ARLINGTON, TEXAS — The DC Defenders named Shannon Harris as permanent head coach after he led the team to a UFL championship as interim head coach last season. About a week before the previous UFL season began, Harris was named interim head coach after Reggie Barlow left to become head coach at Tennessee State.

By the end of that season, Harris and the DC Defenders won the UFL championship. The team retained more than half of their players from the championship season.

"We have a lot of new guys on our team, but the culture is set," Harris said. Harris said that the attention to detail in the preseason has been what he wanted.

"That's the one thing that we do: stay away from the rat poison. We don't read that stuff. We just come to work every day with a hard hat, our lunch pail and our work boots, and approach every day the same way," Harris said.

Quarterback Jordan Ta'amu will enter his fourth season with the DC Defenders. In the previous UFL season, Ta'amu threw for 2,153 yards with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions. In the UFL championship game against the Michigan Panthers, Ta'amu threw for 390 yards and four touchdowns and also ran for one score.