Atlanta_Legends

Atlanta Legends

Atlanta Legends

Alliance of American Football team


The Atlanta Legends were a professional American football franchise based in Atlanta, Georgia, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019.[1] They played their home games at Georgia State Stadium on the campus of Georgia State University. The Legends were one of two AAF teams based in a city that already had an NFL team (the Atlanta Falcons; the other team was the Arizona Hotshots, where the NFL's Cardinals were based). The Legends were coached by Kevin Coyle, one of two AAF coaches without prior head coaching experience, after the position became available when Brad Childress resigned a month before the season began.[2] Billy Devaney was the general manager.

Quick Facts Established, Folded ...

On April 2, 2019, the league's football operations were reportedly suspended,[3][4] and on April 4 the league allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams.[5] The league filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17, 2019.[6]

History

The Alliance Atlanta team was announced by the league on April 25, 2018, as its second initial team. Additionally, the head coach, Brad Childress, and offensive coordinator, Michael Vick, were announced.[7][8] On September 20, the league announced for four eastern inaugural franchises' names and logos including Atlanta as the Atlanta Legends.[9] The name and colors (purple, gold, white) are tributes to famous historical figures from the city, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Hank Aaron.[10][11]

Childress resigned a month before the start of the 2019 season, and Kevin Coyle, initially hired as the team's defensive coordinator, took Childress's place.[12] On February 7, 2019, two days before their first game, head coach Coyle announced that Vick would be unable to fill his role as offensive coordinator and would instead act as an advisor to the team.[13] Rich Bartel, who replaced Vick as de facto offensive coordinator and play-caller, abruptly resigned two days before the team's home opener,[14] prompting the team to hire Ken Zampese to lead the offense.[15]

The team's first game was at Spectrum Stadium against the Orlando Apollos on Saturday, February 9, 2019,[16] where they lost 40–6.[17] Their first home game was on February 24 against the Birmingham Iron, where they lost 28–12.[16] After starting the season 0–3, the Legends recorded their first win against the Arizona Hotshots on March 3, 2019.[18]

Final roster

2019 Atlanta Legends final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

  • 94 Tavaris Barnes DE
  • 93 T. J. Barnes DT
  • 95 David Dean DT
  • 99 Bijhon Jackson DT
  • 91 J.T. Jones DE
  • 94 Antonio Simmons DE
  • 90 Tracy Sprinkle DT
Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • 74 Parker Collins OT (IR)
  • 32 Tyson Graham FS (IR)
  • 24 Bronson Hill RB (IR)
  • 87 Garrett Hudson TE (IR)
  • 70 John Kling T (IR)
  • 42 Quincy Mauger S (IR)
  • 60 Trae Moxley OL (IR)
  • 77 Brandon Pertile G (IR)
  • 25 Denard Robinson RB (IR)
  • 74 Bentley Spain OT (IR)
  • 27 Akrum Wadley RB (IR)

Rights list

  • -- Donnie Miles, Jr. DB
  • 62 Matthew Schmidt OL
  • 83 Jake Sutherland TE


47 Active, 14 Inactive

Allocation pool

The Legends' assigned area, which designated player rights, included the following:[19]

Staff

Atlanta Legends staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Ken Zampese
  • Running backs – John Johnson
  • Tight ends – Corey Woods
  • Offensive line – Pete Metzelaars
  • Offensive assistant – Miles Robinson

Defensive coaches

  • Defensive coordinator – Louie Cioffi
  • Defensive line – Leroy Thompson
  • Linebackers/Defensive specialist – Jennifer Welter
  • Defensive assistant – Tyler Anderson
  • Special teams coordinator/linebackers coach – Mark Criner
 

Sports Medicine staff

  • Head athletic trainer – Rachel Sharpe
  • Assistant athletic trainer – Daniel McAdams
  • Physical therapist – Mike Thomas

Equipment staff

  • Head equipment manager – Cortez Robinson
  • Assistant equipment manager – Jessica Gladden

Video staff

  • Video director – Jacob Berry
  • Assistant video director – Rickey Layman

Coaching Staff

2019 season

Quick Facts 2019 season, General manager ...

Final standings

More information Eastern Conference, Club ...

Schedule

Preseason

More information Week, Day ...

Regular season

All times Eastern

More information Week, Day ...

Changed from original time and/or network.[20]
[16][21]

Game summaries

Week 1: at Orlando

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Week One: Atlanta Legends at Orlando Apollos – Game summary

at Spectrum Stadium, Orlando, Florida

Week 2: at San Diego

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More information Game information ...
Week Two: Atlanta Legends at San Diego Fleet – Game summary

at SDCCU Stadium, San Diego, California

Week 3: Birmingham

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More information Game information ...
Week Three: Birmingham Iron at Atlanta Legends – Game summary

at Georgia State Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Week 4: at Arizona

More information Period, Total ...
More information Game information ...
Week Four: Atlanta Legends at Arizona Hotshots – Game summary

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Week 5: Memphis

More information Period, Total ...
More information Game information ...
Week Five: Memphis Express at Atlanta Legends – Game summary

at Georgia State Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Week 6: San Antonio

More information Period, Total ...
More information Game information ...
Week Six: San Antonio Commanders at Atlanta Legends – Game summary

at Georgia State Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Week 7: Orlando

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Week Seven: Orlando Apollos at Atlanta Legends – Game summary

at Georgia State Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Week 8: at Birmingham

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More information Game information ...
Week Eight: Atlanta Legends at Birmingham Iron – Game summary

at Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama

Media

In addition to league-wide television coverage through NFL Network, CBS Sports Network, TNT, and B/R Live, Legends' games were also broadcast on local radio by WCNN ("680 The Fan").[30]


References

  1. Wilson, Bernie (April 3, 2019). "Atlanta Legends no more: AAF football immediately suspends operations". WSB-TV ATLANTA. Cox Media Group. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  2. "One month to kickoff, Childress quits AAF job". ESPN.com. January 9, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  3. Kercheval, Ben (April 2, 2019). "AAF operations suspended, league's future in doubt after eight games of first season". cbssports.com. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  4. "AAF to immediately suspend operations". ESPN. April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  5. Schwartz, Nick (April 4, 2019). "AAF star Keith Reaser becomes first player to sign NFL deal after league shutdown". USA Today. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  6. "AAF files for bankruptcy, officially closes down", USA Today, April 17, 2019, retrieved April 17, 2019 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  7. Culpepper, JuliaKate E. (April 25, 2018). "Michael Vick will lead offense of new pro football league team in Atlanta". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  8. Benjamin, Cody (September 20, 2018). "LOOK: Alliance of American Football unveils logos of four pro teams that will debut in 2019". CBSSports.com. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  9. Culpepper, JuliaKate (September 20, 2018). "Exclusive: Name, logo revealed for new pro football team in Atlanta". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  10. Yasin, Kareem (November 27, 2018). "The Alliance of American Football Unveils its Inaugural Uniforms". Alliance of American Football. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  11. "One month to kickoff, Childress quits AAF job". ESPN.com. January 9, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  12. Vivlamore, Chris (February 7, 2019). "Michael Vick out as Atlanta Legends offensive coordinator". AJC. Cox Enterprises. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  13. Johnson, Parker (February 25, 2019). "Play-caller Bartel becomes third coach to leave Legends". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  14. "Alliance of American Football schedule released for Arizona Hotshots, other 7 teams". AZ Central. USA Today Network. October 16, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  15. Kercheval, Ben (February 9, 2019). "AAF Week 1 scores, highlights: Spurrier calls 'Philly Special' for TD, Orlando and San Antonio win openers". CBSSports.com. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  16. Inabinett, Mark (July 12, 2018). "Alabama, Auburn players to go on Birmingham AAF team's assignment list". AL.com. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  17. "TNT to exclusively televise two additional AAF games". AAF.com. March 6, 2019. Archived from the original on March 7, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  18. "2019 Atlanta Legends Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  19. Filipe, Cameron (February 9, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 1, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  20. Filipe, Cameron (February 13, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 2, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  21. Filipe, Cameron (February 22, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 3, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  22. Filipe, Cameron (February 27, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 4, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  23. Filipe, Cameron (March 9, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 5, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  24. Filipe, Cameron (March 14, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 6, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  25. Filipe, Cameron (March 21, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 7, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  26. Filipe, Cameron (March 28, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 8, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  27. "'680 The Fan' To Carry Atlanta Legends Football Games". insideradio.com. January 16, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2019.

Further reading


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