A holiday weekend for many will also be the grand opening for the new Pittsburgh Maulers, who cap the first week of games for the inaugural season of the rekindled USFL, a pro football league that will play all its games this spring in Birmingham, Ala., with playoffs in Canton, Ohio.
The season begins with a Saturday night game April 16 on NBC and Fox, but the Maulers kick off at 8 p.m. April 17, which is Easter Sunday, against the Tampa Bay Bandits on Fox Sports 1. That’s a savvy bit of scheduling by the USFL, as the Bandits are coached by former Steelers offensive coordinator and Upper St. Clair native Todd Haley.
Here’s the full slate for the Maulers and head coach Kirby Wilson, who overlapped with Haley in Pittsburgh as the Steelers running backs coach (dates, times and broadcast information will be announced later):
Week 1
Opponent: Tampa Bay Bandits (FS1)
The skinny: In addition to Haley calling the shots, the Bandits have a notable Steelers alumnus in wide receiver Eli Rogers, who hasn’t played in the NFL since he had 12 catches for 79 yards in three games for the Steelers in 2018.
Week 2
Opponent: Philadelphia Stars
The skinny: The Stars are quarterbacked by Bryan Scott from tiny Occidental College, a Division III program in Los Angeles, and Scott already has had stints in the Canadian Football League, the Spring League and now the USFL as he chases an NFL spot.
Week 3
Opponent: Michigan Panthers
The skinny: Jeff Fisher is likely the biggest name among all the coaches in this league, having spent 21 seasons in the NFL with the Oilers/Titans and Rams, even taking Tennessee to the Super Bowl.
Week 4
Opponent: New Jersey Generals
The skinny: The Generals secondary is set to include Aliquippa and West Virginia product Dravon Askew-Henry at safety.
Week 5
Opponent: Houston Gamblers
The skinny: With former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin running the show, the Gamblers offense should be a fun one.
Week 6
Opponent: New Orleans Breakers
The skinny: Coach Larry Fedora had Pitt’s number when he was at North Carolina, but he drafted a couple Panthers for his front four in defensive linemen Shakir Soto and James Folston.
Week 7
Opponent: Birmingham Stallions
The skinny: The all-time home team used one of its running back draft picks on Tony Brooks-James, who gained 7 yards on eight carries for the Steelers in 2019.
Week 8
Opponent: Generals
The skinny: New Jersey will be the first of three rematches for the Maulers.
Week 9
Opponent: Stars
The skinny: Back in the first iteration of the USFL, no franchise had more success than the Stars, who appeared in all three championships and won the final two.
Week 10
Opponent: Panthers
The skinny: Shea Patterson, a Michigan Wolverine, was the first overall pick in the draft but pushing him for the starting quarterback gig will be Paxton Lynch, a 2016 first-round pick by the Broncos who had a brief cameo with the Steelers and bailed on the CFL for this opportunity.
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: March 7, 2022, 3:38 p.m.
Updated: March 7, 2022, 4:15 p.m.