D.C. Defenders head coach Reggie Barlow has been named the 2023 XFL Coach of the Year after leading his team to the best record in the league.
Under Barlow, the Defenders won the XFL North Division Championship and boasted a 9-1 regular-season record.
D.C. also led the league in scoring, averaging 29.6 points per game. The Defenders also were tops in rushing offense, averaging 140.8 yards per game, and were No. 2 in the XFL in total offense (343.2 yards per game).
Barlow’s team performed well under pressure all season. The Defenders were in seven games decided by one possession and fared an impressive 6-1 in those contests.
Barlow is one of four Black coaches in the eight-team XFL. The longtime HBCU coach credits his success to the playing and coaching experience at Alabama State.
“It’s important to me that we are in this position, and we know, hopefully, this will give other people, other African Americans, minorities an opportunity to get that chance to coach in the National Football League, said Barlow, who coached at Alabama State and Virginia State before his current stint in the XFL.
Barlow and the D.C. Defenders will face off against the South Division Championship-winning Arlington Renegades on Saturday, May 13, in the 2023 XFL Championship Game that will be held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Courtesy: XFL
