 | |
| Founded | 2018 (2018) |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2019 (2019) |
| Team history |
|
| Home arena | SDCCU Stadium (2019) |
| League | Alliance of American Football
|
| Colors | Battleship Gray, Gray, Yellow, White |
| Personnel | |
| Head coach | Mike Martz |
| Team president | Jeff Garner |
TheSan Diego Fleet was a professionalAmerican football team based inSan Diego, California, that competed in theAlliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019, with the team playing its home games atSDCCU Stadium.[1] They were coached by formerNFL head coachMike Martz.[1] The team was one of the two professional football teams playing in San Diego, along with theSan Diego Strike Force of theIndoor Football League, and the first since theSan Diego Chargers moved toLos Angeles in 2017.[2]
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.[3]
The Alliance San Diego team and head coach, Mike Martz, was announced by the Alliance of American Football on May 29, 2018.[1] Early reports hadRick Neuheisel coaching the team before he instead agreed to take the coaching job inPhoenix.[4] 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 theUnited States Navy.[2]
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.[5]
The Fleet held the first-overall pick in the league's2019 AAF QB Draft,[6] which was used to protectJosh Johnson.[7] Johnson, who signed with the NFL'sWashington Redskins before the end of the 2018 season, never played for the Fleet.[8] The final 52-man roster was set on January 30.[9]
Dre Bly, who had played cornerback for Martz with theSt. Louis Rams, was originally slated to coach defensive backs, but stepped down to take a similar position at theUniversity of North Carolina.[10] Former NFL quarterbackJon Kitna was also announced as the team's offensive coordinator in June 2018.[11] However, he did not coach a game for the Fleet as he was hired by theDallas Cowboys in January 2019 to become their quarterbacks coach.[12]
The team's first game was a loss at theAlamodome against theSan Antonio Commanders on Saturday, February 9, 2019, with the game broadcast live onCBS.[13] The Fleet won its first three home games before enthusiastic crowds and was third in attendance among the eight-team league.[14]
On April 2, 2019, the Alliance for American Football suspended football operations,[15][16] and on April 4 the league allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams.[17] The effect was to cancel the final two regular season games and the scheduled post-season playoffs.[14] The Fleet athletes and coaches, who were in Orlando getting ready for a game against theOrlando Apollos, suddenly "found themselves paying their own hotel bills and buying their own plane tickets home."[3]
The league filed forChapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17, 2019.[18] The Fleet's final record for the abbreviated season was 3-5.
| Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
Rights list
|
The team's assigned area, which designates player rights, includes the following:[19]
Colleges | National Football League (NFL) Canadian Football League (CFL)
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
| |||||
| 2019 San Diego Fleet season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Dave Boller |
| Head coach | Mike Martz |
| Home stadium | SDCCU Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–5 |
| League place | 3rd (tie), Western Conference |
| 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 | |||||||||
| Date | Opponent | Results | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||
| January 27 | Orlando Apollos | L 28–31 | 0–1 | Alamodome |
All timesPacific
| Week | Date | Opponent | Results | Location | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||
| 1 | February 9 | atSan 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 | atMemphis 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 | atArizona Hotshots | L 15–32 | 3–4 | Sun Devil Stadium | 9,760 |
| 8 | March 30 | atSalt Lake Stallions | L 3–8 | 3–5 | Rice–Eccles Stadium | 8,405 |
| 9 | April 6 | atOrlando Apollos | Not played | Spectrum Stadium | ||
| 10 | April 14 | Arizona Hotshots | SDCCU Stadium | |||
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Commanders | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 15 |
atAlamodome,San Antonio, Texas
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legends | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| Fleet | 0 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 24 |
atSDCCU Stadium,San Diego, California
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commanders | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| Fleet | 6 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 31 |
atSDCCU Stadium,San Diego, California
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet | 14 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
| Express | 3 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 26 |
atLiberty Bowl Memorial Stadium,Memphis, Tennessee
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stallions | 8 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 25 |
| Fleet | 3 | 3 | 12 | 9 | 27 |
atSDCCU Stadium,San Diego, California
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron | 6 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 32 |
| Fleet | 3 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 29 |
atSDCCU Stadium,San Diego, California
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Hotshots | 9 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 32 |
atSun Devil Stadium,Tempe, Arizona
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Stallions | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
atRice–Eccles Stadium,Salt Lake City, Utah
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
On February 7, 2019, the Fleet announced thatKLSD andKOGO would be the team's flagship radio stations.[29] Jon Schaeffer handled play-by-play with former ChargerRich Ohrnberger doing color commentary. KOGO also airs in greaterL.A.[30]
