| Arizona Hotshots | |
| Helmet: | Arizona Hotshots Helmet 2019.png |
| Founded: | 2018 |
| Folded: | 2019 |
| City: | Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona |
| Colors: | Green, Orange and Yellow |
| Coach: | Rick Neuheisel |
| President: | Scott Brubaker |
| General Manager: | Phil Savage |
| League: | Alliance of American Football (2019)
|
| Team History: |
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| No League Champs: | 0 |
| No Conf Champs: | 0 |
| No Div Champs: | 0 |
| No Playoff Appearances: | 0 |
| Arena Years: |
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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.[1] They played their home games at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University. The Hotshots were one of two AAF teams based in a city that already had an NFL team (the Arizona Cardinals; the other team was the Atlanta Legends, where the NFL's Falcons are based). The Hotshots were coached by former USFL player and college head coach Rick Neuheisel. Scott Brubaker was the team president and Phil Savage was the general manager.
On April 2, 2019, the league's football operations were reportedly suspended,[2] [3] and on April 4 the league allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams.[4] The league filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17, 2019. At the time of the bankruptcy, the Hotshots owed over $1.2 million to Arizona State University for leasing Sun Devil Stadium.[5]
Rick Neuheisel was announced as the head coach of the Arizona Hotshots by the Alliance of American Football on May 18, 2018. The team was slated to play at Sun Devil Stadium.[6] By September 25, Scott Brubaker and Phil Savage were named team president and general manager, respectively.[7]
Phoenix's name and logo were revealed on September 25, 2018, as the Arizona Hotshots along with the other three western teams.[8] The name is a tribute to the region's firefighters, nicknamed hotshots, while the color scheme of green, orange, and yellow are commonly worn by such fire crews. The team's logo is a pair of crossed pickhead axes, which are used by structural firefighters and not the wildland firefighters the team is named for.[9] The branding was developed by the national office then handed off to the team staff. Reception of the name was mixed, with some arguing it "exploits the memory of the Granite Mountain Hotshots."[7] On March 3, 2019, the team retired No. 19 to honor the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire in 2013.[10] [11]
On October 11, 2018, the team named Hugh Freeze as the offensive coordinator and the rest of the coaching staff.[12] In the 2019 AAF QB Draft, the Hotshots did not protect the assigned (by geographical method) quarterback Mike Bercovici in the first round and instead selected Trevor Knight for his speed.[13] The final 52-man roster was set on January 30.[14]
In January 2019, the Hotshots held their preseason camp in San Antonio.[7] They won their season opener at Sun Devil Stadium on February 10, 2019, against the Salt Lake Stallions.[15]
The Hotshots owned the rights to players from designated schools:[16]
Colleges
The Hotshots also had rights to players unaffiliated with one of the designated schools, but who were most recently affiliated with professional teams:
National Football League (NFL)
Canadian Football League (CFL)
Players not affiliated with any of the designated teams could sign with any AAF team.
| Team: | Arizona Hotshots |
| Year: | 2019 |
| No Prevseason: | true |
| No Nextseason: | true |
| Record: | 5–3 |
| League Place: | 1st (tie), Western Conference |
| Coach: | Rick Neuheisel |
| General Manager: | Phil Savage |
| Stadium: | Sun Devil Stadium |
All times local to Tempe, as Arizona does not use daylight saving time. Arizona's year-round MST is equivalent to PDT after March 9.
| Week | Day | Date | Kickoff | TV | Opponent | Results | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||||
| 1 | Sunday | February 10 | 6:00 p.m. | NFLN | Salt Lake Stallions | W 38–22 | 1–0 | Sun Devil Stadium |
| 2 | Saturday | February 16 | 6:00 p.m. | NFLN | at Memphis Express | W 20–18 | 2–0 | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium |
| 3 | Saturday | February 23 | 1:00 p.m. | B/R Live | at Salt Lake Stallions | L 15–23 | 2–1 | Rice–Eccles Stadium |
| 4 | Sunday | March 3 | 6:00 p.m. | NFLN | Atlanta Legends | L 11–14 | 2–2 | Sun Devil Stadium |
| 5 | Sunday | March 10 | 5:00 p.m. | NFLN | San Antonio Commanders | L 25–29 | 2–3 | Sun Devil Stadium |
| 6 | Saturday | March 16 | 5:00 p.m. | NFLN | at Orlando Apollos | W 22–17 | 3–3 | Spectrum Stadium |
| 7 | Sunday | March 24 | 1:00 p.m. | CBSSN | San Diego Fleet | W 32–15 | 4–3 | Sun Devil Stadium |
| 8 | Sunday | March 31 | 5:00 p.m. | NFLN | at San Antonio Commanders | W 23–6 | 5–3 | Alamodome |
| 9 | Sunday | April 7 | 5:00 p.m. | NFLN | Birmingham Iron | Not played | Sun Devil Stadium | |
| 10 | Sunday | April 14 | 5:00 p.m. | NFLN | at San Diego Fleet | SDCCU Stadium | ||
In an upset, the Hotshots beat the Apollos to ruin their chances at a perfect season. (They fall to 5–1) With the win, they improve to 3–3.
In addition to league-wide television coverage through NFL Network, CBS Sports Network, TNT, and B/R Live, Hotshots' games were also broadcast on local radio by KDUS, an NBC Sports Radio affiliate.[18]