The San Francisco Demons (originally named San Jose Demons) were a short-lived springtime American football team based in San Francisco, California. This team was part of the failed XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. Originally they were to be based in San Jose but prior to the start of the season they were moved to San Francisco. They were in the Western Division with the Los Angeles Xtreme, Las Vegas Outlaws and Memphis Maniax.

The team played in Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco; despite having the smallest stadium in the league, they also had the highest average attendance (34,954). The fans had a cheering section nicknamed "The Hellhole".

The team was coached by Jim Skipper, former running backs coach for the New York Giants.

History In their only season of existence, the Demons went 5-5 to capture 2nd place in the regular season and qualified for post season play. In the first round, the Demons defeated the Orlando Rage, who had the best regular season record (8-2), by a score of 26-25. In the XFL's Million Dollar Game, which was the league championship game and last game in its history, the Demons were defeated by the Los Angeles Xtreme 38-6.

NBC dropped the XFL after the first season (2001) due to dismal ratings, and the league folded soon afterwards. The Demons played their home games in what was then Pacific Bell Park, now Oracle Park, the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants.

The most notable Demons players were Mike Pawlawski and Pat Barnes. Both played quarterback for the Demons in 2001. Pawlawski and Barnes both played for the California Golden Bears. Pawlawski was signed by the Demons after playing Arena Football for the Albany Firebirds. Barnes had been invited to training camp by the Oakland Raiders.

Season

|2001 || 5 || 5 || 0 || 2nd Western || Won Semifinals (Orlando)Lost Million Dollar Game (Los Angeles) |- !Totals || 6 || 6 || 0 |colspan="2"| (including playoffs)

Schedule

Regular season WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenue 1 February 4 Los Angeles Xtreme W 15–13 1–0 Pacific Bell Park 2 at Orlando Rage L 14–26 1–1 Florida Citrus Bowl 3 at Memphis Maniax W 13–6 2–1 Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 4 February 25 Las Vegas Outlaws L 9–16 2–2 Pacific Bell Park 5 Birmingham Thunderbolts W 39–10 3–2 Pacific Bell Park 6 March 11 New York/New Jersey Hitmen L 12–20 3–3 Pacific Bell Park 7 March 18 at Chicago Enforcers L 19–25 3–4 Soldier Field 8 Memphis Maniax W 21–12 4–4 Pacific Bell Park 9 April 1 at Las Vegas Outlaws W 14–9 5–4 Sam Boyd Stadium 10 at Los Angeles Xtreme L 0–24 5–5 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Post-season RoundDateOpponentResultRecordVenue Semi-final at Orlando Rage W 26–25 1–0 Florida Citrus Bowl Championship at Los Angeles Xtreme L 6–38 1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Personnel

Roster

Staff 2001 San Francisco Demons staff Front office Vice president/general manager – Mike Preacher Director of player personnel – Greg Mohns

Head coaches Head coach – Jim Skipper

Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Joe Paopao Running backs – Thomas Coleman Offensive line – Ron De Monner Offensive line – Kani Kauahi  Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Michael Church Defensive line – Keith Millard Secondary – Jaime Hill

Special teams coaches Special teams – Tom Everest

Weekly starters The following players were the weekly offensive and defensive game starters.

Opponent LT LG C RG RT TE QB FB RB WR WR Los Angeles Dittman Elisara Kiselak Scifres Adams Roche Pawlawski Reader Dunbar Roberson Hundon Orlando Dittman Hunt Kiselak Scifres Adams Roche Pawlawski Reader Dunbar Schexnayder Hundon Memphis Dittman Hunt Kiselak Scifres Adams O'Donnell Pawlawski Reader Dunbar Roberson Hundon Las Vegas Dittman Hunt Kiselak Scifres Adams O'Donnell Pawlawski Reader Dunbar Cunningham Hundon Birmingham Dittman Hunt Kiselak Scifres Adams Manuel Barnes Reader Johnson Roberson Moore NY/NJ Dittman Elisara Kiselak Scifres Adams Manuel Barnes Reader Johnson Roberson Moore Chicago Dittman Elisara Kiselak Scifres Adams Manuel Pawlawski Reader Anderson Roberson Moore Memphis Dittman Elisara Kiselak Scifres Adams Manuel Pawlawski Reader Anderson Roberson Moore Las Vegas Dittman Elisara Kiselak Scifres Adams Manuel Pawlawski Reader Anderson Roberson Moore Los Angeles Dittman Elisara Kiselak Scifres Adams Manuel Pawlawski Reader Anderson Roberson Moore Opponent LDE LDT RDT RDE SLB MLB WLB LCB SS FS RCB Los Angeles Miles Hansen Cousins England J. Williams Thomas Haskins Harper Destefano G. Williams Davis Orlando Miles Hansen Cousins England J. Williams Thomas Haskins Harper Destefano G. Williams Davis Memphis Miles Noah Battle England J. Williams Thomas Haskins Harper Destefano G. Williams Kaesviharn Las Vegas England Noah Hansen Miles J. Williams Thomas Powell Harper Joseph G. Williams Kaesviharn Birmingham England Noah Hansen Miles J. Williams Powell Haskins Harper G. Williams Joseph Kaesviharn NY/NJ England Noah Palmer Miles J. Williams Powell Haskins Harper Destefano G. Williams Kaesviharn Chicago Cousins Noah Palmer Hansen J. Williams Powell Haskins Harper Destefano G. Williams Kaesviharn Memphis England Noah Hansen Miles J. Williams Powell Haskins Davis Wright G. Williams Kaesviharn Las Vegas England Noah Battle Miles J. Williams Powell Haskins Harper Wright G. Williams Kaesviharn Los Angeles England Noah Battle Miles J. Williams Powell Haskins Harper Wright G. Williams Kaesviharn – started as third cornerback, – started as fullback, – started as fourth WR

Standings

San Francisco Demons players 21 Wendell Davis CB college (Oklahoma) Davis played with the Dallas Cowboys for a little over three seasons. Davis played with Dallas for two full seasons (1996–97) before being sidelined for the 1998 season and part of 1999 season with the Cowboys. 18 Pat Barnes QB college (California) Barnes played two seasons in NFL Europe with the Frankfurt Galaxy. Barnes led the Galaxy to a World Bowl championship in 1999 and also saw a career highlight of 30 TD passes in his two years in NFL Europe. Barnes saw playing time in 1999 with the San Francisco 49ers. Barnes also pre-season action with the Kansas City Chiefs and later the Cleveland Browns after the XFL folded. Barnes was the Demons' second-string quarterback and saw spot duty through the season. 99 Eric England DE college (Texas A&M) England played three seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals (1994–1996) before embarking on a career in the CFL with the BC Lions in 1997–2000. In 2000 England was part of the Grey Cup champion BC Lions 84 Brian Roche TE college (Cal Poly/San Jose State) Roche played nearly four season in the NFL. Roche played two years in San Diego with the Chargers 1996–97 before joining the Kansas City Chiefs for a season (1998) and a part of another (1999) 26 Juan Johnson RB college (Utah) Johnson played in the CFL with the BC Lions in 1999 and in five games with the NFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals in 2000 before joining the XFL 89 Brian Roberson WR college (Fresno State) Roberson played in the Indoor Football League in 2000 with the Fargo Freeze before joining the XFL Mike Pawlawski QB; Pawlawski, the longtime starting quarterback for the Arena Football League's Albany Firebirds, was the Demons' starting quarterback through the whole season. This would be Pawlawski's last time playing professional football; he retired from playing after the season and moved into broadcasting, 58 Kirk Sanderson DE ( Solano CC ) ( Bethune Cookman. Sanderson played in only 5 games before injury. Started in 3 games recording 7 sacks and 15 tackles. This would be the last team he played for. Sanderson is currently a sports performance coach working with NBA and NFL players.

Team leaders Rushing yards: 228, Kelvin Anderson Receiving yards: 390, Jimmy Cunningham Passing yards: 1484, Mike Pawlawski Final team regular season stats available at all-XFL

References