Former Chiefs TE Anthony Becht among initial XFL head coaches

The XFL is preparing for a brand new re-launch for the 2023 season in hopes of becoming a legitimate secondary league for American football, and the first eight head coaches for the new league have been announced. The list is a familiar one of NFL veterans, either as coaches or players, and one is especially so for Kansas City Chiefs fans in former tight end Anthony Becht

At the present time, Becht and his colleagues are without an official franchise designation just yet, but the league went ahead and announced the hire of all eight.

Becht played for the Chiefs for a single season in his 12-year career, the ultimate season before he retired frondm the game in 2011. It was largely a forgettable season in terms of Becht’s involvement with only 3 catches for 26 receiving yards to show for 9 games of playing time, including five starts.

Former Chiefs tight end Anthony Becht will be one of the first head coaches in the XFL.

It should be noted that Becht came to the Chiefs at just about the worst time possible. Instead of bolstering the offense as Scott Pioli had hoped, the wheels came off in a season in which even Tyler Palko made four starts at quarterback. Leonard Pope and Jake O’Connell were the primary targets at tight end, which says all you need to know about the team’s offense. One year later, the Chiefs would finish with the NFL’s worst record and fire everyone in leadership.

In his NFL career, Becht was a solid tight end for the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers who was taken in hte first round of the 2000 NFL Draft at No. 27 overall. In his career, Becht had 188 catches, including 21 touchdowns, for the Bucs and Jets as well as the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals.

Since his playing days, he’s been a tight ends coach and offensive coordinator at the high school level and for the short-lived San Diego franchise in the AAF (Alliance of American Football). Becht is also a familiar face as a broadcaster for the Jets.

Other head coaches for the XFL include Reggie Barlow, Rod Woodson, Hines Ward, Bob Stoops, Terrell Buckley, Wade Phillips, and Jim Haslett.