Houston Roughnecks
The Houston Roughnecks are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL. The Roughnecks plays their home games at TDECU Stadium.
 | |
| Founded | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Based in | Houston, Texas |
| Home stadium | TDECU Stadium |
| Head coach | Wade Phillips |
| General manager | Wade Phillips |
| Owner(s) | Alpha Acquico, LLC[1]
|
| League | XFL |
| Division | West (2020) South (2023–present) |
| Colors | Red, navy, grey[2] |
| Website | xfl.com/teams/houston |
History
McMahon Era (2020)
On December 5, 2018, Houston was announced as one of eight cities that would join the newly reformed XFL, as well as Seattle, St. Louis, Los Angeles, New York, DC, Tampa Bay, and Dallas.[3] On May 13, 2019, June Jones left his position with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to become Houston's head coach.[4] The XFL confirmed the hire May 20.
On October 15, 2019, the Roughnecks announced their first player in team history, being assigned former Temple Owls Quarterback P. J. Walker.[5]
On February 8, 2020, the Roughnecks defeated the Los Angeles Wildcats in the second game in league history by a score of 37-17.[6] The XFL announced that the remainder of the 2020 XFL season had been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team finished with an undefeated regular season 5-0 record. On April 10, 2020, the XFL suspended operations, with all employees, players, and staff being terminated.[7]
Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia Era (2023-present)
On August 3, 2020, it was reported that a consortium led by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale (through Cardinale's fund RedBird Capital Partners) purchased the XFL for $15 million just hours before an auction could take place; the purchase received court approval on August 7, 2020.[8][9] The XFL hired Wade Phillips as a head coach on April 13, 2022, with the expectation that he would be coaching the Houston team.[10] On July 24, 2022, the return of a Houston XFL franchise was confirmed, as well as the hiring of Wade Phillips.[11] On October 31, 2022, the XFL officially announced that the Roughnecks name would be returning, with a new logo.
Market overview
Houston has previously hosted several other alternative professional football teams, including the Texans of the World Football League (unrelated to the current NFL team of the same name), Gamblers (2022) of the United States Football League (2022), and Thunderbears of the Arena Football League. Houston has one major league winter sport against which the XFL economically competes, the NBA Houston Rockets. The team will also have to compete with other Houston-based professional sports teams in the spring. The MLS Houston Dynamo, the NWSL Houston Dash, the MLR Houston SaberCats, and the USFL Houston Gamblers (2022) in March and April as well as the beginning of the MLB Houston Astros season. The Roughnecks are also the second professional football team located in Houston, along with the NFL Houston Texans.
The Roughnecks are in-state rivals with the Arlington Renegades. Games between the two are marketed as the Texas Throwdown.[12] Another in-state rival was added in 2023 with the addition of the San Antonio Brahmas to the XFL, with that rivalry billed as the Lone Star Showdown (not confused with the Texas/Texas A&M collegiate rivalry also known as the Lone Star Showdown).[13]
Logo change
On January 8, 2021, it was revealed that the NFL filed an opposition against the XFL’s trademark application for the Houston Roughnecks logo on December 28, 2020, claiming that the logo was too similar to the Houston Oilers logo.[14] It was then later revealed that the NFL filed another trademark opposition to the Roughneck's secondary logo on behalf of the New England Patriots, claiming that the secondary logo was too similar to the Patriots' current logo.[15] On April 7, 2021, it was revealed that the two logos were abandoned "with prejudice" which means that new applications for the logos could not be made.[16]
The Roughnecks revealed their new logo on October 31, 2022, which is similar in shape to the previous derrick logo but with greater emphasis on the H (stylized to appear as if constructed from steel girders) and the star portion lowered so that the logo no longer explicitly resembles a derrick.
Staff
|
| |||||
Players
Current roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
Roster updated May 16, 2023 |
Player and Coach history
Head Coach History
| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| 1 | June Jones | 2020 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | - | - | - | *2020 XFL Head Coach of the Year |
| 2 | Wade Phillips | 2023-present | 10 | 7 | 3 | .700 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Offensive Coordinator History
| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| 1 | Chris Miller | 2020 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | - | - | - | |
| 2 | A. J. Smith | 2023-present | 10 | 7 | 3 | .700 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Defensive Coordinator History
| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| 1 | Ted Cottrell | 2020 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | - | - | - | |
| 2 | Brian Stewart | 2023-present | 10 | 7 | 3 | .700 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Former Notable Players
- Connor Cook - Former Oakland Raiders Quarterback, 2016 4th Round Pick
- Kony Ealy - Former Carolina Panthers Defensive Tackle, 2014 2nd Round Pick
- DeMarquis Gates - Current Chicago Bears Linebacker
- Cam Phillips - 2020 XFL Receiving Yards Leader
- P. J. Walker - Current Carolina Panthers Quarterback, 2020 XFL Passing Yards, and Touchdowns Leader
Current Notable Players
- Michael Bandy - Former Los Angeles Chargers Wide Receiver
- Sean Davis - Former Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive Back, 2018 2nd Round Pick
- Cole McDonald - Former Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Quarterback, 2020 7th Round Pick
References
- Perry, Mark (August 3, 2020). "More Details On The Rock Purchase Of The XFL, How Many Bidders". XFL News Hub. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- "Houston Roughnecks' uniforms, helmet". XFL.com (Press release). December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
- www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/12/05/xfl-picks-houston-as-an-inaugural-city-announces.html. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - McClain, John (May 13, 2019). "June Jones to coach Houston's XFL team". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- Florio, Mike (2019-10-15). "XFL announces its eight allocated quarterbacks". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
- "XFL scores Week 1: Final results, highlights from Saturday's games". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- composer., Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827. Symphonie Nr. 5 c-Moll = Symphony no. 5 in C minor, op. 67. OCLC 994793754.
- "THE ROCK BUYS THE XFL FOR $15 MILLION". RingsideNews.com. August 2, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- Kerr, Jeff (August 2, 2020). "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson buys XFL for $15 million with partners RedBird Capital and Dany Garcia". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- "XFL Announces Head Coaches: Reggie Barlow, Anthony Becht, Terrell Buckley, Jim Haslett, Wade Phillips, Bob Stoops, Hines Ward and Rod Woodson". www.xfl.com. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
- "XFL UNVEILS TEAM MARKETS AND VENUES: ARLINGTON, HOUSTON, ORLANDO, LAS VEGAS, SAN ANTONIO, SEATTLE, ST. LOUIS, WASHINGTON D.C." www.xfl.com. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
- Halliburton, Suzanne (February 29, 2020). "XFL's first rivalry? Houston vs. Dallas is a 'Texas throwdown'". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- "San Antonio Brahmas fall to Houston Roughnecks 22-13 in first intra-state XFL matchup". KSAT. 2023-03-06. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
… the Brahmas fall to the Roughnecks on the road in their first XFL Lone Star Showdown.
- "NFL Opposes XFL's Trademark for Houston Roughnecks Logo - Gerben Law Firm". www.gerbenlaw.com. 2021-01-08. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
- Davis, Josh. "XFL's Houston Roughnecks Secondary Logo Opposed by NFL". Retrieved 2021-12-26.
- "Houston Roughnecks Forced to Abandon Logos in Trademark Dispute". Pro Football Newsroom. 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
