Florida Tuskers

Virginia Destroyers
Year founded: 2009
Logo
City	Virginia Beach, Virginia
Head coach	Marty Schottenheimer
Owner(s)	Bill Mayer
General manager	Marty Schottenheimer
Affiliations
United Football League (2009–present)
Current uniform
Team colors	Cardinal Red, Navy Blue, Gray
Team history
Florida Tuskers (2009–2010) Virginia Destroyers (2011–present)
Championships
League championships (1) 2011
Home fields
Tropicana Field (2009) Citrus Bowl (2009–2010) Virginia Beach Sportsplex (2011–present)

The Viginia Destroyers are a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia that play in the United Football League. Known as the Florida Tuskers from 2009–2010, the team played its home games at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Their head coach for the 2009 season was Jim Haslett, who led the team to the 2009 UFL Championship Game. Their head coach and general manager for the 2010 was Jay Gruden, who remained the Destroyers' head coach following their move to Virginia in 2011. The team plays its home games at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.

Franchise history

Florida Tuskers (2009–2010)

2009 season

Main article: 2009 Florida Tuskers season

Main article: 2009 UFL season

Orlando was awarded a franchise for the UFL's 2009 season. Former New Orleans Saints and St. Louis Rams head coach Jim Haslett was named the first head coach of the team on March 11, 2009.

Tryouts for the four teams that would play in the 2009 season took place in Orlando and Las Vegas during the summer, with the draft taking place on June 19. With their first selection, the Tuskers picked Fred Bledsoe, who had gone undrafted in the 2008 NFL Draft before signing with the Green Bay Packers as a practice squad member.

The team's name, along with its colors and uniforms, were unveiled to the public in August, two months before the start of the season.</ref> On the same day it was announced that the Tampa Bay Rays had bought interest in the team.

In their inaugural season, the Tuskers were led by quarterback Brooks Bollinger, and wide receiver Taye Biddle. Bollinger was the league leader in passing yards, while Biddle led in receiving yards. On the defensive side of the ball, Odell Thurman led the team in tackles, Patrick Chukwurah was the league leader in sacks, and Jerome Carter led the league in interceptions.

The team was noted for having a large number of former players from the nearby Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Among the Buccaneer alumnus were Matt Bryant, who once kicked a game-winning 62-yard field goal as time expired, which is also the third-longest successful attempt in NFL history, Micheal Spurlock, the first player in Tampa Bay history to return a kickoff for a touchdown, and Super Bowl XXXVII MVP Dexter Jackson.

The Tuskers put together a league-best undefeated 6–0 record in the regular season, clinching a spot in the championship game in Week 4. However in the championship game, the Tuskers were beaten by the Las Vegas Locomotives, losing on a game-winning field goal in overtime. Despite the team being unable to complete a perfect season, Jim Haslett was named Coach of the Year, while Bollinger was given the league's MVP award.

2010 season

Florida Tuskers logo

Main article: 2010 Florida Tuskers season

Main article: 2010 UFL season

In January 2010, head coach Jim Haslett left the team to become the defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins. On February 9, 2010, UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue named Jay Gruden as head coach and general manager. On the same day it was announced that the Tampa Bay Rays had sold their interest in the team, meaning the Tuskers would be fully based in Orlando for the 2010 season. After several months of league ownership, a group led by Joe Theismann purchased the team in October 2010. The Tuskers signed WYGM as their radio affiliate, becoming the second UFL team to have one.

Florida extended their regular season winning streak to seven games when they defeated the Las Vegas Locos in their opener on September 18, 27–20. The Tuskers lost their first regular season game in franchise history in week 2 when they were defeated by the Sacramento Mountain Lions, 24–20. They dropped their next contest on September 30 against the Locos, 20–17, the first time Las Vegas had beaten Florida in a regular season matchup. After splitting their next two games, the Tuskers were 2–3 and in danger of being eliminated from championship contention. After backup quarterback Chris Greisen became the new starter in week 8, the Tuskers went on to win their final three games, sending them back to the championship game, once again facing Las Vegas.

Virginia Destroyers

2011 season

The UFL originally announced an expansion team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to begin play in 2011. Jim Speros, owner of the Baltimore Stallions and (briefly) the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, was named as the team's owner, but relinquished control of the team to the league on August 23, 2010 opening up bidding to other parties. Former NFL and USFL quarterback Doug Williams later was named the team's general manager.

Joe Moglia, chairman of TD Ameritrade and a former college coordinator who last coached football in the 1980s, was given the head coaching position at the behest of league commissioner Michael Huyghue in November 2010; Williams had no input on the hire. However, in January 2011, the league announced Moglia would instead coach the Omaha Nighthawks.

Meanwhile, on January 12, 2011, the league announced that the Tuskers ceased operations in Orlando and moved to Virginia, with Jay Gruden remaining as the Destroyers' coach. Theismann, the owner of the team in Florida, remained as a consultant for the league.

Season-by-season records

Season	Team	League	Conference	Division	Regular season				Playoff results	Awards
					Finish	Wins	Losses	Ties
Florida Tuskers
2009	2009	UFL			1st	6	0	0	Lost UFL Championship Game (Las Vegas Locos) 23-20 (OT)
2010	2010	UFL			2nd	5	3	0	Lost UFL Championship Game (Las Vegas Locos) 20-17
Total						11	3	0	(2009–2010, includes only regular season)
						0	2	0	(2009–2010, includes only playoffs)
						11	5	0	(2009–2010, includes both regular season and playoffs)

Records vs. teams

Team	Record	Percent
Hartford Colonials	4–0	1.000
Las Vegas Locomotives	3–3	.500
Omaha Nighthawks	2–0	1.000
Sacramento Mountain Lions	2–2	.500

• Note: This includes postseason games.

Home, away, and neutral records

Location	Record	Percent
Home	5–2	.714
Away	6–1	.857
Neutral	0–2	.000

Current personnel

Current staff

Virginia Destroyers staff
	Front Office President – Ed Reynolds Assistant General Manager – John Wuehrmann Director of Player Personnel – Bret Munsey Head Coaches Head Coach/General Manager – Marty Schottenheimer Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Terry Shea Running Backs – Gerald Carr Wide Receivers – Bobby Saunders Offensive Line – Bill Laveroni			Defensive Coaches Defensive Line – John Marshall Assistant Defensive Line – Delbert Cowsette Linebackers – Johnny Holland Defensive Backs – Lionel Washington Defensive Volunteer – Kurt Schottenheimer Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Mike Stock Strength and Conditioning Strength/Tight Ends – Chet Fuhrman → Coaching Staff → Management → More UFL staffs

Current roster

Virginia Destroyers roster
Quarterbacks  8 Brooks Bollinger Running Backs 43 Maurice Hicks 38 J. D. Runnels FB Wide Receivers 19 Chas Gessner 81 Cortez Hankton 88 Calvin Russell 82 John Standeford 15 Huey Whittaker Tight Ends 84 Galen Stone 85 Jermaine Wiggins		Offensive Linemen 65 Josh Beekman G/C 63 Adrien Clarke G 66 Anthony Davis G 76 Na'Shan Goddard T 71 Steve Justice G 58 Enoka Lucas C 70 Shane Olivea T 73 Torrin Tucker T 75 Seth Wand T 72 Kyle Young G/C Defensive Linemen 68 McKinley Boykin DT 56 Patrick Chukwurah DE 53 Joe Clermond DE -- Chris Harrington DE 74 Grady Jackson DT -- Langston Moore DT 91 Eric Powell DE 98 Bryan Save DT 95 Claude Wroten DT		Linebackers 57 Darryl Blackstock OLB -- Weston Dacus OLB 97 Arnold Harrison OLB 59 Tim McGarigle MLB 55 Terrence Melton OLB 50 Tony Taylor MLB 52 Odell Thurman OLB Defensive Backs -- Fakhir Brown CB 23 Jerome Carter FS 29 Keith Davis SS 21 Cletis Gordon CB 44 Herana-Daze Jones SS 34 Kevin Kaesviharn S 32 J. R. Reed SS 22 Nate Salley FS 27 Corey Small CB 31 DeJuan Tribble CB 24 Darius Vinnett CB Special Teams  9 Nick Novak K 13 Ken Parrish P 49 Ryan Senser LS		Reserve Lists Currently vacant Rookies in italics Roster updated January 25, 2010 50 Active, 0 Inactive → More rosters

External links

• Official webpage