The UFL’s Louisville Kings and the Baltimore Ravens have a unique connection. Five of the Kings’ eight coaches played on the Ravens’ Super Bowl XXXV squad.
The staff includes head coach Chris Redman, wide receivers coach Tony Banks, defensive coordinator Jamie Sharper, linebackers coach Brad Jackson and finally the most illustrious Raven of the five, defensive backs coach Chris McAlister.
Redman and Banks were both quarterbacks on that squad. Sharper and Jackson were both linebackers. McAlister was the longest-tenured Raven of the five, playing 10 seasons as a starting cornerback for the team. He was a first team All-Pro selection in 2003.
“We had our Super Bowl reunion this year and ironically enough we were all sitting around talking. Some of us were in coaching, some of us were looking into scouting. Some were already in these different areas,” McAlister said on Glenn Clark Radio June 12. “A month later Redman calls and rallies the troops and says, ‘Hey guys, you want to go get this done?”
The Kings went 6-4 in the regular season and made the UFL playoffs. They beat the St. Louis Battlehawks and then the DC Defenders in the United Bowl to win the championship.
The season did not start well, though. The team started off 0-3 in a 10-week regular season, putting the idea of playoffs in severe jeopardy.
“At that moment [we said], ‘Don’t look up at the schedule, don’t look at the standings, don’t look where we’re at, look at the team that’s in front of you,'” McAlister said. “Brad did a great job of preaching and getting us started down this path of just being 1-0 this week. Everybody bought into this mantra of being 1-0 this week. Next thing you know, we won six out of seven games and we’re right back in the hunt.”
Cornerback Corey Mayfield Jr., one of McAlister’s pupils, was a standout for the Kings. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound corner led the league with four interceptions.
Mayfield, 26, played his college ball at UTSA and was a part of the Ravens’ offseason roster in 2023 as an undrafted free agent. He did not end up making the final roster.
“The kid is hungry and he works and he’s a true professional,” McAlister said. “When he comes to practice, he practices hard. He listens to coaching. He’s a great kid. Over the course of the year, he did nothing but improve. We watched him in minicamp. He probably lost 10 or 15 pounds from the beginning of the season to now and he’s leaned out. He’s just a kid that enjoys playing football.”
After a successful season with the Kings, McAlister can add UFL champion to an already impressive resume. He wouldn’t mind one more accomplishment — becoming a member of the Ravens Ring of Honor.
McAlister is a notable omission. He has three Pro Bowls and two All-Pro selections, more than Ring of Honor members Todd Heap and Michael McCrary. He’s arguably the best cornerback in franchise history with 26 interceptions, the most of any Ravens corner.
“I don’t know how the process works. It is what it is. It’s going to work itself out. I believe maybe one day in the future things will work themselves out and I will be lucky enough to be in the Ring of Honor, but if not I won’t say it won’t happen. I’ll just say when it is going to happen. You’ve got to throw positive vibes out there.”
For more from McAlister, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the United Football League