 On August 10, 2000, the XFL named
Bob Ackles the inaugural Vice President/General Manager
of the Las Vegas Outlaws. Ackles is responsible for the
formation and construction of the Outlaws’
front-office staff, with every aspect of the team’s
operations - football competition, marketing, ticketing,
public relations, operations and administration -
reporting to Ackles. His 15 years of experience on NFL
Player Personnel staffs and 48 years of professional
football experience also make him an invaluable resource
for Outlaws Head Coach Jim Criner and Director of Player
Personnel Don Gregory.
Ackles, one of the most widely respected executives in
the National Football League, joined the XFL after five
seasons with the Miami Dolphins, where he served as the
team’s Director of Football Operations. Ackles’
primary concern in Miami were contract negotiations, as
well as other scouting, personnel and administrative
responsibilities on the pro and collegiate levels. He
arrived in Miami from the Philadelphia Eagles, where he
served as Director of Football Administration in 1995.
He had spent the three previous seasons in the Arizona
Cardinals' front office, first as that club's Director
of College Scouting from 1992-93 and then as Assistant
General Manager in 1994.
Ackles first joined the NFL ranks in 1986 when he was
named as the Cowboys' first-ever Vice President of Pro
Personnel. Three years later, Ackles was promoted to
Vice President of Player Personnel and helped begin the
Cowboys' dramatic resurgence as an NFL power. His
efforts to acquire talent through several trades, waiver
acquisitions, and Plan B free agency provided an
infusion of top draft picks and players. Those efforts
were rewarded in 1991 when, following an 11-5 regular
season, Dallas earned a berth in the playoffs, setting
the stage for the first of their consecutive Super Bowl
wins the following season.
Prior to joining the Cowboys, Ackles spent 11 years as
General Manager of the Canadian Football League's
British Columbia Lions. Under his leadership, the Lions
became one of the winningest teams in the CFL, moved
into a new stadium, and built a training facility. In
his last season with B.C., the Lions won the Grey Cup,
the CFL's equivalent of the Super Bowl.
Ackles, born on September 16, 1938, first joined B.C. as
a waterboy at the age of 15 and over the next 34 years
performed virtually every administrative duty in the
organization, from equipment manager to general manager.
He was recognized for his outstanding contributions to
the CFL in 1986 when he was presented with the Schenley
Award, becoming the first non-player in league history
to receive the award, which symbolizes excellence in
football in Canada.
A native Canadian who gained American citizenship in
2000, Ackles was born in Sarnia, Ontario, near the
United States border. Raised in Toronto and Vancouver,
British Columbia, he played organized football and
hockey (goalie), and later coached two years of high
school football in Vancouver.
Bob and his wife, Kay, reside in Green Valley. They have
two married sons, Steve (38), and Scott (35, also the
Outlaws’ Director of Operations), and three
grandchildren, Robert (18), and twins Ashley and Kyle
(15). Their fourth grandchild is expected on February 3,
2001 – the XFL’s Inaugural Weekend. |
