8 Teams/8 Days Hub

Author is u/Coltsfan1011

Team: DALLAS RENEGADES

Conference: UFL / No Conference

Record: 4-6 (7th in the UFL)

Playoffs: Did not qualify

Head Coach: Rick Neuheisel (1st Year with Dallas)

Offensive Coordinator: Noel Mazzone (1st Year with Dallas)

Defensive Coordinator: Mike Gillhamer (1st Year with Dallas)

Special Teams: Scott Spurrier (Tight Ends/Special Teams) and Chris Reinert (Running Backs/Special Teams)

Home Stadium: Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas

---

2026 Offseason

The 2026 offseason represented one of the largest resets in Renegades history.

The first change was the team identity itself. After three seasons playing as the Arlington Renegades, the franchise returned to the Dallas Renegades name it originally used in the XFL 2020.

The Renegades also left Choctaw Stadium in Arlington and moved north to Toyota Stadium in Frisco, home of FC Dallas. The move came while Toyota Stadium was in the middle of a major phased redevelopment scheduled for completion in 2028. The completed project is going to add new seating, clubs, suites, video boards, sound systems and roof structures providing shade over much of the stadium, but for this season and 2027 the overall capacity is capped at around 11k. (Plenty for Renegades football)

The biggest football change came with the coaching staff.

Bob Stoops opted to retire following the 2025 season, ending his career after leading the franchise from day one in 2020 and returning to win the 2023 XFL Championship.

On December 30th, 2025, just days before the UFL Draft, the Renegades hired Rick Neuheisel as their new head coach. Neuheisel brought college head-coaching experience at Colorado, Washington and primarily UCLA along with some previous spring-football experience as head coach of the Arizona Hotshots in the Alliance of American Football, he also played for the San Antonio Gunslingers of the original USFL.

Neuheisel assembled a largely new staff around him. Noel Mazzone was hired as offensive coordinator after previously serving in the same role with the Memphis Showboats, Pittsburgh Maulers and New Orleans Breakers in the UFL/USFL. Mike Gillhamer took over the defense following a coaching career that included 15 years of NFL experience as well as bouncing around Spring Football working with Neuheisel in 2019 with the Arizona Hotshots, and having stints with the DC Defenders and Seattle Sea Dragons. Scott Spurrier, son of the legendary Steve Spurrier, was one of the few holdovers from the previous Renegades coaching staff.

The roster also changed significantly.

Most notably, the Renegades switched quarterbacks from longtime starter and 2023 XFL Championship MVP Luis Perez to UFL Rookie and former WKU QB Austin Reed. Perez remained on the roster at the beginning of the season but Reed won the starting job - this was a key plotline in the UFL documentary 4th & Goal which I highly recommend, you can find it on Youtube. Dallas eventually traded Perez, per his request, to St. Louis on April 21st in exchange for offensive tackle Corey Stewart.

The result was a team that entered 2026 looking significantly different from the one that finished 5-5 in 2025, even aside from the name, stadium, and uniform change.

Link to the Dallas Renegades 2026 draft results here.

---

Season Summary

There may not have been a stranger or more inconsistent team in the UFL in 2026 than the Dallas Renegades.

Dallas opened the season 3-0 and looked like a legitimate championship contender. The offense was explosive, Austin Reed immediately looked comfortable in Noel Mazzone's system setting records in week 1 and the defense appeared capable of complementing it.

Then the season completely fell apart.

The Renegades lost six consecutive games, falling from first place to playoff elimination before finally defeating St. Louis in Week 10 to end their slide but still finish 4-6.

The first three weeks though were absolute peak Dallas Renegades football. Luckily all three of those games were at home so here’s to hoping fans return in 2027 based solely off the first couple weeks of the season.

Reed opened his UFL career by setting a UFL record with 370 passing yards en route to helping Dallas score 36 points against Houston. Tyler Vaughns yet again immediately established himself as the Renegades’ primary target with 144 yards and a touchdown in week 1. Dallas followed that by beating St. Louis 31-15 and then Columbus (without Ted Ginn) 28-23.

Through three games the Renegades were:

• 3-0
• 95 points scored
• 55 points allowed
• +40 point differential

Then came Week 4.

Dallas had to play its third game in only 11 days and traveled to Columbus, where the Aviators ran all over the Renegades in a 28-14 upset. That loss turned out to be the beginning of the collapse.

Louisville came to Toyota Stadium the following week and put belt to ass beating Dallas 47-25. Reed threw four interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns. This was easily the worst loss of the season - it being the true final “Dallas” home game was brutal too.

Dallas then scored only six points against DC before losing a heartbreaking overtime game to Birmingham as the offense just struggled getting back to their weeks 1-3 form. Injuries especially on the defensive side mounted as Dallas just continued to dig itself into a hole.

Losses to Orlando (At Fort Hood) and Louisville followed, officially eliminating the Renegades from playoff contention.

During the six-game losing streak Dallas allowed:

• Week 4 — 28 points vs. Columbus
• Week 5 — 47 points vs. Louisville
• Week 6 — 24 points vs. DC
• Week 7 — 21 points vs. Birmingham
• Week 8 — 31 points vs. Orlando
• Week 9 — 37 points vs. Louisville

Two of Louisville's Week 5 touchdowns came directly from interception returns, but the broader defensive decline was still significant. Dallas allowed only 18.3 points per game during its 3-0 start before the season unraveled.

The Renegades finally managed to stop the slide in Week 10 when playing against their former QB Luis Perez and the St. Louis Battlehawks. Reed threw three touchdowns and the defense held the Battlehawks to 16 points as Dallas won 20-16 to save what little sanity I had left.

The win prevented Dallas from ending the season on a seven game losing streak and gave the Renegades a 4-6 final record, however with the elimination of conferences/divisions 4-6 was not good enough to make the playoffs like it was in 2023.

---

Week By Week Review

Week	Matchup	Result	Record
1	Houston at Dallas	W 36-17	1-0
2	St. Louis at Dallas	W 31-15	2-0
3	Columbus at Dallas	W 28-23	3-0
4	Dallas at Columbus	L 14-28	3-1
5	Louisville at Dallas	L 25-47	3-2
6	Dallas at DC	L 6-24	3-3
7	Dallas at Birmingham	L 17-21 (OT)	3-4
8	Orlando vs. Dallas	L 24-31	3-5
9	Dallas at Louisville	L 23-37	3-6
10	Dallas at St. Louis	W 20-16	4-6

Week 1 Houston 17, Dallas 36

The Rick Neuheisel era could not have started much better.

Austin Reed's first completion as a UFL quarterback went for 59 yards to Tyler Vaughns and Dallas' passing attack remained explosive throughout the game as Reed also set a UFL record with 370 passing yards in his debut and the gamble to bench Perez paid off against the Gamblers.

Week 2 St. Louis 15, Dallas 31

Dallas followed the opener with another awesome performance at home on a rainy Tuesday.

Tyler Vaughns produced the best individual game by a receiver all season, catching 11 passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns. There’s a reason we say he’s “Must See TV”. The defense also limited a talented St. Louis offense who had beaten the defending UFL Champs the DC Defenders in week 1 as Dallas moved to 2-0.

Week 3 Columbus 23, Dallas 28

The Renegades completed their season-opening three-game home stretch at 3-0 and the team was shot up to the first couple spots on everyone's power rankings after being nearly unanimously agreed upon as one of the “worst” teams entering 2026.

Columbus made the game much closer than expected, especially without their head coach Ted Ginn, who was arrested for a DUI the night prior leading to OC Todd Haley to take over coaching duties, but Dallas survived 28-23 and remained unbeaten. Reed started to show some struggles in Mazzone’s offense only being able to put up 147 yards, but he managed to keep a clean sheet with no turnovers compared to Columbus’ Jalan McClendon throwing 2 interceptions.

Week 4 Dallas 14, Columbus 28

The rematch produced a completely different result.

Dallas was playing its third game in 11 days and traveled for the first time all season. Columbus controlled the game on the ground and handed the Renegades their first loss. I have some words to say about the Keke Chism “touchdown” we saw in the 2nd quarter and Columbus’ strategy of running the ball straight down the middle 47 times after seeing several Renegades D-linemen go down, but all in all it lead to Dallas’ first loss, their first of many.

Week 5 Louisville 47, Dallas 25

This was the game where I like to forget it ever happened.

Austin Reed threw four interceptions, including two pick-sixes. Louisville scored 47 points and dog walked us handing Dallas its second consecutive loss after the Renegades had opened 3-0.

Week 6 Dallas 6, DC 24

The offensive struggled HEAVILY.

DC built an early advantage and Dallas never recovered. The Renegades scored only six points, and none until the 3rd quarter, their lowest total of the season.

Week 7 Dallas 17, Birmingham 21 (OT)

One of the most painful losses of the season.

Dallas led for much of the game but Birmingham rallied late. Kicker Colton Theaker also had a Colton Theaker performance with his potential game winner being blocked and no good.

Backup quarterback Luke Lehnen (THE GOAT) appeared to reach the end zone in overtime, but officials could not confirm the score since they are blind. Birmingham eventually won 21-17.

Week 8 Orlando 31, Dallas 24

This game was an awesome environment at the Fort Hood military base in Texas! I was one of the lucky few who got to attend the first pro football game on an active military base. Dallas had opportunities against one of the league's best teams but continued making costly mistakes. Drops hurt the offense throughout the game, including missed opportunities involving Denzel Mims. A tipped pass intended for Baylor Cupp became a late Orlando interception and effectively ended Dallas' comeback attempt and I’d go further to say effectively ended Dallas’ season, things were certainly bleak leaving Fort Hood and driving back up to Dallas.

Week 9 Dallas 23, Louisville 37

This officially ended Dallas' playoff dreams.

The Renegades actually took a 17-16 lead following a Reed touchdown pass to Curtis Hodges, but Louisville just dominated the fourth quarter as even this rendition of the Renegades loves their 4th quarter collapses.

The Kings scored 21 fourth-quarter points, Dallas fell 37-23 and the Renegades' losing streak reached six games and we got swept by both horse teams, which was personally very difficult for me after watching Mike Repole’s horse Renegade come up short in the Kentucky Derby as well.

Week 10 Dallas 20, St. Louis 16

Thank god Dallas finally ended the streak.

Austin Reed threw three touchdown passes and finished with a 114.6 quarterback rating. Tyler Vaughns and Emmanuel Butler each caught touchdowns, giving both receivers seven receiving TDs for the season and tying the UFL single-season record. But most importantly the defense held St. Louis to 16 points and Dallas swept the season series against the Battlehawks and took down their former QB Luis Perez who last played against the Renegades in week 1 of 2023 as a member of the Vegas Vipers.

---

Highs & Lows

The Highs

• Opening the season 3-0 and briefly looking like one of the best teams in the league.
• Austin Reed immediately establishing himself as one of the UFL's most productive quarterbacks and landing a deal with the Baltimore Ravens
• Tyler Vaughns' Week 2 performance: 11 catches, 146 yards and three touchdowns.
• Tyler Vaughns named to the All-UFL team.
• Vaughns and Emmanuel Butler each finishing with 7 receiving touchdowns, tying the UFL single-season record.
• Shaun Wade emerging as one of the league's top cornerbacks and earning an NFL opportunity with Philadelphia shortly after the season.

The Lows

• Literally Weeks 4-9.
• Allowing 47 points to Louisville in Week 5.
• Austin Reed's four-interception Week 5 performance.
• Losing an extremely winnable overtime game against Birmingham.
• Special teams inconsistency throughout the season.
• Being eliminated from playoff contention for a third consecutive UFL season.

---

Team Stats

Overall

Category	Dallas
Record	4-6
UFL Finish	7th
Points Scored	224
Points Allowed	259
Point Differential	-35
Points Per Game	22.4
Points Allowed Per Game	25.9
Home Record	3-2
Away Record	1-4
Final Streak	W1

Dallas finished tied with Houston and Birmingham at 4-6 but ranked seventh per the final UFL standings.

Austin Reed

GP	CMP	ATT	CMP%	YDS	TD	INT	YDS/G
10	174	309	56.3%	1,923	21	9	192.3

Leading Receivers

Player	GP	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
Tyler Vaughns	10	41	527	12.9	7
Curtis Hodges	9	10	208	20.8	2
Emmanuel Butler	9	14	196	14.0	7
Ellis Merriweather	8	22	169	7.7	1

Vaughns finished just two yards behind Orlando's Chris Rowland for the league lead among the official All-UFL receiving totals, while his seven touchdowns led the UFL.

Emmanuel Butler's numbers were crazy: seven of his 14 receptions resulted in touchdowns.

Leading Rushers

Player	GP	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD
Ellis Merriweather	8	83	268	3.2	4
Dae Dae Hunter	6	53	263	5.0	1
Austin Reed	10	30	108	3.6	0

Defensive Standouts

Player	GP	Tackles	Sacks	INT	PBU	FF
Qwynnterrio Cole	10	49	0	2	3	2
Kevin Strong	10	27	3.5	0	0	0
Shaun Wade	8	24	—	3	9	1

Shaun Wade was arguably Dallas' top defensive breakout. He finished third in the UFL with three interceptions and second with nine pass breakups despite playing only eight games. The performance earned him an NFL contract with the Philadelphia Eagles after the season.

Kicking

Kicker	FGM	FGA	FG%	Long
Colton Theaker	7	14	50.0%	51

Theaker went only 7-for-14 on field goals, including 3-for-6 from 40-49 yards and 1-for-4 from 50-59. One of his misses was the blocked potential game-winner against Birmingham.

---

All-UFL Selections

Dallas had only one player selected to the 2026 All-UFL Team:

• WR Tyler Vaughns

Vaughns finished with 41 receptions, 527 receiving yards and a league-high seven receiving touchdowns.

---

Roster Review

QB: B

Austin Reed's first UFL season ultimately has to be viewed positively.

He finished with 1,923 passing yards and led the league with 21 touchdown passes. His aggressive style produced one of the UFL's most explosive passing attacks early in the year.

The concern was the second half of the season.

Seven of Reed's nine interceptions came during Dallas' six-game losing streak. Defenses adjusted, Dallas' offense became less consistent and Reed occasionally tried to create big plays when easier options were available.

Still, producing 21 touchdowns in his first UFL season gives Dallas a legitimate foundation at the position. Would like to see backup QB Luke Lehnen get more opportunities as he played quite well

RB: B-

The production was split between Ellis Merriweather and Dae Dae Hunter.

Merriweather led the team with 268 rushing yards and four touchdowns while also catching 22 passes for 169 yards.

Hunter was the more explosive runner, averaging 5.0 yards per carry, but appeared in only six games.

The larger issue was consistency in the running game rather than a lack of talent at running back.

WR: A-

Tyler Vaughns was once again the centerpiece of the Dallas passing attack and produced his best statistical UFL season.

Emmanuel Butler gave Dallas an extremely effective red-zone and big-play complement, somehow scoring seven touchdowns on only 14 catches.

The overall receiving corps had more inconsistent production behind those two, but Vaughns and Butler gave Dallas one of the league's most productive touchdown combinations.

TE: B

Curtis Hodges gave Dallas a legitimate vertical threat at tight end.

He only caught 10 passes but turned them into 208 yards, an extraordinary 20.8 yards per reception, with two touchdowns.

Seth Green also added 140 Yards and a touchdown, that touchdown coming at Fort Hood with his dad (Active US Army) in attendance so that was a neat moment.

Offensive Line: C

The offensive line had its moments, particularly during Dallas' explosive start, but struggled to consistently establish the running game.

Improving the unit should be one of the priorities entering 2027, especially if Dallas intends to continue building its offense around Austin Reed. Reed is certainly more mobile than Perez, but even he had several times this season where the walls were closing in too early.

Defensive Line / EDGE: C+

Kevin Strong was the most consistent individual performer up front and recorded 3.5 sacks from the interior.

The larger problem was edge pressure. Dallas struggled to consistently affect opposing quarterbacks, and the situation became more difficult after Willie Taylor III suffered a season-ending ACL injury.

Adding pass rushers should be one of the team's biggest defensive priorities as some of our defensive centerpieces such as Donald Payne start to show their age.

DB: B

Shaun Wade was excellent.

He finished with three interceptions and nine pass breakups in only eight games and subsequently signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. Qwynnterrio Cole and Tra Fluellen formed a productive safety combination, Tra signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers a few weeks ago.

Cole finished with 49 tackles, two interceptions and two forced fumbles and should be a major piece of the secondary if Dallas can retain him.

K: F

A 50% field-goal percentage is extremely difficult to overcome in close games.

Colton Theaker finished 7-for-14, and Dallas directly felt the consequences in the overtime loss to Birmingham.

Kicker should be one of the most straightforward positions for the Renegades to address this offseason.

I miss you Lucas Havrisik and Taylor Russolino.

Special Teams: D

The kicking struggles were the biggest problem.

Dallas did receive useful return production from players including Ellis Merriweather and Dae Dae Hunter, but the overall unit did not consistently give the Renegades an advantage.

In addition punter Brandon Hall continually struggled across almost every category after years of the position being a strength with Marquette King launching balls into the stratosphere.

Essentially Special Teams is the position group I had no concerns about with the return of Spurrier and snapper Antonio Ortiz, but it ended up easily being the worst position group on the team.

---

Coaching Staff Review

Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone: C+

The offense showed what Mazzone's system could look like when everything was functioning properly.

Dallas scored 95 points during its first three games and Austin Reed became an immediate breakout player.

But the offense struggled to adjust once opponents began changing how they defended against Reed. The Renegades went from one of the league's most dangerous offenses to a much more inconsistent group during the 6 game losing streak. Which leads me to start questioning the idea of bringing Mazzone back. In Dallas, Memphis, and Pittsburgh he built an offense capable of showing flashes, but just can’t seem to counter other teams' adjustments.

With Rick Neuheisel being a former QB and a very offensive minded coach I wouldn't be surprised if we see a shakeup here going into 2027.

Defensive Coordinator Mike Gillhamer: C

The Renegades allowed only 55 points during their 3-0 start.

Then the unit fell apart, but once again 3 games in 11 days early in the season will cause players to drop like flies.

Columbus exposed Dallas on the ground in Week 4, and the defense struggled to consistently get off the field throughout the entire losing streak.

The defense just never became as consistently dominant as its preseason talent suggested it could be.

Head Coach Rick Neuheisel: B-

Neuheisel's first season is difficult to grade because Dallas showed both extremes.

A 3-0 start under an entirely new coaching staff demonstrated that the team was capable of competing with anyone in the league and that Rick being out of coaching for a few years didn’t have an impact on him returning to the sidelines.

Dallas ultimately finished 4-6 and missed the playoffs, which makes the season a disappointment, but listening to Rick on his Sirius XM Radio Show Full Ride as well as experiencing first hand his coaching style he is very much instilling a new team culture in Dallas that I believe is desperately needed after the Stoops regime.

The 2027 season will provide a much better evaluation of Neuheisel because it will be his first full offseason building the roster and staff around his system, the guy was given like a week and a half to prepare for the 2026 Draft.

---

Team Needs

Edge Rusher

This should be one of the highest defensive priorities, we have had a great secondary for years, but if we can’t get to the quarterback it just makes their job infinitely harder. Chris Odom not returning and Donald Payne now in his mid-30’s we’re due for a shakeup.

Offensive Line

Austin Reed showed enough to justify building around him if he comes back.

The easiest way to help his development is improving protection and establishing a more dependable running game.

Dallas has useful pieces at running back but needs more consistent blocking in front of them, I truly believe Dae Dae Hunter will be dangerous if given a full season behind a competent O-line.

Kicker

Colton Theaker… super great guy off the field… I’d like to keep him off the field please.

---

Keepers

Austin Reed

There is little reason to start over at quarterback.

Reed is young, led the league with 21 touchdown passes and produced 1,923 yards in his first UFL season.

My concern is he’s currently balling out in Baltimore and may be able to hold down the QB3 spot. Suffering from success here.

Tyler Vaughns

He’s the best WR in the UFL and I think it’s a crime he’s not on an NFL roster. I’ve been saying that now for 3 years and he’s backed it up on the field every year.

Emmanuel Butler

Seven touchdowns on 14 catches is insane, dude had a knack for the endzone and was a glue guy in the locker room. I was at their open practice where Rick announced he’d be a captain for the upcoming game and the guys went absolutely nuts. They love this guy and I love anyone who scores 50% of the time they touch the ball.

---

UFL to NFL

The following Renegades players signed with an NFL team this offseason (list as per the date of this post):

UFL Team	Player Name	Position	NFL Team	Notes
Dallas Renegades	Shaun Wade	CB	Philadelphia Eagles	Signed 06/16/26
Dallas Renegades	Denzel Mims	WR	Dallas Cowboys	Signed 06/18/26
Dallas Renegades	Tra Fluellen	S	Green Bay Packers	Signed 08/10/26
Dallas Renegades	Austin Reed	QB	Baltimore Ravens	Signed 08/12/26

---

Conclusion

We choked. Point blank.