This Week in the XFL we’re talking about Team Name timelines, looking at the possibility of Pat McAfee joining the booth for the XFL, discussing the discussions with The Spring League to become the XFL’s D-League and look forward to the next Q&A with XFL Houston Team President Brian Michael Cooper.

July is officially over, and we still haven’t learned what the XFL team names or logos are going to be yet. As we originally reported back in May, it looks like the identities are coming in August. Luckily, it may be sooner than you imagine.

We’re hearing from numerous sources that wish to remain anonymous that the announcement is coming sometime next week. We already know the potential names for Seattle, but the speculation is about to come to a close.

Fans across the internet have become anxious and frustrated due to the lack of information around the topic. Originally, it was said that team name’s would be announced in May, then June, then July; and no announcements ever came. We had heard at the June Jones press conference that there was a possibility that the announcement would be delayed until August. No official reason was given, but we suspect it was to ensure that the league had the right marketing folks on hand.

There’s no guarantee that we will hear something next week, but we have some solid leads that we will. It would make sense that the new league would want to announce prior to the start of the NFL pre-season. Although no specific dates were announced, we’re thinking Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. It’s possible we may see some leaks prior to the official announcement, so stay tuned. Let us know what you think down in the comments, or join the conversation on the XFL Newsroom Discord.

A Rant of Mediocre Proportions by John Turner

“The course of true love never did run smooth”
-A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare

Originally, Oliver Luck mentioned in an interview on 106.7 THE FAN The Sports Junkies on February 22, 2019, that XFL team names would be announced in late March or early April. Two days before, Tom Dundon promised to swoop in and save the AAF with his infusion of cash.

The XFL knew about the financial difficulties as early as December, but it appeared Dundon was here to save the day, so the XFL could continue with their original plan.

The XFL was in the process of interviewing and hiring coaches and as the news was breaking about the AAF demise. The XFL pumped the breaks on their hiring spree to see what the fallout from this debacle would be. They had the NFL Combine and Pro Days coming up, and I am guessing that coaches that were previously on board probably had some trepidation at this point. Remember, there was a significant gap between the original hiring of Coaches Stoops, Zorn, Hamilton and Trestman in February to next hire of Coach Jones in May.

The XFL started about filling other positions of need like team marketing managers and presidents. Coaches they had hired already started filling their staffs. They were still setting up partnerships with ANCombines, Your Call Football, and The Spring League. None of this stuff is easy, folks!

Slowly but surely, they filled out their coaching hires as April’s release date became May, then June, then July. What’s happened the last two months? Yep! You got it! The Summer Showcases. Lots of logistics and moving parts there.

What’s most important is this… They wanted to make sure that they had all their coaches and key front office personnel in place with reputable people that are solid, tried, and true. Also, they are signing players to fill out their inaugural draft. Eric Galko, Doug Whaley, and the multiple team coaching staffs have been putting in a lot of time with this stuff.

Now let me ask you… would you rather them release names and logos with nobody to walk the red carpet in uniform? Or, would you rather they fill the ship with a full crew before sailing? I’d choose the latter.

They have made nothing but great hires and timely, solid decisions. Please give the league the opportunity to continue to do so before practicing contempt prior to investigation. They don’t need to tell us why things get pushed back. With hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, I will venture out on a limb and surmise that they have a plan, and are sticking to it.

Last week we reported that the XFL has trademarked five potential names for the Seattle franchise, and we have heard that the rest of the identities are coming soon…. but when?

As stated above, we potentially know the name of the Seattle team; if we’re going by trademarks it’s going to be the Seattle Dragons, Force, Fury, Surge or Wild. We have a couple theories on when we could be officially learning the names and logos for the rest of the XFL franchises.

Theory 1

A rumor that has been tossed around is that the XFL would unveil all identities as the last Showcase in St. Louis on July 13. Although this could be possible, to me it seems the league would want to draw out the suspense. After the Showcase the only thing we have to look forward to is individual signings, finalized rule book, then the draft in early October. This would lead me to believe that the XFL would take this opportunity to create news during a slow period.

Theory 2

Another option would be to release all the identities at once. We’ve heard numerous times that we would know the names in July, so this could very well be a possibility. Assuming that this announcement happens after the the Summer Showcase in St. Louis, this means we could hear this info anytime from the 14th through the 31st. The only reason we question this approach is the fact that we have only seen a handful of trademarks, and for only one location.

Theory 3

The last possibility is that we see a slow build. Similar to how we saw the leagues roll out the coaches, we may see the same for identities. In theory, we could see one or two announcements a week. If this were to start after the last Summer Showcase, this would lead us to the first week of September; assuming that there is one announcement a week. This seems very plausible, seeing as this would fill the news gap between now and the XFL Draft in October.

Only time will tell, and well definitely keep you posted as we learn more on the situation. In the meantime, let us know what you’re favorite team names are in the comments below or join our community on Discord.

Crash Mornings, a local Tampa morning show on 98Rock asked their listeners for some potential team names for the upcoming XFL Tampa Bay franchise. A lot were tongue and cheek, locally-focused jabs and some were more serious. You can listen to the full compilation below.

Listen to “Show Calls: Ideas for Tampa Bays New XFL Team Name!” on Spreaker.