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The XFL is set to relaunch on Saturday and the Seattle Sea Dragons will make their return when visiting the DC Defenders to open the 2023 season. Leading the Battlehawks will be head coach Jim Haslett, who will be bringing over three decades of coaching experience to the franchise.
After an eight-yea playing career where he was named the 1979 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, Haslett began his coaching career in 1988 as an assistant for the Buffalo Bills during their rise as an AFC powerhouse. Bouncing around through different assistant/coordinator roles throughout the 1990’s, he scored his first head coaching job with the New Orleans Saints in 2000. He would go 10-6 in his first season, leading the Saints to just their second division title in franchise history and first ever playoff win. However, the team would float around .500 for the next four seasons and he would be fired following a horrific 3-13 campaign in 2005 where they were displaced due to Hurricane Katrina.
Afterwards, he served as the St. Louis Rams’ defensive coordinator for three seasons and was named the interim head coach after the in-season firing of Scott Linehan in 2008. After a year-stint as head coach of the Florida Tuskers in the short-lived UFL in 2009, Haslett would once again cycle through various NFL assistant roles over the next decade. He most recently served as Tennessee Titans linebacker’s coach in 2020 and 2021.
Haslett will have a few former head coaches helping him on staff with June Jones serving as offensive coordinator and Ron Zook serving as defensive coordinator.