San Diego Fleet
The San Diego Fleet was a professional American football franchise based in San Diego, California, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF).
The league began play in February 2019, with the team playing its home games at SDCCU Stadium. They were coached by former NFL head coach Mike Martz. The team was one of the two professional football teams playing in San Diego, along with the San Diego Strike Force of the Indoor Football League, and the first since the former San Diego Chargers moved to Los Angeles in 2017.
| Established | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2019 |
| Based in | San Diego, California |
| Home stadium | SDCCU Stadium |
| Head coach | Mike Martz |
| General manager | Dave Boller |
| Team president | Jeff Garner |
| League | Alliance of American Football |
| Division | Western Conference (2019) |
| Colors | Battleship Gray, Gray, Yellow, White |
In April 2019 the league suspended football operations and allowed players to break their contracts. On April 17 the league filed for bankruptcy, cutting the season short and putting all eight teams out of business, since under the AAF organizational plan all teams were funded by the central organization.
History
The Alliance San Diego team and head coach, Mike Martz, was announced by the Alliance of American Football on May 29, 2018. Early reports had Rick Neuheisel coaching the team before he instead agreed to take the coaching job in Phoenix. Alliance San Diego's name, logo and colors were revealed on September 25, 2018, as the San Diego Fleet (battleship gray, yellow and silver gray) along with the other three western teams. The name indicates the city's ties to the United States Navy.
The team pays $25,000 per game in rent to use SDCCU Stadium and covers an additional $160,000 per game in other game-related expenses the city incurs.
The Fleet held the first-overall pick in the league's 2019 AAF QB Draft, which was used to protect Josh Johnson. Johnson, who signed with the NFL's Washington Redskins before the end of the 2018 season, never played for the Fleet. The final 52-man roster was set on January 30.
Dre Bly, who had played cornerback for Martz with the St. Louis Rams, was originally slated to coach defensive backs, but stepped down to take a similar position at the University of North Carolina. Former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna was also announced as the team's offensive coordinator in June 2018. However, he did not coach a game for the Fleet as he was hired by the Dallas Cowboys in January 2019 to become their quarterbacks coach.
The team's first game was a loss at the Alamodome against the San Antonio Commanders on Saturday, February 9, 2019, with the game broadcast live on CBS. The Fleet won its first three home games before enthusiastic crowds and was third in attendance among the eight-team league.
On April 2, 2019, the Alliance for American Football suspended football operations, and on April 4 the league allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams. The effect was to cancel the final two regular season games and the scheduled post-season playoffs. The Fleet athletes and coaches, who were in Orlando getting ready for a game against the Orlando Apollos, suddenly "found themselves paying their own hotel bills and buying their own plane tickets home."
The league filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17, 2019. The Fleet's final record for the abbreviated season was 3-5.
Final Roster
| Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
Rights list
|
Allocation pool
The team's assigned area, which designates player rights, includes the following:
| Colleges | National Football League (NFL) Canadian Football League (CFL)
|
Staff
| Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
| |||||
2019 season
| 2019 San Diego Fleet season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Dave Boller |
| Head coach | Mike Martz |
| Home field | SDCCU Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–5 |
| League place | 3rd (tie), Western Conference |
Final standings
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | W–L | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | DIFF | SOS | SOV | STK |
| (x) – Orlando Apollos | 7–1 | .875 | 5–0 | 236 | 136 | 100 | .406 | .375 | W2 |
| (x) – Birmingham Iron | 5–3 | .625 | 3–2 | 165 | 133 | 32 | .406 | .300 | W1 |
| (e) – Memphis Express | 2–6 | .250 | 1–4 | 152 | 194 | -42 | .578 | .500 | L1 |
| (e) – Atlanta Legends | 2–6 | .250 | 1–4 | 88 | 213 | -125 | .609 | .438 | L3 |
| Western Conference | |||||||||
| Club | W–L | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | DIFF | SOS | SOV | STK |
| San Antonio Commanders | 5–3 | .625 | 3–2 | 158 | 154 | 4 | .516 | .450 | L1 |
| Arizona Hotshots | 5–3 | .625 | 3–2 | 186 | 144 | 42 | .469 | .500 | W3 |
| San Diego Fleet | 3–5 | .375 | 2–3 | 158 | 161 | -3 | .469 | .417 | L3 |
| Salt Lake Stallions | 3–5 | .375 | 2–3 | 135 | 143 | -8 | .547 | .417 | W1 |
| (x)–clinched playoff berth; (e)–eliminated from playoff contention | |||||||||
Schedule
Preseason
| Date | Opponent | Results | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||
| January 27 | Orlando Apollos | L 28–31 | 0–1 | Alamodome |
Regular season
All times Pacific
| Week | Date | Opponent | Results | Location | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||
| 1 | February 9 | at San Antonio Commanders | L 6–15 | 0–1 | Alamodome | 27,857 |
| 2 | February 17 | Atlanta Legends | W 24–12 | 1–1 | SDCCU Stadium | 20,019 |
| 3 | February 24 | San Antonio Commanders | W 31–11 | 2–1 | SDCCU Stadium | 14,789 |
| 4 | March 2 | at Memphis Express | L 23–26 | 2–2 | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | 13,621 |
| 5 | March 9 | Salt Lake Stallions | W 27–25 | 3–2 | SDCCU Stadium | 20,823 |
| 6 | March 17 | Birmingham Iron | L 29–32 | 3–3 | SDCCU Stadium | 20,986 |
| 7 | March 24 | at Arizona Hotshots | L 15–32 | 3–4 | Sun Devil Stadium | 9,760 |
| 8 | March 30 | at Salt Lake Stallions | L 3–8 | 3–5 | Rice–Eccles Stadium | 8,405 |
| 9 | April 6 | at Orlando Apollos | Not played | Spectrum Stadium | ||
| 10 | April 14 | Arizona Hotshots | SDCCU Stadium | |||
Game summaries
Week 1: at San Antonio
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Commanders | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 15 |
at Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
- Date: February 9
- Game time: 5:00 p.m. PT
- Game weather: Indoors
- Game attendance: 27,857
- Referee: Jeff Heaser
- TV announcers (CBS): Spero Dedes, Trent Green, Tiki Barber, and Jamie Erdahl
- NoExtraPoints AAF
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 2: vs. Atlanta
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legends | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| Fleet | 0 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 24 |
at SDCCU Stadium, San Diego, California
- Date: February 17
- Game time: 5:00 p.m. PT
- Game attendance: 20,019
- Referee: Brandon Cruse
- TV announcers (NFL Network): Andrew Siciliano, Marvin Lewis, Maurice Jones-Drew
- NoExtraPoints AAF
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 3: vs. San Antonio
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commanders | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| Fleet | 6 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 31 |
at SDCCU Stadium, San Diego, California
- Date: February 24
- Game time: 5:00 p.m. PT
- Game attendance: 14,789
- Referee: Tra Blake
- TV announcers (NFL Network): Dan Hellie, Marvin Lewis, Maurice Jones-Drew
- NoExtraPoints AAF
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 4: at Memphis
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet | 14 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
| Express | 3 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 26 |
at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
- Date: March 2
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. PT
- Game attendance: 13,621
- Referee: James Carter
- TV announcers (B/R Live): Mark Malone, James Jones
- NoExtraPoints AAF
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 5: vs. Salt Lake
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stallions | 8 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 25 |
| Fleet | 3 | 3 | 12 | 9 | 27 |
at SDCCU Stadium, San Diego, California
- Date: March 9
- Game time: 5:00 p.m. PT
- Game attendance: 20,823
- Referee: Jeff Heaser
- TV announcers (NFL Network): Dan Hellie, Steve Mariucci, Marvin Lewis
- NoExtraPoints AAF
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 6: vs. Birmingham
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron | 6 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 32 |
| Fleet | 3 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 29 |
at SDCCU Stadium, San Diego, California
- Date: March 17
- Game time: 5:00 p.m. PT
- Game attendance: 20,986
- Referee: John O’Neill
- TV announcers (CBS Sports Network): Ben Holden, Adam Archuleta, John Schriffen
- NoExtraPoints AAF
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 7: at Arizona
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Hotshots | 9 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 32 |
at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
- Date: March 24
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. PT
- Game weather: Sunny, 77 °F (25 °C)
- Game attendance: 9,760
- Referee: Reggie Smith
- TV announcers (CBS Sports Network): Ben Holden, Adam Archuleta, Melanie Collins
- NoExtraPoints AAF
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 8: at Salt Lake
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Stallions | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
at Rice–Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah
- Date: March 30
- Game time: 5:00 p.m. PT
- Game weather: Cloudy, 49 °F (9 °C)
- Game attendance: 8,405
- Referee: Brandon Cruse
- TV announcers (NFL Network): Matt "Money" Smith, Marvin Lewis, Jason Fisher
- NoExtraPoints AAF
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Media
On February 7, 2019, the Fleet announced that KLSD and KOGO would be the team's flagship radio stations. Jon Schaeffer handled play-by-play with former Charger Rich Ohrnberger doing color commentary. KOGO also airs in greater L.A.
References
Further reading
- Krasovic, Tom (April 2, 2019). "Alliance of American Football pulls the plug, taking San Diego Fleet down with it". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
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