With one week to go before UFL teams must cut down their rosters for the 2026 season, the Dallas Renegades are continuing to work to get their team ready for their Week 1 matchup against the Houston Gamblers at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Renegades head coach Rick Neuheisel has brought renewed excitement to the franchise after Bob Stoops had been the only head coach since 2019. As two-thirds of the roster being brand new and a coaching staff nearly all different, Neuheisel has assembled a group that looks poised to be competitive in the UFL during the 2026 campaign.
Neuheisel spent time with the media, discussing a multitude of topics as he drew closer to finalizing the roster. Here are some of the big takeaways from his media availability from Wednesday's practice.
Rick Neuheisel on the Dallas Renegades and what to expect in the upcoming week
While speaking with reporters, Neuheisel discussed what the team is focused on over the next two weeks before the Gamblers game. He also shared what to expect in the upcoming schedule for practice to prepare for the final roster cutdowns.
"Keeping people healthy, making sure all our situational ideas have been practiced and implemented, and then we'll get ready for a game against the Houston Gamblers. The idea is to give everybody a chance to show their best. We've got a weekend where we're going to get to scrimmage, I guess, a little bit against the Birmingham Stallions. I've yet to talk to A.J. McCarron, their head coach, as to how the rules of engagement of that deal, but hopefully we'll get to play some real football. How many snaps each guy will get will be the subject of a lot of debate, the coaches meetings, because it's going to come down to a few players as to who gets to stay and who gets to go. We want to have ample opportunity to show their wearers in these final days before we have to make that decision."
How UFL approaches roster building under the new format
The UFL is no longer using general managers for individual teams, as the league itself now handles helping coaches find new talent in the open market. Neuheisel shared more about what that process looks like.
"I am leaning heavily on Will Lewis, our representative in the League office. What I do is I give a description of what we're looking for. And you're right, the reason we brought anybody else in was because of some injuries, so that we're not depleting the ranks at a position of one deal, and we're making sure we got fresh legs when we get to the dance on March 28. But it's also a chance to get some new guys in here to learn our system, because when we do make the final cut downs and you have to go down to 50 players, we're going to probably have, of course, there's attrition in this game. And so I want basically guys to be on our, quote unquote, practice squad if they don't get picked up by another team so I can go back and get the same guys who were in camp to know the language. You know all the stuff and can help us and get right back on the team. And so That's basically how we're looking at it. For the most part, all the new guys coming in were because of attrition at the position."
What can Renegades fans expect from the team?
With everything essentially new in Dallas, Renegades fans are wondering what the team will look like in 2026. Neuheisel shared more about what the fan base can expect to see in the offense and defense.
"Well, ideally, we're going to be a run-first offense because if you can run the ball and control the ball, you make it very difficult on an opponent. In trying to stop us, hopefully, you'll have to commit extra people to the box, and that will create great air for what I think is a very talented receiving core, and our quarterbacks will have the wherewithal and the knowledge of how to get us to the right play. At least that's the hope. I think we can play a variety of styles. My experience in spring football has always been there's usually a little bit better athleticism on the defensive line than the offensive line. So we've got to neutralize that defensive front, whether it be with pace, whether it be with the ability to have quarterback run, whether it be with the idea that we can screen them and play different kinds of ways to get the ball out of the quarterback's hands and create a space for gifted ball carriers. So ideally, that's the plan on offense to see, have the ability to do all that and then ascertain what's the effective way to take on any one particular opponent. And then on defense, we've got to be aggressive. We got to have the ability to get after a quarterback and put very much pressure on the edges while also being stout enough up front to force the ball to those edges."
While there is time to get everything figured out, that time is dwindling in training camp, leaving Neuheisel with tough decisions to make with such a deep roster in Dallas.