The item regarding the resurrected USFL serves as a natural reminder regarding the UFL, the in-season NFL minor league that would only let players leave after the UFL season ended and then (at least for a while) for a stiff fee. Earlier this year, Commissioner Michael Huyghue quit and the league pulled the plug on its website and by all appearances the UFL died with a whimper, not a bang.
Coincidentally, the Omaha World-Herald recently searched for a pulse in the local franchise, the Nighthawks. The office is closed, the phone number goes to a message service, and the person who returned the message said it’s not known whether the team (and, presumably, the league) will play in 2012.
Tom Shatel of the World-Herald eventually tracked down former Nighthawks coach Joe Moglia, who now is the head coach at Coastal Carolina. Moglia said he’s still the president of the Nighthawks.
“There could still be a 2012 UFL season,” Moglia said. “The owners are enthusiastic about making it work. They’ve talked to the NFL, although I don’t think anything serious has been discussed at the highest levels there.
“They are looking at a lot of options right now. It’s a matter of them finding a strategic partner to make a major investment of capital. My stance has always been that they need to have a partnership with the National Football League in order to make it. I know they want to have a season this year. Maybe they have something up their sleeves.”
They may have something up their sleeves, but they’ve got nothing in their pockets. There had been rumors for months that the UFL was hoping the NFL would buy the league and make it into an in-season minor league. If the NFL ever was interested, the price can’t get much lower than it would be right now.
