The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their home games at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University. The Hotshots were one of two AAF teams based in a city that already had an NFL team (the Arizona Cardinals; the other team was the Atlanta Legends, where the NFL's Falcons are based). The Hotshots were coached by former USFL player and college head coach Rick Neuheisel. Scott Brubaker was the team president and Phil Savage was the general manager.
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. The league filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17, 2019. At the time of the bankruptcy, the Hotshots owed over $1.2 million to Arizona State University for leasing Sun Devil Stadium.
History Rick Neuheisel was announced as the head coach of the Arizona Hotshots by the Alliance of American Football on May 18, 2018. The team was slated to play at Sun Devil Stadium. By September 25, Scott Brubaker and Phil Savage were named team president and general manager, respectively.
Phoenix's name and logo were revealed on September 25, 2018, as the Arizona Hotshots along with the other three western teams. The name is a tribute to the region's firefighters, nicknamed hotshots, while the color scheme of green, orange, and yellow are commonly worn by such fire crews. The team's logo is a pair of crossed Pulaski tools, which are used by the wildland firefighters the team is named for. The branding was developed by the national office then handed off to the team staff. Reception of the name was mixed, with some arguing it "exploits the memory of the Granite Mountain Hotshots." On March 3, 2019, the team retired No. 19 to honor the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire in 2013.
On October 11, 2018, the team named Hugh Freeze as the offensive coordinator and the rest of the coaching staff. In the 2019 AAF QB Draft, the Hotshots did not protect the assigned (by geographical method) quarterback Mike Bercovici in the first round and instead selected Trevor Knight for his speed. The final 52-man roster was set on January 30.
In January 2019, the Hotshots held their preseason camp in San Antonio. They won their season opener at Sun Devil Stadium on February 10, 2019, against the Salt Lake Stallions.
Personnel Staff Arizona Hotshots staffFront office General manager – Phil Savage Equipment Manager - Scott Rotier
Head coaches Head coach – Rick Neuheisel
Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Steve Axman Running backs – Andrew Weidinger Wide receivers – Jennifer King Tight ends – Charles Arbuckle Offensive line – Chris Scelfo Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Nick Aliotti Defensive line – Ron Aiken Linebackers – Tim Hundley Defensive backs – Mike Gillhamer Defensive backs – Brandon Burton
Special teams coaches Special teams/Wide receivers – Chris Reinert
Allocation pool The Hotshots owned the rights to players from designated schools:
Colleges Arizona Arizona State Illinois Nevada New Mexico New Mexico State
Northern Arizona Northwestern Oregon State Texas Tech UCLA UTEP Wake Forest Washington State
The Hotshots also had rights to players unaffiliated with one of the designated schools, but who were most recently affiliated with professional teams:
National Football League (NFL) Arizona Cardinals Baltimore Ravens Chicago Bears San Francisco 49ers
Canadian Football League (CFL) Edmonton Eskimos
Players not affiliated with any of the designated teams could sign with any AAF team.
Final roster
2019 season
Final standings
Schedule Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue – January 28 at Birmingham Iron W 37–17 1–0 Alamodome
Regular season All times local to Tempe, as Arizona does not use daylight saving time. Arizona's year-round MST is equivalent to PDT after March 9.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 February 10 Salt Lake Stallions W 38–22 1–0 Sun Devil Stadium 2 February 16 at Memphis Express W 20–18 2–0 Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 3 February 23 at Salt Lake Stallions L 15–23 2–1 Rice–Eccles Stadium 4 March 3 Atlanta Legends L 11–14 2–2 Sun Devil Stadium 5 March 10 San Antonio Commanders L 25–29 2–3 Sun Devil Stadium 6 March 16 at Orlando Apollos W 22–17 3–3 Spectrum Stadium 7 March 24 San Diego Fleet W 32–15 4–3 Sun Devil Stadium 8 March 31 at San Antonio Commanders W 23–6 5–3 Alamodome 9 April 7 Birmingham Iron Not played Sun Devil Stadium 10 April 14 at San Diego Fleet SDCCU Stadium
Game summaries Week 1: Salt Lake
Week 2: at Memphis
Week 3: at Salt Lake
Week 4: Atlanta
Week 5: San Antonio
Week 6: at Orlando
In an upset, the Hotshots beat the Apollos to ruin their chances at a perfect season. (They fall to 5–1) With the win, they improve to 3–3.
Week 7: San Diego
Week 8: at San Antonio
Media In addition to league-wide television coverage through NFL Network, CBS Sports Network, TNT, and B/R Live, Hotshots' games were also broadcast on local radio by KDUS, an NBC Sports Radio affiliate.
References
Further reading