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Hayes named head coach of XFL’s St. Louis team

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The XFL, the startup football league founded by World Wrestling Entertainment chairman Vincent McMahon, announced that former Pittsburgh Steelers tight end and South Fayette High School standout Jonathan Hayes will be the head coach of the league’s St. Louis franchise.

The XFL will begin play next spring.

Hayes, 56, spent more than a decade coaching in the NFL. He joined the Cincinnati Bengals as tight ends coach in 2003 and remained with the team until 2018. He was let go after last season, when McDonald native Marvin Lewis was fired as the Bengals’ head coach.

Prior to Cincinnati, Hayes was an assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma under then-coach Bob Stoops, who has been hired as head coach of the XFL’s Dallas team. Hayes played in 184 NFL games with the Kansas City Chiefs (1985-93) and Steelers (1994-96).

“It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to be the head coach and general manager of the XFL’s team in St. Louis,” Hayes said in a statement. “I spent most of my NFL playing career in Missouri, and also played college ball in the Midwest, so I know firsthand that you won’t find better football fans anywhere. We’re going to work hard and put together a team that’s fun and exciting to watch, and that the fans of St. Louis can rally around and support.”

After graduating from South Fayette, Hayes attended the University of Iowa and was the Chiefs’ fourth-round pick in the 1985 NFL Draft.

Hayes started in 19 regular-season games in three seasons in Pittsburgh while helping the Steelers win 33 games over that span. Hayes was a member of Pittsburgh’s 1995 AFC championship squad that played the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX. Hayes retired following the 1996 season.

The XFL’s inaugural season will begin in February 2020 with eight teams, located in Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Seattle, Washington D.C., Tampa Bay, and St. Louis. Team will play a 10-game schedule. There will also be a four-team playoff.

The franchsies will be owned by the league, which has so far named head coaches for six teams. St. Louis’ team will play its home games at The Dome at America’s Center.

Former West Virginia University athletic director and NFL quarterback Oliver Luck is the league’s commissioner.

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