Stallions’ Holtz Talks Rumors of Franchise Relocation
JULY 24, 2025 - BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
By Steve Irvine
The speculation that the Birmingham Stallions will be relocated has not stopped Stallions head coach Skip Holtz from preparing to build a roster for the next UFL season. And, until he hears something different, he expects that team will play in Birmingham.
“This is our home and we're putting together a 2026 team for the Birmingham Stallions,” Holtz said on Wednesday afternoon.
Holtz was in Birmingham on Wednesday to host a youth football clinic at Legion Field. He was driving to Birmingham on Tuesday when it was reported on social media by James Larsen of Pro Football Newsroom that his sources indicated that UFL officials were relocating the Stallions, Michigan Panthers, Memphis Showboats and Houston Roughnecks. All four teams play in the USFL Division of the UFL. Larsen wrote on social media that “Plenty more changes to come. The UFL is blowing it up this offseason.”
That was news to Holtz.
“The first I have heard of any of this was last night on my drive into Birmingham,” said Holtz. “I think right now it's speculation from somebody on the outside. I think right now the league, as they do every year, is in a review mode. What happened last year, what was good, what was bad, what can we do better? What are the options available to us? I think they're reviewing everything like they do every year. We heard these rumors a year ago, you know what I mean, and now we're hearing them again. Right now, I think it's unauthorized speculation. The league has not come out with anything. We're dealing with what ifs with everything. I think right now we need to let the league look at everything (and) then run its course.”
Holtz said he got countless calls and texts after the speculation began. Stallions quarterback J’Mar Smith, who also took part in Wednesday’s youth camp, said he first heard from teammate wide receiver Marlon Williams after reading the report. Smith was asked on Wednesday about his initial thoughts of the situation.
“For one, I want to say thank you to Birmingham for everything,” said Smith, who lives in Birmingham. “All the support, all the love, everything they've given us, every game. For me, I just want to play football. I saw the news, it was just kind of tragic a little bit, but I was still hoping everybody has a chance to play football. That's my main thing. There are a lot of things above my pay grade, as everybody knows. I'm just waiting like everybody else for the information and news to come out.”
Smith added that Holtz is “confident that it’s business as usual.”
The business of putting fans in the stand was not good for the Stallions in 2025. Despite coming off an unprecedented three consecutive spring league titles, the Stallions averaged just over 9,000 fans per game, which was more than just two UFL teams. Holtz was asked about his thoughts on how the league can help build those numbers if the Stallions stay in Birmingham.
“I'm sure there are people much more involved with this, that would probably be better to answer that than I would be,” Holtz said. “But yeah, I think there's always different things (like) don't schedule it on a rainy day. I mean, I think we had four games this year that were rainy days, that were really nasty. I think there's some things that every market's probably got to look at it, but there's also other variables involved in that. It's not as easy as saying ‘OK, let's do these weekends here because you've got facilities. You've got a lot of different things that go into making the schedules work. I know the league's doing the best they can to make it work. But I just like I said, I want to see it continue to grow.”
For now, though, his focus is on building a roster that puts the Stallions in position to chase another championship. For the first time since he’s been in Birmingham, Holtz’s team finished the season with an “uncharacteristic taste in our mouth that I don't want to experience again.”
His hope is the Stallions continue to play games in Birmingham.
“I certainly hope that we have the opportunity to come back to Birmingham,” said Holtz, who is 39-8 as a spring football league coach. “I have really enjoyed Birmingham. I would love to see more people in the stands. I've been very adamant about that, I've been very clear about that. I'd love to see more people in the stands. But I have loved our time here in Birmingham. And like I said, the community has really thrown its’ arms around us. To be here today and have a youth camp with a couple hundred players, for a free camp that the league is putting on. That doesn't sound like a league that's trying to bring in a moving van and run out of town. I mean, somebody puts some speculation out there and everybody's trying to respond to it right now. I think the response is to just keep going until somebody tells us something different. Right now I plan on getting back to Birmingham.”