In the last 40 years, the world of Spring alternative professional football leagues has struggled to find stability. The USFL, the XFL, the AAF, the XFL again, and the USFL again have struggled to find a foothold in the professional sports landscape in the United States. For the UFL, returning for a second season with all eight of their teams from 2024 and with the prospect of expansion on the horizon, the UFL has a chance to have the lasting power the other leagues failed to build.

Similar to the UFL, the San Antonio Brahmas had a successful season that saw the team post a 7-3 record, win the XFL Conference championship, and play in the UFL’s first championship game. The Brahmas hope to continue building on the momentum they built in the 2024 season with an improved roster and a coaching staff that is returning with the same leadership and coaches that led the Brahmas in 2024.

The UFL has announced the coaching staff for all eight teams this season, and UFL Insider James Larsen tweeted for each team to announce the San Antonio Brahmas 2025 coaching staff.

Brahmas General Manager and Head Coach

Brahmas GM Marc Lillibridge and head coach Wade Phillips are working together for the third season. Phillips and Lillibridge were selected to lead the Houston Roughnecks during the 2023 XFL season and have worked together since that season. For the last two seasons, Wade Phillips has a 14-6 record. After a coaching career that has spanned over 50 years, the Brahmas allowed Phillips to coach in his first championship game during his head coaching career.

Lillibridge has had an uncanny ability to build a roster with the talent Phillips needs to maximize his plan for the Brahmas. Coming into the 2025 UFL, the Brahmas will be returning the majority of their playmakers from 2024, and they have also improved several positions, including the Brahmas quarterback position. The Brahmas roster’s stability and improvement reflect how well Phillips and Lillibridge work together.

Brahmas Offense Looks to Continue Improvements

During the 2024 season, the players on the Brahmas roster had to learn offensive coordinator AJ Smith’s innovative offense quickly. Several players who were a part of Smith’s offense in 2024 are returning for the 2025 season. With all of the Brahmas position coaches returning on offense, the rate of learning the offense should maximize their offensive personnel’s potential. Despite the limited installation time, the Brahmas ranked fourth in total offense and third in total yards (296.6 yards/game) during the 2024 season.

Brahmas Defense Looks to Lockdown the other UFL teams

The strength of the Brahmas during the 2024 season was their defense, which ended the season as the top-ranked defense in the UFL. Unsurprisingly, the Brahmas had an excellent defense with head coach Wade Phillips’s wealth of experience as a defensive coordinator combined with Brahmas defensive coordinator Will Reed’s leadership. During the 2024 season, the Brahmas only allowed 256.7 yards per game, sacked opponents quarterbacks 32 times, and only allowed twelve touchdowns. Another season with the defensive system and many of the defensive playmakers returning for 2025 should be a recipe for an impressive defensive performance by the Brahmas.

Brahmas Special Teams and Payton Pardee

Like offense and defense, the Brahmas had a successful season on special teams despite changing kickers during the season with the injury to placekicker Donald “Deestroying” De La Haye. Several times during the 2024 season, special teams were able to set up the Brahmas offense and defense to ensure the success of each unit. The architect of the Brahmas special teams units was Payton Pardee in 2024, and Pardee returns to once again orchestrate the efforts of the San Antonio special teams.

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Aaron Sauter
Aaron Sauter is a 23-veteran high school football coach that is also an fan of all levels of football. He is especially interested in alternative football leagues like the CFL, UFL, and IFL. Aaron enjoys analyzing innovative schemes on offense and defense during his free time.

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