LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Former Green Bay Packers associate head coach Winston Moss was introduced today as the coach and general manager of the Los Angeles team in the XFL.
“I want to give God all the praise,” Moss said at the late-morning news conference at the Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles.
“I'm blessed to be in L.A. I'm going to say it again. I'm blessed to be in L.A. L.A. stands for excellence. I'm going to say that again. L.A. stands for excellence.
“I am so appreciative to have the opportunity to be a head coach and GM in the XFL, especially in a city where I spent four years as an NFL player. Starting a team and a league from scratch is unique and exciting.”
Team president Heather Brooks Karatz said Moss “has an impressive resume as a player and coach in the NFL and is the perfect choice to lead our Los Angeles team on the field.”
“His passion for football and commitment to providing unique access to our fans makes him the ideal partner for what we're looking to accomplish.”
The team is set to begin play in February at the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.
The Packers “parted ways” with Moss on Dec. 4, two days after the firing of coach Mike McCarthy hours after a 20-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals dropped their record to 4-7-1.
“I have serve(d) the Packers with all my heart and soul,” Moss tweeted that day. “I've given it my all. No regrets!”
Moss had been Green Bay's associate head coach/linebackers coach since 2015 after being assistant head coach for six seasons. He had been the Packers' linebackers coach from 2006-08 and in 2014 and inside linebackers coach from 2009-13.
Moss coached Team Irvin in its 49-27 victory over Team Rice in the Pro Bowl in 2016 after Mike McCarthy declined to travel to Hawaii due to illness.
Moss began his coaching career in 1998 as a defensive quality control coach with the Seattle Seahawks, after ending his 11-season playing career with the Seahawks in 1997.
Moss was a defensive assistant and quality control coach with the New Orleans Saints in 2000 and their linebackers coach from 2000-2005.
Moss was chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 1987 NFL Draft after lettering four years at the University of Miami, where he was a member of the Hurricanes' first national championship team in 1983.
Moss played with the Buccaneers from 1987-90, the Los Angeles Raiders from 1991-94, leading them in tackles in 1993, and Seattle from 1995-97.
Professional wrestling magnate Vince McMahon announced the formation of the XFL on Jan. 25, 2018, saying he would personally finance the league.
This is McMahon's second attempt at starting a pro football league. The original XFL folded after its inaugural season in 2001 after heavier than expected financial losses and disappointing television ratings. The Coliseum- based Los Angeles Xtreme won the league's championship.
The second XFL is pledging to be “football reimagined ... a game that is fast-paced, high-octane, up-tempo, with a great flow, with fewer stoppages in play or as we like to put it, `Less stall and more ball,”' Commissioner and CEO Oliver Luck said.
Luck promised ticket prices that are “significantly lower” than other professional leagues.
The XFL announced Monday that it had reached multi-year agreements with ESPN and Fox Sports to televise games, including eight Saturday afternoon, one Sunday afternoon and two Thursday prime-time games on Fox, 13 weekend afternoon games on ABC, and seven Sunday games on ESPN, concluding with the championship game.