The Orlando Renegades were a professional American football team that played in Orlando, Florida, in the United States Football League (USFL) for a single season in 1985. Before its season in Orlando, the franchise played in Washington, D.C., as the Washington Federals for two seasons, in 1983 and 1984.
Norman Mack Van Brocklin, nicknamed "the Dutchman", was an American football player, coach and executive. He played as a quarterback and punter in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He spent his first nine seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and his final three with the Philadelphia Eagles. Following his playing career, he was the inaugural head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 1961 to 1966 and the second head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 1968 to 1974.
Christian Adolph "Sonny" Jurgensen III is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, playing for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983. Jurgensen was also a longtime color commentator for Washington's radio broadcast crew.
Douglas Lee Williams is an American football executive and former quarterback and coach. Williams is best known for his performance with the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XXII against the Denver Broncos, making him the first black quarterback to both start and win a Super Bowl. He was named Super Bowl MVP after breaking two Super Bowl passing records: 340 yards total, and being the first to throw four touchdowns in a single quarter.
Steven Joseph Bartkowski is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons (1975–1985), Washington Redskins (1985) and the Los Angeles Rams (1986). He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection. Bartkowski played college football for the California Golden Bears, earning consensus All-American honors as a senior in 1974. He was selected by the Falcons with the first overall pick of the 1975 NFL draft.
Patrick Joseph Sullivan was an American professional football player and college coach. An All-America quarterback for the Auburn Tigers, he won the Heisman Trophy in 1971 and then played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins. Sullivan was a head football coach at Samford University, a position he held from 2007 to 2014. He was previously the head football coach at Texas Christian University (TCU) from 1992 to 1997 and the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) from 1999 to 2006. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1991.
Jeffrey Scott George is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini, where he won the Sammy Baugh Trophy, and was selected first overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1990 NFL Draft. A member of seven NFL teams during his career, George helped the 1995 Atlanta Falcons and the 1999 Minnesota Vikings reach the playoffs and led the league in passing yards in 1997 with the Oakland Raiders. George's NFL tenure would also be marked by frequent conflicts with coaches and management, which resulted in his departure from most of his teams.
David Patrick Ragone is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He was most recently the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons and previously served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins and Tennessee Titans.
Terrance Joseph Robiskie is a former American football coach and player. He previously served as an assistant coach for the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins, Los Angeles Raiders, and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Ricky Wayne Sanders is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 12 seasons from 1983 to 1994, two with the United States Football League (USFL)'s Houston Gamblers and 10 in the National Football League (NFL). He played running back, safety, and place kicker as a three-year letterman for Belton High School in Belton, Texas and broke five records.
Casey Bramlet is an American former professional football quarterback. He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wyoming.
David Mark Archer is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones. Undrafted in the 1984 NFL Draft, he played in the NFL from 1984 to 1989 for the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers, and Philadelphia Eagles.
Randolph Klaus Johnson was an American football player. He was the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons in their inaugural season of 1966. He also had brief stints with the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, and Green Bay Packers. In 1974, he played with The Hawaiians of the World Football League (WFL).
The American football team Atlanta Falcons was founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1965 and joined the NFL Eastern Conference, with Norb Hecker as coach. They soon moved to the NFC West division, and in 2002 to NFC South. Their home stadiums have been the Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium (1966–1991), the Georgia Dome (1992–2016), and Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Richard Earl Shiner is a former professional American football quarterback who played in eleven National Football League (NFL) seasons from 1964 to 1974 for the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, and New England Patriots.
Lewis Glen Carpenter was an American football player and coach. He played college football for the University of Arkansas and professionally for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as a halfback and fullback with the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, and Green Bay Packers. He played on three NFL Championship teams, with Detroit in 1953 and with Green Bay in 1961 and 1962. After his playing career ended, Carpenter spent 31 years as an assistant coach in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings (1964–1966), Atlanta Falcons (1967–1968), Washington Redskins (1969), St. Louis Cardinals (1970–1972), Houston Oilers (1970–1974), Green Bay Packers (1975–1985), Detroit Lions (1987–1988), and Philadelphia Eagles (1990–1994). Carpenter also coached the Frankfurt Galaxy of the World League of American Football in 1996 and at Southwest Texas State University. He concluded his 47 years of playing and coaching football at the end of the 1996 season. Scientific tests on his brain diagnosed post-mortem that he had an advanced case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Anthony Derrick Allen is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for five seasons for the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers. He played college football at the University of Washington and was drafted in the sixth round of the 1983 NFL Draft.
The 1977 New York Giants season was the franchise's 53rd season in the National Football League (NFL). The Giants had a 5–9 record in 1977 and finished in a tie for last place with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Chris Odom is an American football defensive end for the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Arkansas State. Odom has also been a member of the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Salt Lake Stallions, Washington Redskins, Calgary Stampeders, and Cleveland Browns. With the Houston Gamblers, he led the USFL in sacks and was named its Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.
The team lured Ray Jauch to be its head coach; he had previously guided the Edmonton Eskimos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers to success in the Canadian Football League. At the time he was the fourth-winningest coach in CFL history. The Federals initially made a splash by signing running back Craig James, one half of the famous "Pony Express" backfield at SMU. More than any other team in the league, the Federals seemed dogged by inconsistency, bad timing, and terrible luck. A week before the season even began, their player personnel expert bolted to the NFL's New York Jets. The team changed quarterbacks almost weekly, with in-game quarterback changes in a number of games. Jauch's biggest mistake was probably giving the opening day starter, NFL veteran Kim McQuilken, the quick hook for rookie quarterback Mike Hohensee. From there the team never seemed to settle in with a quarterback for more than a few games in a row, and when McQuilken did play, he often pressed, forcing his throws into coverage. The team alternated between McQuilken and Hohensee, with occasional appearances by former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback "Jefferson Street" Joe Gilliam, who was far past his prime; he had last played a meaningful professional down in 1975, and he only threw for 673 yards. The only other quarterback on the team was rookie Mike Forslund, who never played.
