Anthony Becht’s departure to Orlando opened the door for former St. Louis Rams wide receiver and Battlehawks WR coach Ricky Proehl to return to the Gateway City to take over as the lead man, bringing former San Antonio Brahmas and Houston Roughnecks offensive coordinator A.J. Smith on board to run his offense. We’ve ridden the roller coaster with Smith dating back to the XFL’s original return when he was the Roughnecks’ WR coach under June Jones when they had their own version of the Greatest Show On Turf before the season was ultimately shut down due to COVID. Smith returned in 2023 as the OC and orchestrated another successful spring offense that posted a blistering 68.8% situation-neutral pass rate, rolling out 10 personnel on nearly every dropback. Spring football fans and DFS players alike were enamored, until we saw Smith again in 2024-25 with the Brahmas orchestrating an offense that looked nothing like the one we came to know and love in Houston. In 2024, his pass rate plummeted to 56.6%, and his offense scored just 19.7 points per game and ranked sixth in explosive plays per game (5.5). Then, in 2025, we saw more of the same: the league’s second-fewest plays per game (52.2), a middling 59.4% pass rate, and a league-low 5.3 YPA. Smith ultimately resigned midseason due to an internal power struggle and a lack of control over the offense and roster decisions.
We've created the best Draft Kit on the internet.
Our fantasy football Draft Kit Pro was created to prepare you with the highest-quality resources to help you win your league.
Our team of analysts, led by Evan Silva and Adam Levitan, create unmatched content and rankings to make sure you’re ready for draft day. While our Draft Kit is built for competitive fantasy players, we’ve made it fun and easy to consume.
If you aren’t satisfied with our Draft Kit for any reason, just email us within 48 hours of purchase and we’ll provide a full refund.
Full Draft Kit Overview » Already a subscriber? Log In
