Who is coach of the St. Louis Battlehawks in XFL?

The XFL is set to relaunch on Saturday and the St. Louis Battlehawks will make their return when visiting the San Antonio Brahmas to open the 2023 season. Leading the Battlehawks will be head coach Anthony Becht, who is making his head coaching debut.

A Philadelphia area native, Becht was a standout tight end during his collegiate days at West Virginia and was selected by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He was productive throughout his five-year tenure with the organization, catching a career-high 40 receptions for 356 yards and four touchdowns through 16 starts in 2003. He’d ultimately play 10 seasons in the NFL, suiting up for five different franchises.

Along with some analyst work for ESPN, Becht’s coaching career has mostly been in the high school ranks in the state of Florida. He has served as the draft prep tight end coach at juggernaut IMG Academy as well as the offensive coordinator for Wiregrass Ranch in the Tampa area. He did get some brief professional experience serving as the tight ends coach for the San Diego Fleet of the short-lived AAF league in 2019.

Becht will have a few of his former teammates in the NFL aiding him on staff with Bruce Gradkowski serving as offensive coordinator and Donnie Abraham serving as defensive coordinator.