MEMPHIS, Tenn. — John Defilippo is ready to become the new head coach for the Memphis Showboats.
Coming to Memphis was never in the plan for DeFilippo. In fact, the phone call that changed his plan came as quite a surprise. Daryl Johnston, former Dallas Cowboy and current vice president of football operations for the United Football League, had a proposition.
"I was on aisle six in Publix with my three-year-old daughter at the grocery store," DeFilippo said. "He called me and said, 'Hey, I apologize, but the New Orleans breakers are no longer, but we'd love for you to come coach the Memphis Showboats.'"
It only took a second for DeFilippo to say yes.
Just like that, he was head coach of the Memphis Showboats, formerly of the United States Football League (USFL) and now of the United Football League (UFL).
DeFilippo spent 2023 as head coach of the New Orleans Breakers, leading the USFL team to a 7-3 record and playoff appearance. It was his first stint as a head coach. He'd previously been an offensive coordinator in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns. He won a Super Bowl as quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017 and before then had been offensive coordinator for San Jose State at the college level.
Joining the UFL was a chance at being a head coach, but each level of football has taught him something different.
"You want to keep getting better and better every year and establish trust with your players," he said. "I've been fortunate to be on some really, really good teams in the 2017 Eagles - we won the Super Bowl - and I've been on some teams where we've won three games. So, your mental toughness gets challenged in both good times and bad."
DeFilippo looks forward to continuing to grow in his second year as a head coach. He's been working on getting to know his new players and his new city. Unlike last year, the Showboats will train at the facilities in Arlington, TX and travel to Memphis to play games.
Much like many of his players, DeFilippo has had a taste of the NFL and wants to help his players get to or return to that level of football again.
"They're this close away. They're literally this close, and that's what our league is so excited about is we offer the opportunity now for those guys to put this on tape and get that little bit that they need to jump to the next level," DeFilippo said.
The Showboats season will begin March 30. They'll continue to play home games in Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
A previous version of this story stated that the team will practice at facilities in Houston. The teams will practice in Arlington, TX.
