Orlando Guardians

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}{{Infobox USFL team

| name = Orlando Guardians

| current =

| logo = Orlando Guardians logo.png

| logosize =

| helmet =

| helmetsize =

| uniform = Orlando Guardians Uniform (2023).svg

| uniformsize =

| established = 2018 (as the New York Guardians)

| folded = 2024

| city =

| location =

| stadium_years = * MetLife Stadium (2020)

Camping World Stadium (2023)

| owner = Alpha Acquico, LLC{{cite news|author=Perry, Mark|title=More Details On The Rock Purchase Of The XFL, How Many Bidders|url=https://xflnewshub.com/xfl-news/more-details-on-the-rock-purchase-of-the-xfl-how-many-bidders|website=XFL News Hub|date=August 3, 2020|access-date=August 3, 2020}}
{{hlist|(RedBird Capital Partners|Dwayne Johnson|Dany Garcia)}}

| coach = Kevin Gilbride (2020)

Terrell Buckley (2023)

| manager =

| league = XFL (2020-2023)

East Division (2020)
South Division (2023)

| division =

| team_history = * New York Guardians (2020-2022)

Orlando Guardians (2023)

| no_league_champs = 0

| no_conf_champs = 0

| no_div_champs = 0

| no_playoff_appearances = 0

| league_champs =

| conf_champs =

| div_champs =

| playoff_appearances =

| website = {{URL|https://www.xfl.com/teams/orlando|xfl.com/teams/orlando}}

| colors = Green, lime, grey

}}

The Orlando Guardians were a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The Guardians competed in the XFL. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment as the New York Guardians and were owned-and-operated by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. The Guardians played their home games at MetLife Stadium in 2020 and played their home games at Camping World Stadium in 2023. The Guardians had a franchise regular season record of 4–11 (.267), the second worst win percentage among all XFL teams. The name of the team is now the works team for the Orlando Safety Department in the National Public Safety Football League.

History

= New York Guardians (2020, McMahon era) =

New York, joined Seattle, Houston, LA, St. Louis, DC, Tampa Bay, and Dallas as the XFL's inaugural cities. On April 15, 2019, the team hired Kevin Gilbride, who most recently was the Offensive Coordinator for the New York Giants as their first head coach.{{Cite web|date=2019-04-15|title=XFL lands Super Bowl Giants coach Kevin Gilbride for New York team|url=https://nypost.com/2019/04/15/xfl-lands-super-bowl-giants-coach-kevin-gilbride-for-new-york-team/|access-date=2022-01-05|website=New York Post|language=en-US}} The team name and logo were revealed on August 21, 2019, as well as the teams uniforms on December 3, 2019.{{Cite web |last=Spedden |first=Zach |date=2019-08-21 |title=XFL Team Names and Logos Unveiled |url=https://footballstadiumdigest.com/2019/08/xfl-team-names-and-logos-unveiled/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Football Stadium Digest |language=en-US}}

On October 15, 2019, The Guardians announced their first player in team history, being assigned former Oakland Raiders Quarterback Matt McGloin.{{Cite web |last=Florio |first=Mike |date=2019-10-15 |title=XFL announces its eight allocated quarterbacks |url=https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/10/15/xfl-announces-its-eight-allocated-quarterbacks/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=ProFootballTalk |language=en-US}}File:Ny guardians wordmark.png

File:New York Guardians vs. Dallas Renegades 2020 28 (New York on offense).jpg in 2020]]

The Guardians won the first game in franchise history, topping the Tampa Bay Vipers 23–3 at MetLife Stadium. Quarterback Matt McGloin scored the first touchdown in team history on their first possession, a one-yard score that put them up 6–0.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wnep.com/article/sports/football/matt-mcgloin-reflects-on-his-time-in-xfl-as-league-folds/523-732ab065-53c4-45fe-86fe-cd82f9d55d14|title = Matt McGloin reflects on his time in XFL, as league folds|date = April 11, 2020}} McGloin would later find Colby Pearson for a passing touchdown. Defensively, the Guardians forced three turnovers, including a fumble return for a touchdown by Jamar Summers. Tampa Bay reached the red zone five times, but emerged only with a field goal thanks to a standout defensive effort. The Guardians' first road game saw them become the victims of the first shutout in the new XFL's history, as they fell to the DC Defenders by a 27–0 final at Audi Field. The game became notable for a McGloin sideline interview with ABC/ESPN's Dianna Russini, in which he was very critical of the team's offensive gameplan. McGloin was eventually pulled from the game for backup Marquise Williams in the second half. On March 12, 2020, The XFL announced that the remainder of the 2020 XFL season had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team finished with a 3–2 record. On April 10, 2020, The XFL suspended operations, and all employees, players and staff would be terminated.

= Orlando Guardians (2023, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia era) =

As early as April 2020, the XFL was reported to have been relocating a team to Orlando. Orlando had not yet been available at the time the league chose its inaugural eight teams because of the Alliance of American Football placing the Orlando Apollos there, but it was one of the largest markets without an NFL team and had hosted the Orlando Rage, one of the most successful teams in the original XFL of 2001. The earliest reports had the league planning to move the Tampa Bay Vipers to Orlando,{{cite web|url=https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/SB-Blogs/Breaking-News/2020/04/XFL.aspx|title=Last Call for the XFL|first=Ben|last=Fischer|work=Sports Business Journal|date=April 17, 2020|access-date=April 18, 2020}} as the Vipers had only lukewarm support (amid a league-worst 1–4 record) in Tampa, and its practice facility in Plant City{{Cite web|url=https://www.plantcityobserver.com/xfl-turns-eyes-to-plant-city/|title=XFL turns eyes to Plant City|date=August 15, 2019}} was located on Interstate 4 halfway between the two cities, which are {{convert|80|mi|km}} apart. The same reports had indicated that the league had hoped to stay in the New York metropolitan area, with the main obstacle being a stadium (MetLife Stadium was one of the largest stadiums in the XFL with one of the league's poorest average attendances); discussions had begun about potentially moving to the more appropriately sized Red Bull Arena. When team locations were revealed on July 25, 2022, the league (now under ownership of the Dany Garcia-Dwayne Johnson consortium) confirmed that Orlando would receive a team in 2023 and Tampa Bay would no longer have one. In the same announcement, the league also confirmed that there would also be no team in the New York area.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/xfl-announces-eight-host-cities-for-relaunch-in-2023-no-new-york-california-teams-for-first-time-in-league/|publisher=CBS Sports|title=XFL announces eight host cities for relaunch in 2023; no New York, California teams for first time in league |date=July 25, 2022|author=Kerr, Jeff}} However, when team brands were leaked in September and confirmed a month later, it was instead revealed that the Vipers brand would be relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada and that Orlando would receive the branding of the former New York Guardians.{{cite web|url=https://xflnewshub.com/xfl-news/xfl-teams-names-leaked-online-some-old-some-new-some-surprising-changes/|title=XFL Teams Names Leaked Online, Some Old, Some New, Some Surprising Changes|access-date=September 23, 2022|date=September 23, 2022|author=Perry, Mark|website=xflnewshub.com}}{{Cite web |date=2022-10-31 |title= Orlando's new XFL team is the Guardians | url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/orlando-e2-80-99s-new-xfl-team-is-the-guardians/ar-AA13zNb0 | access-date=2022-10-31 |website=Orlando Sentinel |language=en-US}}

Terrell Buckley was reported as the Orlando team's head coach on April 6, 2022;{{Cite web |date=2022-04-07 |title=Terrell Buckley Set to Join XFL as Head Coach of New Orlando Franchise |url=https://xflnewsroom.com/news/terrell-buckley-reportedly-joining-xfl-as-head-coach-of-new-orlando-franchise/ |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=Pro Football Newsroom |language=en-US}} the league confirmed this on July 25.{{Cite web |date=2022-07-25 |title=Orlando to host XFL franchise coached by Terrell Buckley |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-sp-xfl-0725-20220725-25q7qrl3pzerzlsrkep3byhh2u-story.html |access-date=2022-07-26 |website=Orlando Sentinel |language=en-US}}

Orlando Guardians finished the season 1-9 only winning against the DC Defenders

In September 2023, Axios reported that the XFL was in advanced talks with the USFL to merge the two leagues prior to the start of their 2024 seasons.{{cite web |last1=Baysinger |first1=Tim |last2=Primack |first2=Dan |last3=Fischer |first3=Sara |date=September 19, 2023 |title=Scoop: Football leagues XFL and USFL in merger talks |url=https://www.axios.com/2023/09/19/xfl-usfl-merger |access-date=September 19, 2023 |website=Axios |language=en}} On September 28, 2023, the XFL and USFL announced their intent to merge with details surrounding the merger to be announced at a later date.{{Cite web |author=TSN ca Staff |date=2023-09-28 |title=XFL, United States Football League announce intention to merge |url=https://www.tsn.ca/nfl/xfl-united-states-football-league-announce-intention-to-merge-1.2013718 |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=TSN |language=en-CA}} The merger would also require regulatory approval.{{Cite web |last=Schad |first=Tom |date=2023-09-28 |title=XFL, USFL confirm intention to merge into single spring football league |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/xfl/2023/09/19/xfl-usfl-discussing-merger/70899491007/ |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=USA Today |language=en}} In October 2023 the XFL filed a trademark application for the name "United Football League".{{Cite web |date=October 18, 2023 |title=XFL files trademark applications for 'United Football League' and 'UFL' |url=https://www.expressnews.com/sports/article/xfl-files-trademark-applications-united-football-18433404.php |website=San Antonio Express-News |language=en-US}} On November 30, 2023, Garcia announced via her Instagram page that the leagues had received regulatory approval for the merger and were finalizing plans for a "combined season" to begin March 30, 2024.{{Cite web |title=We are pleased to have completed the antitrust review process in connection with the proposed merger of the XFL and USFL and intend to play a combined season this spring kicking off on Saturday, March 30. We are now finalizing terms of the definitive agreement and will share more about this new League in the coming weeks. |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/C0Rxyhvx3ug/ |website=Instagram |language=en-US}} The merger was made official on December 31, 2023, and on January 1, 2024, it was announced the Guardians would not be part of the merger.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-31 |title=USFL, XFL announce merger, formation of new spring football league: The UFL |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/usfl-xfl-announce-merger-formation-of-new-spring-football-league-the-ufl-182236680.html |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=Yahoo Sports |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Larsen |first=James |date=2024-01-01 |title=United Football League Announces Their 8 UFL Teams For 2024 |url=https://pfnewsroom.com/news/united-football-league-announces-their-8-ufl-teams-for-2024/ |access-date=2024-01-01 |website=Pro Football Newsroom |language=en-US}}

Player history

= Current NFL players =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!XFL Season

!Pos

!Name

!NFL Team

2020

|LS

|Scott Daly

|Chicago Bears

= Notable players =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!XFL Season

!Pos

!Name

!Notes

2020

|QB

|Matt McGloin

|Former Oakland Raiders Quarterback

2023

|QB

|Paxton Lynch

|Former Denver Broncos Quarterback, 2016 1st Round Pick

2023

|WR

|Eli Rogers

|Former Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver

2023

|WR

|Cody Latimer

|Former Denver Broncos Wide Receiver, 2014 2nd Round Pick

2023

|Matt Elam

|Former Baltimore Ravens Safety, 2013 1st Round Pick

Coach history

= Head coach history =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! rowspan="2" \|# ! rowspan="2" \|Name ! rowspan="2" \|Term ! colspan="4" \|Regular season ! colspan="3" \|Playoffs ! rowspan="2" \|Awards
GC !W !L !Win % !GC !W !L
colspan="11" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|New York Guardians\|border=2}};" \|New York Guardians
1 \|Kevin Gilbride \|2020 \|5 \|3 \|2 \|.600 \| – \| – \| – \|
colspan="11" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|Orlando Guardians\|border=2}};" \|Orlando Guardians
2 \|Terrell Buckley \|2023 \|10 \|1 \|9 \|.100 \| – \| – \| – \|

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! rowspan="2" |#

! rowspan="2" |Name

! rowspan="2" |Term

! colspan="4" |Regular season

! colspan="3" |Playoffs

! rowspan="2" |Awards

!Win %

!GC

colspan="11" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New York Guardians|border=2}};" |New York Guardians

|Kevin Gilbride

|2020

|.600

| –

colspan="11" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Orlando Guardians|border=2}};" |Orlando Guardians

|Terrell Buckley

|2023

|10

|.100

| –

= Offensive coordinator history =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! rowspan="2" \|# ! rowspan="2" \|Name ! rowspan="2" \|Term ! colspan="4" \|Regular season ! colspan="3" \|Playoffs ! rowspan="2" \|Awards
GC !W !L !Win % !GC !W !L
colspan="11" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|New York Guardians\|border=2}};" \|New York Guardians
1 \|G. A. Mangus \|2020 \|5 \|3 \|2 \|.600 \| – \| – \| – \|
colspan="11" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|Orlando Guardians\|border=2}};" \|Orlando Guardians
2 \|Robert Ford \|2023 \|10 \|1 \|9 \|.100 \| – \| – \| – \|

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! rowspan="2" |#

! rowspan="2" |Name

! rowspan="2" |Term

! colspan="4" |Regular season

! colspan="3" |Playoffs

! rowspan="2" |Awards

!Win %

!GC

colspan="11" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New York Guardians|border=2}};" |New York Guardians

|G. A. Mangus

|2020

|.600

| –

colspan="11" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Orlando Guardians|border=2}};" |Orlando Guardians

|Robert Ford

|2023

|10

|.100

| –

= Defensive coordinator history =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! rowspan="2" \|# ! rowspan="2" \|Name ! rowspan="2" \|Term ! colspan="4" \|Regular season ! colspan="3" \|Playoffs ! rowspan="2" \|Awards
GC !W !L !Win % !GC !W !L
colspan="11" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|New York Guardians\|border=2}};" \|New York Guardians
1 \|Jim Herrmann \|2020 \|5 \|3 \|2 \|.600 \| – \| – \| – \|
colspan="11" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|Orlando Guardians\|border=2}};" \|Orlando Guardians
2 \|Tony Carter \|2023 \|10 \|1 \|9 \|.100 \| – \| – \| – \|

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! rowspan="2" |#

! rowspan="2" |Name

! rowspan="2" |Term

! colspan="4" |Regular season

! colspan="3" |Playoffs

! rowspan="2" |Awards

!Win %

!GC

colspan="11" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|New York Guardians|border=2}};" |New York Guardians

|Jim Herrmann

|2020

|.600

| –

colspan="11" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Orlando Guardians|border=2}};" |Orlando Guardians

|Tony Carter

|2023

|10

|.100

| –

Rivalries

= Overall regular season record vs. opponents =

class="wikitable"

!Team

!Record

!Win %

Los Angeles Wildcats

|1–0

|1.000

DC Defenders

|1–1

|.500

Vegas Vipers

|1–1

|.500

Arlington Renegades

|1–2

|.333

Seattle Sea Dragons

|0–1

|.000

Houston Roughnecks

|0–2

|.000

San Antonio Brahmas

|0–2

|.000

St. Louis Battlehawks

|0–2

|.000

=Season-by-season record=

class="wikitable"

|bgcolor="#ffcccc"|XFL champions^§

|bgcolor="#d0e7ff"| Division champions^{^}

|bgcolor="#96cdcd"|Wild Card berth^#

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" !rowspan="2"\|Season !rowspan="2"\|Team !rowspan="2"\|League !rowspan="2"\|Conference !rowspan="2"\|Division !colspan="3"\|Regular season !rowspan="2"\|Postseason results !rowspan="2"\|Awards !rowspan="2"\|Head coaches !rowspan="2"\|Pct.
Finish !{{Tooltip\|W\|Wins}} !{{Tooltip\|L\|Losses}}
2020 \|2020 \|XFL ! \|East \|\|3rd \|\|3 \|\|2 \|\|Season Suspended after 5 games due to Covid-19 \| \|\|Kevin Gilbride \|\|{{winning percentage\|3\|2}}
2021 \| colspan=11 rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;" \| No Season
2022
2023 \|2023 \|XFL ! \|South \|\|4th \|\|1 \|\|9 \|\| \| \|\|Terrell Buckley \|\|{{winning percentage\|1\|9}}
rowspan="4" colspan="6"\|Total \|4 \|11 !colspan="3"\|All-time regular season record (2020–2023) \|{{winning percentage\|4\|11}}
0 \|0 \|colspan="3"\|All-time postseason record (2020–2023) \|{{winning percentage\|0\|0}}
4 !11 !colspan="3"\|All-time regular season and postseason record (2020–2023) \|{{winning percentage\|4\|11}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!rowspan="2"|Season

!rowspan="2"|Team

!rowspan="2"|League

!rowspan="2"|Conference

!rowspan="2"|Division

!colspan="3"|Regular season

!rowspan="2"|Postseason results

!rowspan="2"|Awards

!rowspan="2"|Head coaches

!rowspan="2"|Pct.

Finish

!{{Tooltip|W|Wins}}

!{{Tooltip|L|Losses}}

2020

|2020

|XFL

|East

||3rd

||3

||2

||Season Suspended after 5 games due to Covid-19

||Kevin Gilbride

||{{winning percentage|3|2}}

2021

| colspan=11 rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;" | No Season

2022

2023

|2023

|XFL

|South

||4th

||1

||9

||Terrell Buckley

||{{winning percentage|1|9}}

rowspan="4" colspan="6"|Total

|11

!colspan="3"|All-time regular season record (2020–2023)

|{{winning percentage|4|11}}

|colspan="3"|All-time postseason record (2020–2023)

|{{winning percentage|0|0}}

!11

!colspan="3"|All-time regular season and postseason record (2020–2023)

|{{winning percentage|4|11}}

Records

style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle\|Orlando Guardians}};" \|Leader \|\| style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle\|Orlando Guardians}};" \|Player \|\| style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle\|Orlando Guardians}};" \|Record \|\| style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle\|Orlando Guardians}};" \|Years with Guardians
class="wikitable" ! colspan="5" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|Orlando Guardians}};" \|All-time Guardians leaders
Passing Yards	Quinten Dormady	1,507 passing yards	2023
Passing Touchdowns \|Quinten Dormady \|10 passing touchdowns \|2023
Rushing Yards	Devin Darrington	294 rushing yards	2023
Rushing Touchdowns \|Quinten Dormady Devin Darrington \|4 rushing touchdowns \|2023 2023
Receiving Yards	Cody Latimer	593 receiving yards	2023
Receiving Touchdowns \|Cody Latimer \|4 receiving touchdowns \|2023
Receptions \|Cody Latimer \|50 receptions \|2023
Tackles \|Terrance Plummer \|56 tackles \|2023
Sacks	Cavon Walker	4.5 sacks	2020
Coaching wins \|Kevin Gilbride \|3 wins \|2020

Market overview

The Guardians were the first professional outdoor football team in Orlando since the Orlando Apollos of the Alliance of American Football in 2019, where they averaged over 19,000 fans per game. The Guardians joined the Orlando Magic, Orlando Solar Bears ,Orlando City SC, and the Orlando Pride as professional sports teams based in Orlando. The Guardians also joined the Orlando Predators as professional football teams located in Orlando.

References

External links

{{Official website|https://www.xfl.com/teams/orlando}}
{{Commonscatinline}}

Category:2019 establishments in New York City

Category:American football teams in New Jersey

Category:American football teams established in 2019

Category:American football teams disestablished in 2023

Category:2023 establishments in Florida