Arizona Hotshots

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.[1] 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.

Arizona Hotshots
Established 2018
Folded 2019
Played in Sun Devil Stadium
in Tempe, Arizona
aaf.com/arizona-hotshots/
League/conference affiliations
Alliance of American Football (2019)
  • Western Conference (2019)
Current uniform
Team colorsGreen, Orange and Yellow
     
Personnel
PresidentScott Brubaker
General managerPhil Savage
Head coachRick Neuheisel
Team history
  • Arizona Hotshots (2019)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Home arena(s)

On April 2, 2019, the league's football operations were reportedly suspended,[2][3] and on April 4 the league allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams.[4] The league filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17, 2019.[5] At the time of the bankruptcy, the Hotshots owed over $1.2 million to Arizona State University for leasing Sun Devil Stadium.[6]

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.[7] By September 25, Scott Brubaker and Phil Savage were named team president and general manager, respectively.[8]

Phoenix's name and logo were revealed on September 25, 2018, as the Arizona Hotshots along with the other three western teams.[9] 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 pickhead axes, which are used by structural firefighters and not the wildland firefighters the team is named for.[10] 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."[8] On March 3, 2019, the team retired No. 19 to honor the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire in 2013.[11][12]

On October 11, 2018, the team named Hugh Freeze as the offensive coordinator and the rest of the coaching staff.[13] 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.[14] The final 52-man roster was set on January 30.[15]

In January 2019, the Hotshots held their preseason camp in San Antonio.[8] They won their season opener at Sun Devil Stadium on February 10, 2019, against the Salt Lake Stallions.[16]

Personnel

Staff
Arizona Hotshots staff

Front office

  • General manager – Phil Savage
  • Equipment Manager - Scott Rotier

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches
  • Special teams/Wide receivers – Chris Reinert

Allocation pool

The Hotshots owned the rights to players from designated schools:[17]

Players not affiliated with any of the designated teams could sign with any AAF team.

Final roster
2019 Arizona Hotshots final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists

Rights list

  • Vacant


52 Active, 4 Inactive

2019 season
2019 Arizona Hotshots season
General managerPhil Savage
Head coachRick Neuheisel
Home fieldSun Devil Stadium
Results
Record5–3
League place1st (tie), Western Conference

Final standings
2019 Alliance of American Football standings
Eastern Conference
Club W–L PCT CONF PF PA DIFF SOS SOV STK
(x) – Orlando Apollos 7–1 .875 5–0 236 136 100 .406 .375 W2
(x) – Birmingham Iron 5–3 .625 3–2 165 133 32 .406 .300 W1
(e) – Memphis Express 2–6 .250 1–4 152 194 -42 .578 .500 L1
(e) – Atlanta Legends 2–6 .250 1–4 88 213 -125 .609 .438 L3
Western Conference
Club W–L PCT CONF PF PA DIFF SOS SOV STK
San Antonio Commanders 5–3 .625 3–2 158 154 4 .516 .450 L1
Arizona Hotshots 5–3 .625 3–2 186 144 42 .469 .500 W3
San Diego Fleet 3–5 .375 2–3 158 161 -3 .469 .417 L3
Salt Lake Stallions 3–5 .375 2–3 135 143 -8 .547 .417 W1
(x)–clinched playoff berth; (e)–eliminated from playoff contention

Preseason
Week Day Date Opponent Results Location
Score Record
–MondayJanuary 28at Birmingham IronW 37–17Alamodome

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 Day Date Kickoff TV Opponent Results Location
Score Record
1 Sunday February 10 6:00 p.m. NFLN Salt Lake Stallions W 38–22 1–0 Sun Devil Stadium
2 Saturday February 16 6:00 p.m. NFLN at Memphis Express W 20–18 2–0 Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
3 Saturday February 23 1:00 p.m. B/R Live at Salt Lake Stallions L 15–23 2–1 Rice–Eccles Stadium
4 Sunday March 3 6:00 p.m. NFLN Atlanta Legends L 11–14 2–2 Sun Devil Stadium
5 Sunday March 10 5:00 p.m. NFLN San Antonio Commanders L 25–29 2–3 Sun Devil Stadium
6 Saturday March 16 5:00 p.m. NFLN at Orlando Apollos W 22–17 3–3 Spectrum Stadium
7 Sunday March 24 1:00 p.m. CBSSN San Diego Fleet W 32–15 4–3 Sun Devil Stadium
8 Sunday March 31 5:00 p.m. NFLN at San Antonio Commanders W 23–6 5–3 Alamodome
9 Sunday April 7 5:00 p.m. NFLN Birmingham Iron Not played Sun Devil Stadium
10 Sunday April 14 5:00 p.m. NFLN at San Diego Fleet SDCCU Stadium

[18]

Week 1: Salt Lake
Week One: Salt Lake Stallions at Arizona Hotshots – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Stallions 0 16 0622
Hotshots 8 11 16338

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Game information

Week 2: at Memphis
Week Two: Arizona Hotshots at Memphis Express – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Hotshots 0 0 61420
Express 9 3 0618

at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee

Game information

Week 3: at Salt Lake
Week Three: Arizona Hotshots at Salt Lake Stallions – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Hotshots 0 9 3315
Stallions 3 6 6823

at Rice–Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah

Game information

Week 4: Atlanta
Week Four: Atlanta Legends at Arizona Hotshots – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Legends 2 6 0614
Hotshots 0 3 0811

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Game information

Week 5: San Antonio
Week Five: San Antonio Commanders at Arizona Hotshots – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Commanders 14 12 0329
Hotshots 0 0 81725

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Game information

Week 6: at Orlando
Week Six: Arizona Hotshots at Orlando Apollos – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Hotshots 3 11 0822
Apollos 6 3 0817

at Spectrum Stadium, Orlando, Florida

Game information

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 Seven: San Diego Fleet at Arizona Hotshots – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Fleet 9 6 0015
Hotshots 9 14 0932

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Game information

Week 8: at San Antonio
Week Eight: Arizona Hotshots at San Antonio Commanders – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Hotshots 6 9 0823
Commanders 0 3 306

at Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

Game information

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.[27]

References
  1. Brown, Brandon. "Phoenix loses Hotshots as AAF suspends operations". Phoenix Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  2. Kercheval, Ben (April 2, 2019). "AAF operations suspended, league's future in doubt after eight games of first season". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  3. "AAF to immediately suspend operations". ESPN. April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  4. Schwartz, Nick (April 4, 2019). "AAF star Keith Reaser becomes first player to sign NFL deal after league shutdown". USA Today. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  5. "AAF files for bankruptcy, officially closes down", USA Today, AP, April 17, 2019, retrieved April 17, 2019
  6. "AAF bankruptcy: Defunct league owes ASU $1.2 million, report says".
  7. Benjamin, Cody. "Former UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel will run Alliance of American Football's Phoenix team". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  8. Avila, Ricardo (September 28, 2018). "Hotshots: Support, criticism follows new Arizona pro football team's name". Arizona Sports. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  9. Benjamin, Cody (September 25, 2018). "LOOK: Here's a full list of team names and logos from the Alliance of American Football". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  10. Dale, Shane (September 25, 2018). "'Arizona Hotshots': New AZ pro football team gets its nickname". KNXV-TV. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  11. "Arizona Hotshots Host Public Safety Salute and #19 Retirement Ceremony Sunday, March 3". Our Sports Central. February 25, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  12. "Photo: Arizona Hotshots retire No. 19 in honor of Granite Mountain 19". The Daily Courier. March 3, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  13. Higgins, Ron (October 11, 2018). "Ex-Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze hired as offensive coordinator with Arizona AAF team". Mississippi Clarion Ledger. USA Today Network. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  14. Somers, Kent (November 28, 2018). "AAF draft: Arizona Hotshots think they found their man in quarterback Trevor Knight". AZ Central. USA Today Network. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  15. "Arizona Hotshots set final roster". Alliance of American Football. January 30, 2019. Archived from the original on January 31, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  16. "Alliance of American Football schedule released for Arizona Hotshots, other 7 teams". AZ Central. USA Today Network. October 16, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  17. Inabinett, Mark (July 12, 2018). "Alabama, Auburn players to go on Birmingham AAF team's assignment list". AL.com. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  18. "2019 Arizona Hotshots Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  19. Filipe, Cameron (February 9, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 1, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  20. Filipe, Cameron (February 13, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 2, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  21. Filipe, Cameron (February 22, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 3, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  22. Filipe, Cameron (February 27, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 4, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  23. Filipe, Cameron (March 9, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 5, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  24. Filipe, Cameron (March 14, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 6, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  25. Filipe, Cameron (March 21, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 7, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  26. Filipe, Cameron (March 28, 2019). "Alliance of American Football: Week 8, 2019". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  27. "Arizona Hotshots". nbcsports1060.com. 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2019.

Further reading
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