Gladiators, the first of AFL trio Announced
Gladiators Ready for Next Step
July 28, 2018
Cleveland, OH - Dan Gilbert along with Cleveland Sports LLC are proud to announce they were granted one of the four Alliance expansion teams for the 2019 season and that they would be keeping the Gladiators in Cleveland. Minority owner Bernie Kosar then introduced Marvin Lewis as the first Head Coach of the Gladiators.
Marvin Lewis
Lewis served as the Head Coach of the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals from 2003 to 2018, taking the team to six straight playoffs. Prior to that, he served as the Defensive Coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens(1996-2001) and Washington Redskins for the 2002 season.
Cleveland Gladiators
Joining Marvin Lewis in Cleveland will be Hue Jackson as the Offensive Coordinator and Teryl Austin as the Defensive Coordinator. Hue coached under Lewis as the WRs Coach with the Bengal from 2004 to 2006 and then again as the OC from 2012 to 2015. Jackson has also served as the Head Coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2011 and then with the Cleveland Browns from 2016 to 2018. Austin was the DC under Lewis with the Bengals in 2018, and prior to that he served as the DC for the Detroit Lions from 2014 to 2017.
Also joining the staff with the Gladiators will be Jonathan Hayes as the Special Teams Coordinator and TEs Coach and Jay Hayes as the Defensive Line Coach. Jonathan Hayes was the Bengals Tight Ends Coach from 2003-2018. Jay Hayes is the brother of Jonathan and has been a Defensive Line Coach in the NFL for almost 20 years. Chris Crocker was also named as the DB Coach. Crocker played for the Bengals under Lewis from 2008 to 2013.
Cleveland Gladiators Head Coach while in the AFL, Ron Selesky will be coaching the LBs with the AAF's version of the team.
Jerry Reese will serve as the General Manager of the Gladiators. Reese served as the General Manager of the New York Giants from 2004 to 2017.
The Gladiators will be playing their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.