Las Vegas, NV/Stamford, CT,
August 10, 2000
At a press conference today in Las Vegas, the XFL
announced Bob Ackles as the team’s General Manager,
Jim Criner as the Head Coach, and Don Gregory as the
Player Personnel Director for the XFL-Las Vegas
franchise. The XFL is a new professional football league
jointly owned and operated by World Wrestling Federation
Entertainment, Inc. (NMS: WWFE) and NBC.
“We have hired an experienced group of professionals
to assemble, manage and direct this franchise,” said
Basil V. DeVito, Jr., President of the XFL. “Las Vegas
is certainly an exciting city that is ideal for the type
of football we will unveil in February. We feel that Las
Vegas is a burgeoning sports market, and we’re
confident that fans will enjoy and appreciate the
product that we put on the field.”
Bob Ackles joins the XFL after his fourth season with
the Miami Dolphins as Director of Football Operations.
He was responsible for contract negotiations, player
personnel, and scouting operations on both the
professional and collegiate levels. Ackles’ prior
experience includes Director of Football Administration
for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1995, and his debut NFL
efforts in 1986 as the Dallas Cowboys’ first-ever Vice
President of Pro Personnel and later as their Vice
President of Player Personnel. He also spent three
seasons in the Arizona Cardinals’ front office, and 11
years as General Manager of the Canadian Football
League’s British Columbia Lions. After joining the CFL
at age 15 as a waterboy, Ackles became the first
non-player to earn the Schenley Award of Excellence,
awarded for his outstanding contributions to the CFL.
Jim Criner, with more than 30 years of coaching
experience, currently holds more than 20 NFL Europe and
World League head coaching records. In 1996, the former
Head Coach of the Scottish Claymores led his team to a
victory at the World Bowl and received the World League
Coach of the Year Award. Starting his career as a high
school football coach, Criner went on to coach at the
college level at Utah, Cal State-Hayward, University of
California-Berkeley and Brigham Young. He also served as
the Head Coach at Iowa State for three years (1986-1983)
and at Boise State University for six years (1976-1982).
Don Gregory brings twenty-six years of football
experience on all levels of competition to the XFL. He
joined the staff of the San Diego Chargers as a scout in
1995, after scouting players for the National Football
Scouting Combine, the Canadian Football League and the
World League of American Football for nine years.
Gregory played linebacker for two seasons at a junior
college, transferred to Portland State as an outside
linebacker and nose guard, then played and coached as a
graduate assistant at Whitworth College in Washington.
Gregory played from 1979-1985 for the semi-professional
Spokane Goldenhawks, and spent his last two seasons as a
player-coach.
The Las Vegas franchise, which will be named at a later
date, will play five regular-season home games at Sam
Boyd Stadium. Additional teams have been confirmed in
Chicago, Memphis, Orlando, San Jose, Los Angeles,
Birmingham and New York City. The XFL -- which will have
a ten-game regular season -- will kick off on February
3, 2001. |
