Virginia Destroyers The Virginia Destroyers are a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach , Virginia . They are scheduled to play in the United Football League ( UFL ) beginning in the 2011 season . They will play their home games at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex . The team is a successor to the Florida Tuskers , who began play as a charter UFL franchise in Orlando , Florida , in 2009 ; the Tuskers appeared in both of the UFL Championship Game s ( losing both ) before the team ceased operations and moved the remnants of the team to Virginia Beach to assume the identity ( and some executive staff ) of a previously announced expansion team that was to begin play in 2011 . Former NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer is the team ' s head coach and general manager . Franchise history . Florida Tuskers ( 2009 – 2010 ) . 2009 season . Orlando was awarded a franchise for the UFL ' s 2009 season . Former New Orleans Saints and St . Louis Rams head coach Jim Haslett was named the first head coach of the team on March 11 , 2009 . Tryouts for the four teams that would play in the 2009 season took place in Orlando and Las Vegas during the summer , with the draft taking place on June 19 . With their first selection , the Tuskers picked Fred Bledsoe , who had gone undrafted in the 2008 NFL Draft before signing with the Green Bay Packers as a practice squad member . The team ' s name , along with its colors and uniforms , were unveiled to the public in August , two months before the start of the season . On the same day it was announced that the Tampa Bay Rays had bought interest in the team . In their inaugural season , the Tuskers were led by quarterback Brooks Bollinger , and wide receiver Taye Biddle . Bollinger was the league leader in passing yards , while Biddle led in receiving yards . On the defensive side of the ball , Odell Thurman led the team in tackles , Patrick Chukwurah was the league leader in sacks , and Jerome Carter led the league in interceptions . The team was noted for having a large number of former players from the nearby Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Among the Buccaneer alumni were Matt Bryant , who once kicked a game - winning 62 - yard field goal as time expired , which is also the third - longest successful attempt in NFL history , Micheal Spurlock , the first player in Tampa Bay history to return a kickoff for a touchdown , and Super Bowl XXXVII MVP Dexter Jackson . The Tuskers put together a league - best undefeated 6 – 0 record in the regular season , clinching a spot in the championship game in Week 4 . However in the championship game , the Tuskers were beaten by the Las Vegas Locomotives , losing on a game - winning field goal in overtime . Despite the team being unable to complete a perfect season , Jim Haslett was named Coach of the Year , while Bollinger was given the league ' s MVP award . 2010 season . In January 2010 , head coach Jim Haslett left the team to become the defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League . On February 9 , 2010 , UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue named Jay Gruden as head coach and general manager . On the same day it was announced that the Tampa Bay Rays had sold their interest in the team , meaning the Tuskers would be fully based in Orlando for the 2010 season . After several months of league ownership , a group led by Joe Theismann purchased the team in October 2010 . The Tuskers signed WYGM as their radio affiliate , becoming the second UFL team to have one . Florida extended their regular season winning streak to seven games when they defeated the Las Vegas Locos in their opener on September 18 , 27 – 20 . The Tuskers lost their first regular season game in franchise history in Week 2 when they were defeated by the Sacramento Mountain Lions , 24 – 20 . They dropped their next contest on September 30 against the Locos , 20 – 17 , the first time Las Vegas had beaten Florida in a regular season match - up . After splitting their next two games , the Tuskers were 2 – 3 and in danger of being eliminated from championship contention . After backup quarterback Chris Greisen became the new starter in Week 8 , the Tuskers went on to win their final three games , sending them back to the championship game , once again facing Las Vegas . Virginia Destroyers . 2011 season . The UFL originally announced an expansion team based in Norfolk , Virginia , to begin play in 2011 . Jim Speros , owner of the Baltimore Stallions and ( briefly ) the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League , was named as the team ' s owner , but relinquished control of the team to the league on August 23 , 2010 opening up bidding to other parties . Former NFL and USFL quarterback Doug Williams later was named the team ' s general manager . On February 21 , 2011 , Williams resigned from the Destroyers to become the head coach at Grambling State University . Joe Moglia , chairman of TD Ameritrade and a former college coordinator who last coached football in the 1980s , was given the head coaching position at the behest of league commissioner Michael Huyghue in November 2010 ; Williams had no input on the hire . However , in January 2011 , the league announced Moglia would instead coach the Omaha Nighthawks . Meanwhile , on January 12 , 2011 , the league announced that the Tuskers ceased operations in Orlando and moved to Virginia , with Jay Gruden remaining as the Destroyers ' coach . Bret Munsey , the Tuskers ' director of player personnel , assumed authority over player personnel upon Williams ' resignation . Theismann , a minority owner of the team in Florida , was relegated to being a consultant for the league but eventually left that role , expressing disgust in the way he was treated by the league ' s ownership during his time as the Tuskers ' director of football operations . In February 2011 , Gruden was hired by the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL as their offensive coordinator . On March 23 , 2011 , former NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer was hired as head coach and general manager . On July 28 , 2011 , Bill Mayer was installed as owner of the Destroyers . Mayer had previously owned the New York Sentinels and Hartford Colonials in the UFL , but the league moved to contract that team as part of the move . The league has not publicly confirmed the move but will announce their plans on or before August 2 .