Orlando Guardians
| Established | 2018 (as the New York Guardians) |
|---|---|
| Based in | East Rutherford, New Jersey (2020) Orlando, Florida (2023–present) |
| Home stadium | MetLife Stadium East Rutherford, New Jersey (2020) Camping World Stadium (2023–present) |
| Head coach | Terrell Buckley |
| General manager | Terrell Buckley |
| Owner(s) | Alpha Acquico, LLC[1]
|
| League | XFL |
| Division | East (2020) South (2023–present) |
| Colors | Green, lime, grey |
| Website | xfl.com/teams/orlando |
| Current uniform | |
| 220px | |
The Orlando Guardians are a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment as the New York Guardians and is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL, owned by RedBird Capital Partners, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's Alpha Acquico, LLC. The Guardians played their home games at MetLife Stadium in 2020 and currently play at Camping World Stadium.
The Guardians have a franchise regular season record of 4–11 (.267), the seventh highest win percentage among all current XFL teams.
Contents
History
New York Guardians (2020, McMahon era)
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New York, joined Seattle, Houston, LA, St. Louis, DC, Tampa Bay, and Dallas as the XFL's inaugural cities. On April 15, 2019, the team hired Kevin Gilbride, who most recently was the Offensive Coordinator for the New York Giants as their first head coach.[2] The team name and logo were revealed on August 21, 2019, as well as the teams uniforms on December 3, 2019.[3]
On October 15, 2019, The Guardians announced their first player in team history, being assigned former Oakland Raiders Quarterback Matt McGloin.[4]
The Guardians won the first game in franchise history, topping the Tampa Bay Vipers 23–3 at MetLife Stadium. Quarterback Matt McGloin scored the first touchdown in team history on their first possession, a one-yard score that put them up 6–0.[5] McGloin would later find Colby Pearson for a passing touchdown. Defensively, the Guardians forced three turnovers, including a fumble return for a touchdown by Jamar Summers. Tampa Bay reached the red zone five times, but emerged only with a field goal thanks to a standout defensive effort. The Guardians' first road game saw them become the victims of the first shutout in the new XFL's history, as they fell to the DC Defenders by a 27–0 final at Audi Field. The game became notable for a McGloin sideline interview with ABC/ESPN's Dianna Russini, in which he was very critical of the team's offensive gameplan. McGloin was eventually pulled from the game for backup Marquise Williams in the second half. On March 12, 2020, The XFL announced that the remainder of the 2020 XFL season had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team finished with a 3–2 record. On April 10, 2020, The XFL suspended operations, and all employees, players and staff would be terminated.
Orlando Guardians (2023–present, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia era)
As early as April 2020, the XFL was reported to have been relocating a team to Orlando. Orlando had not yet been available at the time the league chose its inaugural eight teams because of the Alliance of American Football placing the Orlando Apollos there, but it was one of the largest markets without an NFL team and had hosted the Orlando Rage, one of the most successful teams in the original XFL of 2001. The earliest reports had the league planning to move the Tampa Bay Vipers to Orlando,[6] as the Vipers had only lukewarm support (amid a league-worst 1–4 record) in Tampa, and its practice facility in Plant City[7] was located on Interstate 4 halfway between the two cities, which are 80 miles (130 km) apart. The same reports had indicated that the league had hoped to stay in the New York metropolitan area, with the main obstacle being a stadium (MetLife Stadium was one of the largest stadiums in the XFL with one of the league's poorest average attendances); discussions had begun about potentially moving to the more appropriately sized Red Bull Arena.[6] When team locations were revealed on July 25, 2022, the league (now under ownership of the Dany Garcia-Dwayne Johnson consortium) confirmed that Orlando would receive a team in 2023 and Tampa Bay would no longer have one. In the same announcement, the league also confirmed that there would also be no team in the New York area.[8] However, when team brands were leaked in September and confirmed a month later, it was instead revealed that the Vipers brand would be relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada and that Orlando would receive the branding of the former New York Guardians.[9][10]
Terrell Buckley was reported as the Orlando team's head coach on April 6, 2022;[11] the league confirmed this on July 25.[12]
Current Roster
Players
Staff
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Player History
Current NFL Players
| XFL Season | Pos | Name | NFL Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | LS | Scott Daly | Detroit Lions |
| 2023 | WR | Charleston Rambo | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 2023 | LB | Jordan Thomas | Carolina Panthers |
Notable Players
| XFL Season | Pos | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | QB | Matt McGloin | Former Oakland Raiders Quarterback |
| 2023 | QB | Paxton Lynch | Former Denver Broncos Quarterback |
| 2023 | WR | Eli Rogers | Former Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver |
| 2023 | WR | Cody Latimer | Former Denver Broncos Wide Receiver |
| 2023 | S | Matt Elam | Former Baltimore Ravens Safety |
Coach History
Head Coach history
| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| New York Guardians | ||||||||||
| 1 | Kevin Gilbride | 2020 | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | – | – | – | |
| Orlando Guardians | ||||||||||
| 2 | Terrell Buckley | 2023–present | 10 | 1 | 9 | .100 | – | – | – | |
Offensive Coordinator history
| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| New York Guardians | ||||||||||
| 1 | G.A. Mangus | 2020 | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | – | – | – | |
| Orlando Guardians | ||||||||||
| 2 | Robert Ford | 2023–present | 10 | 1 | 9 | .100 | – | – | – | |
Defensive Coordinator history
| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| New York Guardians | ||||||||||
| 1 | Jim Herrmann | 2020 | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | – | – | – | |
| Orlando Guardians | ||||||||||
| 2 | Tony Carter | 2023–present | 10 | 1 | 9 | .100 | – | – | – | |
Rivalries
Overall Regular Season Record vs. Opponents
| Team | Record | Win % |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Wildcats | 1–0 | 1.000 |
| DC Defenders | 1–1 | .500 |
| Vegas Vipers | 1–1 | .500 |
| Arlington Renegades | 1–2 | .333 |
| Seattle Sea Dragons | 0–1 | .000 |
| Houston Roughnecks | 0–2 | .000 |
| San Antonio Brahmas | 0–2 | .000 |
| St. Louis Battlehawks | 0–2 | .000 |
Records
| All-time Guardians leaders | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leader | Player | Record | Years with Guardians | |
| Passing | Quinten Dormady | 1,507 passing yards | 2023 | |
| Rushing | Devin Darrington | 294 rushing yards | 2023 | |
| Receiving | Cody Latimer | 593 receiving yards | 2023 | |
| Coaching wins | Kevin Gilbride | 3 wins | 2020 | |
| Tackles | Terrance Plummer | 56 tackles | 2023 | |
| Sacks | JaCoby Jones | 3.5 sacks | 2023 | |
Market overview
The Guardians are the first professional outdoor football team in Orlando since the Orlando Apollos of the Alliance of American Football in 2019, where they averaged over 19,000 fans per game. The Guardians join the Orlando Magic, Orlando Solar Bears ,Orlando City SC, and the Orlando Pride as professional sports teams based in Orlando. The Guardians also join the Orlando Predators (NAL) as professional football teams located in Orlando.
References
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