You’d think that once a coach leaves a team, they’d at least let the door close quietly behind them. But Reggie Barlow? He slammed it shut and then took the whole locker room with him.
Just days before the UFL kicks off its 2025 season, the D.C. Defenders are scrambling—not just to fill one hole, but several—after their former head coach pulled off one of the boldest offseason moves we’ve seen in a while. Barlow didn’t just leave to take the Tennessee State job. He took his would-be replacement and the offensive coordinator with him. That’s right.
Shannon Harris, who had just been named the interim head coach of the Defenders, and offensive coordinator Fred Kaiss are both heading to Nashville to join Barlow at TSU.
Talk about trolling.
Barlow had already made headlines when he left the UFL for the college ranks, officially being announced as Tennessee State’s new head coach after Eddie George departed for Bowling Green. That alone would’ve been newsworthy.
After all, Barlow had a solid 13-7 record over two seasons with the Defenders and was even named XFL Coach of the Year in 2023 after a 9-1 season that ended with a trip to the title game. He was one of the faces of the league’s coaching success story.
According to Christian Paolantonio of Athlon Sports, Barlow isn’t coming to TSU alone. He’s bringing Harris and Kaiss with him—and reportedly planning to bring more of the Defenders' staff as well, including offensive line coach Russ Ehrenfeld. The timing? Yeah, it’s brutal.
NEWS: Former @XFLDefenders HC Reggie Barlow is preparing to bring along current Defenders Interim HC Shannon Harris and OC Fred Kaiss to Tennessee State, per @MikeOrganWriter.
— Christian Paolantonio (@CPaolantonio_) March 25, 2025
Unclear on the timing of when the hires will occur, but it appears Harris/Kaiss are joining Barlow.… pic.twitter.com/7a6vzK4VZs
In the college football world, coaches poach staff from former gigs all the time. But the sheer proximity to the start of the UFL season is what makes this next-level. It’s one thing to leave your post. It’s another thing entirely to take the interim coach (aka the guy who was supposed to stabilize things after you left)) and the OC who’d spent months building the playbook for 2025. That’s not just messy. That’s scorched-earth.
Meanwhile, Tennessee State might just be grinning from ear to ear. They didn’t just get Barlow—they got a ready-made staff with chemistry, experience, and a proven system. For a program that just made its first FCS playoff appearance since 2013, this feels like they're still trending in the right direction.