Lynch Passionate for All Things Oakland
Alliance Adds Oakland to California Collection
September 2, 2019
Oakland, CA - Roy Choi along with Black Panthers Sports and Entertainment LLC, which includes former Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks Running Back Marshawn Lynch and Black Panther and Creed director Ryan Coogler as minority owners, are proud to announce that the city of Oakland would be getting the 2nd expansion Alliance franchise for the 2020 season. Choi also has announced an IFL expansion franchise this summer, the San Diego Strike Force after purchasing the IFL's Cedar Rapids River Kings last year.
Minority owner Marshawn Lynch then introduced Hue Jackson as the first Head Coach of the Oakland Panthers.
Hue Jackson
Jackson served as the Offensive Coordinator for the Cleveland Gladiators last season under HC Marvin Lewis. Prior to that position, he was the Head Coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2011 and for the Cleveland Browns from 2016 to 2018. Jackson was also an Offensive Coordinator in the NFL for an additional ten seasons.
Oakland Panthers
Joining Jackson in Oakland will be Teryl Austin as the Defensive Coordinator and Ken Zampese as the Offensive Coordinator. Austin was the DC for the Cleveland Gladiators last season. He previously coached with Jackson as the Cincinnati Bengals' DC in 2018. Zampese also has experience working with Jackson in the NFL. Zampese was the Bengals' QBs Coach from 2003 to 2015 while Jackson was the OC, then became the OC from 2015 to 2017.
Also joining Jackson will be Odell Haggins, Darren Arbet and Kurt Bryan as assistant coaches. Haggins has spent his entire coaching career at Florida State before being let go after last season. Haggins has served as a TEs, OL, DL and as Interim Head Coach during his 25 seasons at Florida State. He will be the DL coach for the Panthers. Arbet coached for the Arena Football League's San Jose SaberCats as the Head Coach from 1999 to 2015. He will be the TEs coach for the Panthers. Bryan has been a highly regarded High School coach for the last decade, and will be serving as the Panthers' WRs coach.
Reggie McKenzie will serve as the General Manager of the Panthers. McKenzie worked for the Green Bay Packers from 1994 to 2011 in their front office before becoming the General Manager of the Oakland Raiders from 2012 to 2018.
The Panthers will be playing their home games at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California.
Gladiators Promote From Within for Coordinators
September 16, 2019
Cleveland, OH - After losing both coordinators to the expansion Oakland Panthers, Cleveland Gladiators General Manager Jerry Reese was tasked with hiring for both positions prior to free agency beginning next month. Due to the time crunch, and because of the success of the expansion franchise from last season, Reese decided it was best for the Gladiators to promote from within.
TEs Coach Jonathon Hayes would become the new Offensive Coordinator while DL Coach Jay Hayes would serve as the new Defensive Coordinator.