The Atlanta Legends were a professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

based in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, and one of the eight members of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

(AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their home games at

Georgia State Stadium Center Parc Stadium (formerly Georgia State Stadium) is an outdoor stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The stadium is the home of the Georgia State University Panthers football team as of the 2017 season, replacing the Georgia Dome which had served as ...

on the campus of

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of hig ...

. The Legends were one of two AAF teams based in a city that already had an NFL team (the Atlanta Falcons; the other team was the

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. They played their h ...

, where the NFL's Cardinals were based). The Legends were coached by

Kevin Coyle Kevin Coyle (born January 14, 1956) is an American football coach who is currently the defensive coordinator at Fresno State. Prior to that, Coyle was a senior analyst at LSU. He served as head coach of the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of Amer ...

, one of two AAF coaches without prior head coaching experience, after the position became available when

Brad Childress Bradley Childress (born June 27, 1956) is a former American football coach. He worked for over 40 years as a coach for various college programs and National Football League (NFL) franchises. He was the offensive coordinator for Wisconsin Badgers ...

resigned a month before the season began.

Billy Devaney William Joseph Peter Francis Devaney (born March 7, 1955) is a professional American football analyst on ESPN. Prior to that Devaney was a football executive. He was the general manager for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League from ...

was the general manager. On April 2, 2019, the league's football operations were reportedly suspended, and on April 4 the league allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams. The league filed for

Chapter 7 Chapter 7 may refer to: Albums * ''Chapter Seven'' (album), a 2013 album by Damien Leith. *''Chapter VII'', a 1973 album by drummer Buddy Miles Television * Chapter 7 (''American Horror Story''), 2016 episode of ''American Horror Story'' * Chapte ...

bankruptcy on April 17, 2019.

History

The Alliance Atlanta team was announced by the league on April 25, 2018, as its second initial team. Additionally, the head coach,

, and offensive coordinator,

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's firs ...

, were announced. On September 20, the league announced for four eastern inaugural franchises' names and logos including Atlanta as the Atlanta Legends. The name and colors (purple, gold, white) are tributes to famous historical figures from the city, such as

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

and

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...

. Childress resigned a month before the start of the 2019 season, and

, initially hired as the team's defensive coordinator, took Childress's place. On February 7, 2019, two days before their first game, head coach Coyle announced that Vick would be unable to fill his role as offensive coordinator and would instead act as an advisor to the team.

Rich Bartel Richard John Bartel (born February 3, 1983) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Redskins and Arizona Cardinals. He played college fo ...

, who replaced Vick as ''de facto'' offensive coordinator and play-caller, abruptly resigned two days before the team's home opener, prompting the team to hire

Ken Zampese Kenneth Zampese (born July 19, 1967) is an American football coach who is the quarterbacks coach for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Zampese began his coaching career at his alma mater, the University of San Dieg ...

to lead the offense. The team's first game was at

Spectrum Stadium FBC Mortgage Stadium (formerly known as Bright House Networks Stadium and Spectrum Stadium, also known as the Bounce House) is an American football stadium located in Orlando, Florida, United States, on the main campus of the University of Central ...

against the

Orlando Apollos The Orlando Apollos were a professional American football franchise based in Orlando, Florida, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football ...

on Saturday, February 9, 2019, where they lost 40–6. Their first home game was on February 24 against the

Birmingham Iron The Birmingham Iron were a professional American football franchise based in Birmingham, Alabama, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played the ...

, where they lost 28–12. After starting the season 0–3, the Legends recorded their first win against the

on March 3, 2019.

Personnel

Staff

Allocation pool

The Legends' assigned area, which designated player rights, included the following: Colleges * Albany State *

Clark Atlanta Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Founde ...

* Clemson *

Fort Valley State } Fort Valley State University (FVSU, formerly Fort Valley State College and Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant Historically black colleges and universities, historically blac ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hin ...

Georgia State Georgia state or ''variation'', may refer to: Primarily * Georgia State University ("State", "Georgia State"), a state university * Georgia (U.S. state) ("Georgia state"), a state of the United States of America Sports * sports teams of Georgia St ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part o ...

Kennesaw State Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a public research university located in the state of Georgia with two different campuses in the Atlanta metropolitan area, one in Kennesaw and the other in Marietta on a combined of land. The school was fou ...

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...

* Morehouse *

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

* Savannah State * Shorter *

Valdosta State Valdosta State University (VSU or Valdosta State) is a public university in Valdosta, Georgia. It is one of the four comprehensive universities in the University System of Georgia. , VSU had over 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students. VS ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

West Georgia The University of West Georgia is a public university in Carrollton, Georgia. The university offers a satellite campus in Newnan, Georgia, select classes at its Douglasville Center, and off-campus Museum Studies classes at the Atlanta History ...

National Football League (NFL) * Atlanta Falcons *

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

(CFL) *

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

Final roster

2019 season

Final standings

Schedule

Preseason

Regular season

''All times

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air L ...

'' Changed from original time and/or network.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Orlando

Week 2: at San Diego

Week 3: Birmingham

Week 4: at Arizona

Week 5: Memphis

Week 6: San Antonio

Week 7: Orlando

Week 8: at Birmingham

Media

In addition to league-wide television coverage through

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American pay television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports Television also known a ...

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reage ...

, and

B/R Live Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Aug ...

, Legends' games were also broadcast on local radio by

WCNN WCNN (680 kHz) is an AM radio station licensed to North Atlanta and serving the Atlanta-area radio market. It is owned by Dickey Broadcasting and airs a sports radio format. The station is commonly known by the on-air branding as "The Fan". ...

("680 The Fan").