The Washington D.C. based XFL franchise might have a unique Chicago flavor whenever its season finally kicks off.
Greg Gabriel is believed to be joining Washington’s XFL team as its personnel director:
NFL source says belief is former #Bears college scouting director Greg Gabriel will be hired as the personnel director of the Washington XFL franchise. Former Bears QB coach Pep Hamilton has already been named head coach of the team.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) June 11, 2019
Gabriel currently serves as an analyst on WSCR 670-AM and Pro Football Weekly, but might be best known right now as someone who shares strong, un-filtered, and (at times) off-the-wall comments, thoughts, opinions, and rants on Twitter with what can be a combative personality in some instances. But before Gabriel was launching into Twitter analysis, he was a long-time NFL talent evaluator whose last gig in the pros was as the Bears’ Director of College Scouting. So perhaps being a talent evaluator in Vince McMahon’s XFL re-boot is something that is right in his wheelhouse.
If that’s the route the un-named Washington franchise heads in, Gabriel will join Pep Hamilton, another former Bears employee who was hired to be the franchise’s first head coach and general manager. Hamilton and Gabriel crossed paths when Hamilton was Chicago’s Quarterbacks Coach from 2007-09. Since leaving Chicago, Hamilton has coached college football at Stanford (WRs Coach, QBs Coach, Offensive Coordinator) and Michigan (Assistant Head Coach, Passing Game Coordinator), as well as in the NFL with the Colts (Offensive Coordinator) and Browns (Assistant Head Coach, Quarterbacks Coach).
We figured the XFL’s re-birth would provide an alternative viewing experience for professional football, while giving a second lease on a football life for players on the outside looking into the NFL window. But I suppose we didn’t think about the ex-NFL coach and front office types who could also re-emerge on the football scene. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be mapping out my schedule to clear time to watch Pep Hamilton’s Washington outfit take on Marc Trestman’s Tampa Bay bunch in an XFL loser-leaves-the-lives-of-Bears-fans-forever match.