AJ Smith Controversy, Leadership Changes, and UFL Playoffs
- SABrahmabullpen
- Jun 7
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 8
San Antonio Snap Count
The 2025 UFL playoffs are here this Sunday, June 8th, at 2:00 PM Central Time when the Michigan Panthers play the Birmingham Stallions, and at 5:00 PM Central Time, the DC Defenders play the Saint Louis Battlehawks. On the surface, one would think the big storyline going into the weekend would be the return of Bryce Perkins, the consensus all-UFL quarterback, or the Michigan Panthers' attempting to knock off the Birmingham Stallions, who have won the last three UFL championships. Or maybe the storyline would be about the St. Louis starting quarterback Max Duggan going up against Jordan Ta'amu, who once played for the St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL days.
But the big news of the week once again had nothing to do with on-field football play. This time, former San Antonio Brahmas offensive coordinator AJ Smith took to social media to talk about his departure from the San Antonio Brahmas earlier in the season. Coach Smith did discuss this week's playoff games, but the big story out of the interview with Matty Fresh was Smith claiming that the team had lied and misled him multiple times, leading to his decision to part ways with the Brahmas.
AJ also implied that non-football employees with the team were making football-related decisions, and that did not sit well with him. AJ went to great lengths to talk about his attempts and desire to bring in former St. Louis Battlehawks quarterback AJ McCarron, and even went so far as to discuss their plans for offseason preparation leading into the 2025 season. One of the big Spring football rumors leading up to the start of the season was AJ McCarron "actively pursuing opportunities that would allow him to face the Battlehawks twice." (Kummer, 2024) After not being resigned by the Battlehawks, McCarron hoped to sign with a team from the same division so he could play the Battlehawks multiple times to exact a small measure of revenge on his former team.
Now, I've always been told that there are two sides to every coin, and the Matty Fresh interview was AJ Smith's side of the coin, with him sharing the story as he sees it. To say more than one person with the team felt like AJ quit on the Brahmas would not be a stretch and despite the reasons AJ left the team even fans thought that the Brahmas were put in a challenging situation especially since head coach Wade Phillips was absent during the most of training camp due to health reasons. The timing of AJ's departure was conventionally timed with the announcement that Peyton Pardee was to be the team's interim head coach.
Just like a midweek soap opera, we had team management and coaches heading in different directions with varying priorities. While I do not have any confirmation of my next point, I do not think it would be a stretch to say that there must have been some division among the players. And just like a ship without a rudder, the Brahmas lacked direction and leadership, which ultimately led the team to have a subpar season by going 1- 9 in 2025.
Both the DC Defenders and Michigan Panthers have experienced coaching changes this season. Still, those teams were able to make the necessary adjustments for a playoff push. It will be interesting to see which two teams make the UFL championship. Will it be the two teams that have had the same head coach for the last two seasons, or will it be the teams that had to adjust on the fly and band together?
The good news is that we'll find out tomorrow, June 8th, as the last four teams left standing face off, with the winners earning an appearance in the UFL championship game.
(This Article was edited by the author on 6-18-25 to remove a quote improperly attributed to Matthew Sexton.)
eferences
Kummer, M. (2024, November 18). AJ McCarron Plans UFL Return in 2025: Former Battlehawks QB Seeks Revenge. Retrieved from UFL Rumors: https://uflrumors.com/2024/11/18/1268/
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