KMPH. January 7, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  3. "Los Angeles Wildcats' uniforms, helmet". XFL.com (Press release). December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  4. 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)
  5. Markazi, Arash (May 7, 2019). "Winston Moss, who played for L.A. Raiders, to be named coach and GM of L.A.'s XFL team". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  6. The XFL team name and logo reveal, retrieved 2019-08-21
  7. Florio, Mike (2019-10-15). "XFL announces its eight allocated quarterbacks". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  8. "Los Angeles Wildcats fall to Houston Roughnecks in XFL opener". Los Angeles Times. 2020-02-09. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  9. "XFL Live Stats". stats.xfl.com. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
  10. "Wildcats roll to first win in upset over Defenders, 39-9". NFL.com. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  11. Seifert/Yates, Kevin/Field (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, lays off employees and has no plans for 2021 season". www.ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  12. These failings aside, Byrne's observations on the league's extraordinary capacity for self-destruction are right on target. He painstakingly details the myriad problems: the overly restrictive TV contract with ABC in which the USFL was left powerless(...)
  13. Taube was the first USFL owner to notice the rather stringent clauses in the league's television contract with ABC, and fought hard over the league's three years to get them renegotiated.
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