AAF: Atlanta Legends at Orlando Apollos, San Diego Fleet at San Antonio Commanders Game Preview

The AAF will kickoff at 8 pm ET tonight with the Atlanta Legends taking on the Orlando Apollos at Spectrum Stadium and the San Diego Fleet playing the San Antonio Commanders at the Alamodome. Both games will be on CBS and live streamed on the AAF app tonight as the AAF season will begin 2/9. Here are some notable head coaches/ coordinators for these teams playing tonight.

Atlanta Legends at Orlando Apollos

The former LSU defensive analyst Kevin Coyle (2018) will head coach the Legends as Brad Childress resigned in January. Coyle has some experience in the NFL with the Bengals (CB then DB coach) and the Dolphins (defensive coordinator). Louie Cioffi will be the defensive coordinator/ defensive backs coach for the Legends. Michael Vick was listed as the offensive coordinator but due to numerous commitments with broadcasting, he will be in an advisory role for the offense instead.

Former South Carolina Gamecocks head coach (2005-2015) Steve Spurrier will lead the Apollos. Spurrier was a head coach for the Washington Redskins (2002-2003) and for a few SEC colleges like Florida and South Carolina. Bob Sanders will organize the defense as the former Arizona Cardinals linebacker coach (2015-2017). Here are some notable players on both sides of the ball for the Legends and Apollos.

Atlanta Legends

It was announced this week that the former NFL veteran quarterback Matt Simms will start over Aaron Murray at quarterback for the Legends. Simms was an undrafted free agent from Tennessee and was signed by the New York Jets (2012), then bounced around to the Buffalo Bills (2015) and then the Atlanta Falcons (2017). With the Jets, he has 195 passing yards with one passing touchdown to one interception but did not start a game. Simms was signed to the Memphis Express in 2018 but was drafted in the 2nd round to the Atlanta Legends in the 2019 AAF QB Draft. Another notable player on offense includes former 5th round pick Denard Robinson (2013). Robinson has 1058 career rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns for the Jaguars. The quarterback to running back convert from Michigan will look to make contributions early on the Legends offense with his versatility.

Some players to watch on defense include edge linebacker Dylan Donahue, the former 5th round pick from West Georgia (2017). He will get another chance to play as he was guilty of two DUI charges in 2017 and was suspended 14 games for the substance abuse policy last season. Donahue only had five combined tackles for the Jets. Doran Grant was a former 4th round pick in 2015 but did not pan out for the Steelers. The Ohio State cornerback has been on the Bills/ Giants (2016) and Jaguars/ Bears (2017) but was on the Arizona Hotshots before joining the Legends.

Orlando Apollos

The Apollos have some NFL experience with Garrett Gilbert as he had his debut in Week 17 for the Panthers as Kyle Allen was hurt in the final game last season. He went two for three and had 40 yards passing in his debut against the New Orleans Saints. The former 2014 6th round pick from SMU was drafted by the St. Louis Rams and has been on the Patriots (2014), Lions (2015), Raiders (2015-2016), and Panthers (2017-2018). Charles Johnson leads the Apollos receiving core with starting experience with the Vikings from 2014-2016. He has 60 career catches, 834 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns with Minnesota. The former 7th round pick from Grand Valley State was drafted by the Packers (2013) and spent time with teams other than the Vikings like the Browns (2013), Panthers (2017), and Jets (2018).

The most notable defensive back among the AAF players could be Will Hill III. The undrafted safety from Florida (2012) started off in the AFL but then was signed but the Giants (2012-2013) and went back to the AFL in 2014. Hill was signed by the Ravens (2014-2015) as he made an impact on special teams and defense at safety/ linebacker. After a failed drug test and a 10 game suspension, he was cut and went to the CFL in 2017. Hill had four career interceptions, three forced fumbles, and 215 combined tackles with the Ravens and Giants. Azeem Victor was cut by the Oakland Raiders in his rookie season last year after being drafted in the 6th round. The former Washington linebacker signed with the Buccaneers and Seahawks but could not stick to their rosters. Both players will look to make their impact on defense for the Apollos.

San Diego Fleet at San Antonio Commanders

Mike Martz will return to coaching as he was the former offensive coordinator for the Bears (2010-2011) and will be the head coach for the Fleet. He led the “Greatest Show on Turf” as the offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams (1999) but was the head coach for them from 2000-2005. Mike Debord will be the offensive coordinator as a former offensive coordinator for Indiana (2017-2018) but was in the NFL as the Seahawks offensive line/ tight ends coach (2008-2009) and with the Bears as the tight ends coach (2010-2012). Larry Marmie will be the defensive coordinator as he was the Buccaneers senior defensive assistant (2014-2015).

Mike Riley was the head coach for the San Diego Chargers in 1999 to 2001 but was the head coach of Nebraska from 2015 to 2017. He will be the head coach for the Commanders as Matt Troxel will be the offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach for San Antonio. Jim Grobe will be the defensive coordinator/ linebackers coach as he was the head coach for Baylor in 2016. Here are some notable players on both sides of the ball for the Fleet and the Commanders.

San Diego Fleet

The Fleet most likely have the most well known tight end in Gavin Escobar that was drafted in the 2nd round by the Dallas Cowboys (2013-2016). The former San Diego State tight end was signed with the Chiefs and Ravens (2017) and in 2018, he signed with the Browns and Dolphins. Injuries derailed his career but struggled as a blocker as he could not stick with an NFL team after the Cowboys as he only had 30 catches for 333 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns. Terry Poole was a former 4th round pick at offensive tackle, drafted by the Seahawks (2015). The former San Diego State offensive lineman was then signed by the Dolphins (2016) and the Texans (2017) but was waived after failing a physical. These two former San Diego State prospects will look to redeem their careers somewhat on offense.

Damontre Moore was getting after the quarterback and was looking like a defensive contributor for the Giants after they drafted him in the 3rd round (2013-2015). The former Texas A&M defensive end had 8.5 career sacks with the Giants but could not deliver as a consistent pass rush as he signed with the Dolphins (2015), Raiders/ Seahawks (2016), Cowboys (2017), and the Raiders again (2018).

He had some off-field altercations with other players from the Giants, dealt with injuries with the Seahawks, and was suspended a few games when he was with the Cowboys due to violating the substance abuse policy. Travis Feeney is another player with a bunch of potential as an athletic linebacker with his height and speed but could not make an NFL team. The former Washington linebacker was drafted in 2016 in the 6th round with the Steelers and signed with the Saints after he was cut.

San Antonio Commanders

The former Titans running back will look to make his mark as he has NFL and CFL experience. Former Minnesota running back was drafted in the 5th round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He dealt with injuries and signed with the Steelers (2016) and the Bears (2017) before going to the CFL (2018). Cobb has 146 career rushing yards and a touchdown with the Titans as he made one start. Cyril Richardson was a former 5th round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and will look to make an impact at guard or tackle. The former Baylor offensive lineman was drafted by the Bills but signed with the Bears as well (2016-2017).

Jayrone Elliott has some ability as a pass rusher at linebacker for the Commanders. He was undrafted in 2014 and signed with the Packers (2014-2016). The former Toledo linebacker was traded to the Cowboys (2017) for a conditional 7th round pick in in 2018 and signed with the Saints (2018). He has 47 combined tackles, four sacks, an interception, and a forced fumble in his career. Another safety that has NFL experience is Derron Smith. The former Fresno State safety was drafted in the 6th round in 2015. Smith had seven total tackles with the Bengals (2015-2017) and the Browns (2017).