From the CEO

The week the staff came together.

Seven days ago Mike Vanderjagt was the headline hire. This week he's a staff-builder — with a Canadian Football Hall of Famer running his offense and a WVU All-American coaching his offensive line. Thursday night in Westfield, the market came out and stayed for two and a half hours. In the background, expansion moved from talking to committing. And on the desk, our graphic artists started sketching something that may end up in your mailbox next spring.

Below: the staff hires, the meet-and-greet, where 2027 expansion actually stands, and a first look at The Continental Quarterly.

Around The League · Indianapolis Capitols

Vanderjagt fills out his staff — a Hall of Famer and an All-American

The Indianapolis Capitols announced two additions to Head Coach Mike Vanderjagt's staff this week — the first coordinator and the first position coach of his tenure.

Damon Allen · Offensive Coordinator

Damon Allen · Offensive Coordinator

Canadian Football Hall of Famer. Four-time Grey Cup champion, three-time Grey Cup MVP, and the CFL's 2005 Most Outstanding Player at age 42. His 72,381 career passing yards made him professional football's all-time leading passer at retirement, and he ranks third in CFL history in rushing (11,920 yards). He runs the Damon Allen Quarterback Academy and is the younger brother of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen. His CFL pedigree brings a modern, motion-heavy, quarterback-first philosophy to Vanderjagt's offense.

Tyler Orlosky · Offensive Line Coach

Tyler Orlosky · Offensive Line Coach

Former West Virginia All-American, two-time team captain, Rimington Trophy finalist, and a nine-time All-America selection as a senior. Invited to the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine, and signed as an undrafted free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles. He currently serves as offensive line coach at California (PA) in the PSAC. The first hire of Vanderjagt's tenure — and the second Mountaineer voice on the staff.

Full bios and headshots live at indycapitols.com. Announcements courtesy of the Indianapolis Capitols.

The Room · Westfield, IN

A packed room at Stick & Hack — and a piece of 1969 on the table

Thursday night the Indianapolis Capitols hosted an invitation-only meet-and-greet at Stick & Hack, across the road from Droplight Grand Park in Westfield. The room filled up quickly and stayed full — the scheduled window ran a little over two and a half hours, and most of the room stayed past the end. President Lauren Boczek and Head Coach Mike Vanderjagt worked the room and took questions in a wide-ranging Q&A.

And on the table by the front: the 1969 Continental Cup and a small collection of original Indianapolis Capitols game programs from the 1960s. Guests read the rosters, studied the ads, and traded stories.

The Capitols also launched their WeFunder investment campaign at the event. The full campaign page will be live at indycapitols.com next week.

2027 Expansion · The Standard

Two verbals North, one meeting South — and now the real work

Expansion moved forward this week. The League now has two verbal commitments in the Northern Division and one solid meeting in the South. Two additional Northern cities and one additional Southern city are set to meet with the CEO through early September.

A verbal is the beginning, not the finish line. The next step is the one that matters — verifying financials and operational capacity. That vetting process runs roughly a week per candidate, and no ownership group is announced until it clears. No verbal-only. No shortcuts. That is how we protect the clubs already in the League and the fans in every market who deserve a real one.

Prospective ownership groups: coflfootball.com/ownership

A First Look · The Continental Quarterly

A first look — something for your mailbox, maybe

The Feature articles we've been publishing at coflfootball.com — the Chicago Owls, the Orlando Panthers, the Charleston Rockets — landed harder than we expected. Long reads. Real photography. Real football history. Readers stayed on the page. So we've started asking a bigger question.

What if that kind of writing didn't live only on the web?

The concept — still in the developmental phase — is a quarterly print magazine, delivered to your mailbox. Season previews. Team and coach features. Market stories. Pieces from CoFL's 1960s roots. Every issue built as something you would keep on the shelf, not swipe past on a phone.

Our graphic artists are working on mock covers now. If we move forward, the target launch is Spring 2027. A formal decision will be made by October.

If a printed, mailed, keep-it-on-the-shelf football magazine sounds like your kind of Saturday morning, watch this space. We'll tell you when we know.

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THE CONTINENTAL · THE PEOPLE'S LEAGUE

Continental Football League · Indianapolis, Indiana

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