The Memphis Express was a professional American football franchise based in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a member of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) during its single season in 2019. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, and were coached by former NFL player and head coach Mike Singletary.
On April 2, 2019, the league's football operations were reportedly suspended, and on April 4 the league allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams.
History The Alliance of American Football announced the awarding of the third inaugural league team, Alliance Memphis, on May 4, 2018. This announcement was followed by the May 10, 2018, announcement of Mike Singletary as the team's head coach.
On July 30, 2018, the Alliance announced team Memphis had signed its first 29 players. On September 20, the league announced four eastern inaugural franchises' names and logos including Memphis as the Memphis Express. The name is derived from Memphis' significance as a mail and cargo transport city being the "World Headquarters" of FedEx (formerly Federal Express), with an airplane being featured in the logo. (FedEx CEO Frederick W. Smith had previously owned the Memphis Mad Dogs pro football team in the 1990s; as the AAF was a single-entity league that never progressed to selling individual franchises as originally planned, Smith had no involvement or investment with the Express, despite the use of the Express name and imagery.)
On January 5, 2019, training camp opened in San Antonio, Texas. The final 52-man roster was released on January 30. The Express' inaugural game, played against the Birmingham Iron at Legion Field on February 10, ended in a 26–0 shutout loss. Their first home game was a 20–18 loss against the Arizona Hotshots during week 2. Memphis notched their first win on March 2, with a 26–23 victory over the San Diego Fleet at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
On March 16, 2019, shortly after the Express fell to 1–5 in a 22–9 loss to the Salt Lake Stallions, the team announced they had signed Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Johnny Manziel.
On April 2, 2019, the league's football operations were suspended, and on April 4 the league allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams. On April 17, 2019, the league announced the cessation of business operations after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Final roster
Allocation pool The Express' assigned area, which designated player rights, included the following colleges:
Colleges Arkansas Austin Peay Carson–Newman Chattanooga East Tennessee State Kentucky Lane College LSU
Memphis Middle Tennessee Ole Miss Tennessee Tennessee State Tennessee Tech Tusculum UT Martin Vanderbilt
National Football League (NFL) Cincinnati Bengals Indianapolis Colts New Orleans Saints Tennessee Titans
Canadian Football League (CFL) Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Staff Memphis Express staffFront office General manager – Will Lewis
Head coaches Head coach – Mike Singletary
Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – David Lee Wide receivers – Bobby Blizzard Offensive line – Steve Marshall Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Dennis Thurman Defensive line – Matt Singletary Linebackers – Pepper Johnson Linebackers – Tom Mason Secondary – Oshiomogho Atogwe Quality control – Seth Gibson
Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator/Running backs – Ty Knott
2019 season
Final standings
Schedule Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue – at Salt Lake Stallions L 22–29 0–1 Alamodome
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 February 10 at Birmingham Iron L 0–26 0–1 Legion Field 2 Arizona Hotshots L 18–20 0–2 Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 3 at Orlando Apollos L 17–21 0–3 Spectrum Stadium 4 San Diego Fleet W 26–23 1–3 Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 5 March 10 at Atlanta Legends L 20–23 1–4 Georgia State Stadium 6 at Salt Lake Stallions L 9–22 1–5 Rice–Eccles Stadium 7 March 24 Birmingham Iron W 31–25 2–5 Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 8 Orlando Apollos L 31–34 2–6 Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 9 at San Antonio Commanders Not played Alamodome 10 Atlanta Legends Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Game summaries Week 1: at Birmingham
Week 2: Arizona
Week 3: at Orlando
Week 4: San Diego
Week 5: at Atlanta
Week 6: at Salt Lake
Week 7: Birmingham
This was the first overtime game in AAF history. Despite newly signed quarterback Johnny Manziel playing a few series for the Express, starter Brandon Silvers led the team to a comeback victory, keeping its slim postseason chances alive.
Week 8: Orlando
Media In addition to league-wide television coverage through NFL Network, CBS Sports Network, TNT, and B/R Live, Memphis' games were also broadcast on local radio by KWNW, an iHeartMedia station branded as 101.9 Kiss FM.
References
Further reading