Vegas Vipers Head Coach Anthony Blevins (right) (XFL.com)
Twenty-two years ago, Vipers head coach Anthony Blevins was a member of the Birmingham Thunderbolts in the original XFL. He was one of hundreds of new people in a brand-new league. Blevins is the new kid on the block once again in the XFL. He is the lone rookie head coach in the XFL heading into 2024 after last season saw four first-time head coaches.
He inherits a Vipers team that struggled in the difficult XFL North Division. The Vipers went 2-2 against South Division foes during the year, but 0-6 against their divisional rivals.
Blevins is going to look to turn that record around in his first year on the job and his first-ever head coaching role. It won’t be an easy task. But the 47-year-old head coach is up to the task.
“If I touch silver, it’s gonna turn to gold,” Blevins said. “If I touch gold, it’s gonna turn to platinum.”
Note: Interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: What about the XFL enticed you when you first got the phone call from Marc Ross seeing if you’d be interested in applying?
A: It’s just the opportunity to be a head coach. At this point in my career, the NFL was not knocking my door down to be a head coach. I’ve interviewed for college head jobs before. ‘You don’t have experience. You haven’t done it’. I think just the opportunity and I think the magic of the ownership with Dany, DJ, Russ Brandon. The magic that’s behind it. Everybody wants to be associated with good things, good people, and that’s what this is. It’s a good thing, it’s a great opportunity and it’s good people running the league.
Q: When during the job application process did you realize not only that you wanted the job but also this is going to be a good fit for you?
A: From the first time I talked to Marc Ross. He was the first person I talked to. He reached out. I didn’t know Marc. Obviously, we both worked for the Giants but we both worked there at different times. Marc is someone who’s well thought of still in the building. People love him and talk about how good of a person he is. I always want to surround myself with good people.
I hadn’t met Marc, hadn’t really been around him. I had a chance meeting with him at the NFL Combine this past February, March. We were in an elevator together. I think it was an elevator. He introduced himself. I introduced myself and said, “Hey, I work with the Giants. I’ve heard good things about you.” After that it was like okay, he went his way. I went my way. We didn’t share contact information. We didn’t share emails or anything like that.
But being around good people is important. You don’t want to be around any energy vampire, somebody that’s always stealing your joy. You just want to be around good people. The vision that they have — that Dany and DJ and the ownership has for this league — I think it’s a really special opportunity.
Q: Who are some mentors and supporters who have helped you on your coaching journey?
A: Sylvester Croom, who’s an unbelievable person, unbelievable human being. He was the first African American head coach in the SEC. I worked for him for three years at Mississippi State. Bruce Arians. Bruce is phenomenal. I text and communicate with Bruce just as recently as yesterday. Sylvester, just tried to call him just a minute ago right before you came over. He might be on the golf course somewhere. (Laughs) But he’ll call me back. Spoke to Mike Tomlin this morning. Mike Tomlin’s phenomenal. What he’s been able to do in Pittsburgh and the career that he’s had. The thing is, I have a lot of resources at my fingertips. It’s like a library of knowledge. I just gotta go to the library.
Brian Daboll’s another one. He’s been fantastic. The ownership group with the New York Giants — John Mara, his family — they’ve been fantastic. Speaking to John Mara, when I left the Giants, he gave me a lot of good advice going into this new position. It’s been a lot of people. I think you just learn from everybody regardless of the situation and who it is, you can always take from somebody. Sometimes you learn what not to do, which is just as important as learning what to do.
Q: What did it mean to you to receive that support from Mara and the Giants when you left to take this job with the Vipers?
A: It makes you feel like you had an impact and you left a mark on some place. You left a good mark on people. To have that respect of people and your peers is always important. I think every coach, every player always wants the respect of his peers, whether it’s your teammates or it’s your opponent. You always want the respect of your peers.
Q: You’ve been in an NFL room very recently. How was the XFL viewed during this past season by evaluators, coaches, staffers in the building?
Just from looking at the players and the product, everybody’s looking for that next guy. As football people, you’re always trying to find the next guy. You’re looking for a guy that can play and help your team get better. I think it was a lot of excitement. It was a lot of eyes tuned into it, just from the aspect of ‘let me see if I can find somebody that can help us.’ We’re all looking for an edge. I started watching it. People were talking about it. Then you go to certain meetings and like, ‘Hey, let’s see what happens with this guy. This is a name that played in the league. He’s in the XFL now. Oh, he had two touchdowns last week.’ You know what I mean? Maybe things are working out for him. Maybe he deserves another opportunity in the NFL.
Q: How important is it for the football ecosystem to have a league like this?
A: I think it’s really important because there’s a lot of good football players. What they need is time. They need time to develop. They need time to play. Then for older guys that have been in the league that are now out, they’re trying to get back in the league because they need new film. For whatever (reason), it could be injuries, it could be something that happened — maybe even completely unrelated to football and they need that opportunity to kind of get back in the league. But I think this is the greatest opportunity in the world right now. This league here and what it’s going to do, the exposure that it gives you. For players, this is the best league in spring football right now.
Q: How do you imagine taking the Vipers and molding them in your image?
A: We’re gonna go out every day, we’re gonna work hard, we’re gonna play a certain style of football, and we’re gonna be known by that style of football. We’re gonna be known how we play defense, we’re gonna be known how we play offense and how we play in the kicking game. We’re gonna go out and work hard every day. When it comes to game time, we’re gonna play hard. We’re gonna compete. We’re gonna play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. We’re gonna be known by the way we play.
Q: What type of coach do you think you’re going to be on the sideline?
A: That’s a good question. (Laughs) I’ve always been a little bit of a motivator. Now obviously, it’s the first time being in the head coach seat. As of right now, I’m not calling an offense or defense or anything like that. My job as the head coach is to manage the game, make sure that things are falling right, make sure the coaches understand situational football. If I’m a yeller or screamer, I’ll hold that until later. (Laughs) But it’s all about respect. I don’t think you have to yell and scream to get the best out of guys — and that’s never really been my MO.
Q: What should people know about you that they might not glean from a resume or a Wikipedia page?
A: I’m a blue-collar guy. Coming out of high school, I got a partial scholarship that turned into a full scholarship. Coming out of college, NFL wasn’t knocking on my door down. So I played arena ball and played in the XFL the first time and leagues like that. I’ve taken advantage of every opportunity that I have. One of the biggest compliments I think I’ve ever gotten was the coach that recruited me to UAB (Jim Hilyer). He’s passed away now. I was back there coaching in 2012 at UAB. Brought him back to speak to the team. He saw me there and the thing he said to me, he was talking to the team, he was like, you guys got to be a coach that’s very opportunistic. He took advantage of every opportunity that he ever had. I think that’s one of the best compliments that you can have.
People respect your grind, respect your hustle and know that when you get an opportunity, you take advantage of it because the opportunity is only good if you take advantage of it in the lifetime of the opportunity. That’s what I feel like I’ve done. If I touch silver, it’s gonna turn to gold. If I touch gold, it’s gonna turn to platinum. That’s what I think people need to know about me: Very opportunistic and gonna take advantage of every opportunity in the lifetime of the opportunity.
Q: How do you hope that rubs off on your players?
A: I hope they take advantage of the opportunity because that’s what it is. We don’t have to do this. We get to do this. The opportunity here gives young guys an opportunity to develop, an opportunity to grow, an opportunity to be better men on and off the field. And it also gives an opportunity for older players to potentially get back in the league. It’s all about the opportunity. If you put the work in and take advantage of the opportunity, we’ll all get what we want.
