The XFL is up and running again and a lot of credit for it has to go to WWE superstar Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Heaps of cash was burned in order to establish the XFL, however, it just never took off.
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Moreover, when the competition was already facing challenges like low viewership and minimal audience engagement, the Covid-19 pandemic struck and completely destroyed the competition. Along with the players, coaches who got a new lease on life with the XFL were left dejected after the league was scrapped.
One such coach was Austin James Smith. The current offensive co-ordinator of the Houston Roughnecks started his stint with the team in 2020 and did a commendable job with his unit. However, Smith was forced to step down as the competition came to an abrupt end due to the wrath of the pandemic.
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A.J Smith gets emotional after returning to the XFL
After the league was revived in 2023, an emotional A.J, who has worked in the past with stars like Jimmy G, Josh Rosen and June Jones, took to Twitter to express how special it was to come back to the competition after such a long break. “3 years since I’ve stood here on March 15th when the world shut down in 2020,” A.J wrote while posing at the John O’Quinn field at the TDECU stadium.
“From having to move to Shreveport, Indianapolis, and Tyler. Thank you God from bringing me back home to Houston & the XFL,” the coach had added. This shows how big a deal the return of this competition is for the innumerable people who are directly and indirectly involved in the conduct of the competition.
A.J Smith’s Roughnecks are unbeaten since 2020
The Roughnecks had performed incredibly well under the guidance of A.J. back in 2020. The team from Houston won 5 games in a row. Moreover, they announced themselves in style at the start of the 2023 season as well by registering a thumping win against the Orlando Guardians.
Extending their winning streak, the Roughnecks recently destroyed Arlington Renegades in their second game of the season by 23-14. This win would add immensely to their confidence. Moreover, A.J, who was elated with the terrific win, would be hoping that fan engagement grows as the league progresses in order to avoid what happened in 2020 from transpiring again.
