The New Jersey Generals were a professional American football team. The Generals competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member club of the league's North division. Though named after the 1980s USFL team of the same name, which played at The Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the Generals never played in New Jersey nor the New York metropolitan area the original Generals represented, instead playing its home games at the USFL's hub at Protective Stadium and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama in 2022, and at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio (shared with the Pittsburgh Maulers) in 2023 under the USFL's stadium sharing model. The Generals were one of eight teams that joined the USFL in 2022.
| New Jersey Generals | |
|---|---|
 Current season | |
| Established 2021 Folded 2023 Played in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio | |
 | |
| League/conference affiliations | |
United States Football League (2022–2023)
| |
Current uniform | |
| Team colors | Scarlet red, navy blue, gold, white |
| Mascot | General Jersey |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | National Spring Football League Enterprises Co, LLC, (Fox Sports) |
| Head coach | Mike Riley (2022-2023) |
| Team history | |
| |
| Championships | |
| League championships (0) | |
| Conference championships (0) | |
| Division championships (1) 2022 | |
| Playoff appearances (1) | |
| 2022 | |
| Home stadium(s) | |
| |
On December 19, 2023, the USFL informed its players union that the Generals would not be among four USFL teams to be contracted as part of the league's upcoming merger with the XFL.
History
editThe New Jersey Generals were one of eight teams that were officially announced as a USFL franchise on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on November 22, 2021.[1] USFL co-founder Brian Woods had been using the Generals brand for teams in The Spring League since 2019.[2] On January 6, 2022, it was announced on The Herd with Colin Cowherd that former NFL, AAF, and NCAA Football Head coach Mike Riley was named the Head coach and General manager of the Generals.[3]
The team was placed to select fourth overall in the 2022 USFL draft, where they selected Ben Holmes. Holmes was injured in training camp and ultimately released, but this allowed for the Generals to sign Luis Perez,[4] who impressed during the season, starting only 6 games, finishing in the top 5 in passing yards and touchdowns. The Generals also selected KaVontae Turpin as their top receiver, who lead the USFL in receiving yards (540), coupled with 4 touchdowns. He was also selected as to the All-USFL Team, alongside teammates Darius Victor, Terry Poole, Garrett McGhin, Toby Johnson and Shalom Luani in addition to winning USFL Most Valuable Player Award.[5][6] The Generals won the top seed in the North Division with a 9–1 record.[7] Despite the top seed in the North Division, the Generals were upset by the Philadelphia Stars, 19–14 in the North Division Championship Game.[8]
On October 18, 2022, the team hired Billy Devaney as the team's general manager.[9]
On December 19, 2023, the USFL informed its players union that the Generals would not be among four USFL teams to be contracted as part of the league's upcoming merger with the XFL.[10]
Player history
editCurrent NFL Players
edit| USFL Season | Pos | Name | NFL Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | WR | KaVontae Turpin | Dallas Cowboys |
USFL MVP award winners
edit| Generals USFL MVP winners | |||
| Year | Player | Position | Selector |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | KaVontae Turpin | WR | USFL |
USFL Offensive Player of the Year award winners
edit| Generals USFL OPOY winners | |||
| Year | Player | Position | Selector |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Darius Victor | RB | USFL |
Coach history
editHead coach history
edit| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| New Jersey Generals | ||||||||||
| 1 | Mike Riley | 2022-2023 | 20 | 12 | 8 | .600 | 1 | 0 | 1 | *2022 USFL Coach of the Year |
Offensive coordinator history
edit| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| New Jersey Generals | ||||||||||
| 1 | Steven Smith | 2022-2023 | 20 | 12 | 8 | .600 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Defensive Coordinator history
edit| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| New Jersey Generals | ||||||||||
| 1 | Cris Dishman | 2022 | 10 | 9 | 1 | .900 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2 | Ted Cottrell | 2023 | 10 | 3 | 7 | .300 | – | – | – | |
Championships
editDivision championships
edit| Year | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Mike Riley | 9–1 |
| Total Division Championships won: 1 | ||
Records
edit| All-time Generals leaders | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leader | Player | Record | Years with Generals | |
| Passing Yards | De'Andre Johnson | 1,712 passing yards | 2022–2023 | |
| Passing Touchdowns | Luis Perez | 9 passing touchdowns | 2022 | |
| Rushing Yards | Darius Victor | 1,127 rushing yards | 2022-2023 | |
| Rushing Touchdowns | Darius Victor | 13 rushing touchdowns | 2022-2023 | |
| Receiving Yards | Alonzo Moore | 713 receiving yards | 2022-2023 | |
| Receiving Touchdowns | Alonzo Moore | 8 receiving touchdowns | 2022-2023 | |
| Receptions | Alonzo Moore | 51 receptions | 2022-2023 | |
| Tackles | Chris Orr | 159 tackles | 2022-2023 | |
| Sacks | Hercules Mata'afa | 6.0 sacks | 2022-2023 | |
| Interceptions | Shalom Luani | 6 interceptions | 2022-2023 | |
| Coaching wins | Mike Riley | 12 wins | 2022-2023 | |
Statistics and records
editSeason-by-season record
editNote: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.
| USFL champions† | Division champions^ | Wild Card berth# |
| Season | Team | League | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | Awards | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | Pct | ||||||||
| 2022 | 2022 | USFL | North^ | 1st^ | 9 | 1 | 0 | .900 | Lost Division finals (Stars) 14–19 | KaVontae Turpin (MVP) Darius Victor (OPOY) Mike Riley (COY) | ||
| 2023 | 2023 | USFL | North | 4th | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | – | – | ||
| Totals | 12 | 8 | 0 | .600 | (2022–2023, regular season) | |||||||
| 0 | 1 | — | .000 | (2022–2023, playoffs) | ||||||||
| 12 | 9 | 0 | .571 | (2022–2023, regular season and playoffs) | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ "USFL unveils team cities, nicknames and logos for 2022 debut". FOX Sports. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
- ^ "The Spring League Brands Team as Austin Generals in Homage to Host City". The Spring League. March 18, 2019. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
- ^ Stephan Rachuk (January 6, 2022). "USFL Officially Reveals the First Four Head Coaches on The Herd". Pro Football Newsroom. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
- ^ Mike Mitchell (April 1, 2022). "USFL: New Jersey Generals Release Injured First Round QB Ben Holmes, Sign Luis Perez". www.usflnewshub.com. USFL News Hub. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
- ^ Clinton, Bryan (June 22, 2022). "Former TCU WR KaVontae Turpin Wins USFL MVP". Heartland College Sports – An Independent Big 12 Today Blog | College Football News | Big 12 Today. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
- ^ "USFL Awards 2022: Generals WR KaVontae Turpin named MVP". USFL. June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
- ^ "USFL Week 7: Generals top Bandits, clinch playoff spot". www.foxsports.com. Fox Media LLC and Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. May 28, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
- ^ Josh Frketic (June 25, 2022). "Stars pull upset on Generals to punch ticket to USFL Championship". www.wkbn.com. Nexstar Media Inc. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
- ^ "USFL Hires New General Managers for Two Teams". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. October 18, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
- ^ "Four USFL teams survive merger with XFL". NBC Sports. December 19, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.