The
Florida Tuskers are a professional American football team in Orlando,
Florida
that play in the United Football
League.
The city
of Orlando,
Florida was awarded a franchise in the United Football League.
Their home
stadium is the Citrus
Bowl
and Jim Haslett, former
head coach of the New Orleans
Saints and St. Louis Rams, is the
head coach. Tampa Bay Rays
owner
Stuart Sternberg has a share
in the team.
Franchise history
Former
NFL head coach of the
New Orleans Saints and
St. Louis Rams Jim
Haslett, was named the first head coach of the team, on March
11, 2009.
Tryouts for the four teams that would play in the 2009 season took
place in Orlando and
Las
Vegas during the summer, with the
draft taking place on June 19.
With their first selection, the Tuskers picked
Fred Bledsoe, who had gone undrafted in the
2008 NFL Draft before signing with
the
Green Bay Packers as a
practice squad member.
The team's name, along with its colors and uniforms, were unveiled
to the public in August, two months before the start of the season.
On the same day it was announced that the
Tampa Bay Rays had bought interest in the
team.
2009 season
In their inaugural season, the Tuskers were led by quarterback
Brooks Bollinger, and wide receiver
Taye Biddle. Bollinger was the league
leader in passing yards, while Biddle led in receiving yards. On
the defensive side of the ball,
Odell
Thurman led the team in tackles,
Patrick Chukwurah was the league leader in
sacks, and
Jerome Carter led the
league in interceptions.
The team was noted for having a large number of former players from
the nearby
Tampa Bay
Buccaneers. Among the Buccaneer alumnus were
Matt Bryant, who once kicked a game-winning
62-yard field goal as time expired, which is also the third-longest
successful attempt in NFL history,
Micheal Spurlock, the first player in Tampa
Bay history to return a kickoff for a touchdown, and
Super Bowl XXXVII MVP Dexter
Jackson.
The Tuskers put together a league-best undefeated 6–0 record in the
regular season, clinching a spot in the championship game in Week
4. However in the
championship game, the Tuskers
were beaten by the
Las Vegas
Locomotives, losing on a game-winning field goal in
overtime.
Season-by-season records
| Season |
League |
Finish |
Wins |
Losses |
Postseason |
Awards |
| 2009 |
UFL |
1st |
6 |
0 |
Lost Championship
Game |
None |
Current personnel
Current staff
Current roster
References
External links
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