View source for Memphis Maniax

{{Short description|American football team in the XFL}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox American football team
| name = Memphis Maniax
| logo = Memphis maniax logo.png
| logosize = 200
| helmet =
| helmetsize =
| established = 2001
| folded = {{start date and age|2001}}
| league = [[XFL (2001)|XFL]]
| division = Western
| league_champs = 0
| div_champs =0
| sponsor = 
| stadium = [[Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium]]
| location = [[Memphis, Tennessee]]
| colors = Teal, burgundy, gold, black<ref>{{cite web|title=Memphis Maniax Logo Sheet|url=http://ssur.org/research/XFLLogoSheets/images/MemphisManiax_CL.jpg|website=SSUR.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128160546/http://ssur.org/research/XFLLogoSheets/images/MemphisManiax_CL.jpg|archive-date=November 28, 2010|access-date=December 4, 2019}}</ref><br />{{color box|#006576}} {{color box|#862633}} {{color box|#FFB612}} {{color box|#000000}}
| owner =
| coach = [[Kippy Brown]]
}}

The '''Memphis Maniax''' were an [[American football]] team based in [[Memphis, Tennessee]]. The team was part of the [[XFL (2001)|XFL]] begun by [[Vince McMahon]] of [[World Wrestling Entertainment]] and by [[NBC]], a major television network in the United States. Home games were played at [[Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium]].

==History==
The team's name and logo were designed to lead the team's fans into calling the team "The Ax", a shortened form of the word "maniacs".

The Maniax Director of Player Personnel was [[Steve Ortmayer]], who had become respected in the pro football world for helping to build the [[Super Bowl XVIII]]-champion [[Los Angeles Raiders]]. Steve Ehrhart, who had managed both the [[Memphis Showboats]] and [[Memphis Mad Dogs]], returned as general manager for the Maniax.  The head coach was [[Kippy Brown]].

At slightly over 20,000 fans per game, the Maniax were in the lower half of league average attendance; this figure was higher than the Mad Dogs had drawn, and comparable to that of the NFL's [[1997 Tennessee Oilers season|Tennessee Oilers]] during their lone season in Memphis, but lower than the Showboats.

They were in the Western Division with the [[Los Angeles Xtreme]], [[San Francisco Demons]], and [[Las Vegas Outlaws (XFL)|Las Vegas Outlaws]]. They finished tied for second place at 5-5 with the Demons, but did not make the playoffs as the Demons had the better division record during the season.  The Maniax were one of two teams to beat the eventual league champion Xtreme, and the only team to beat them twice, going 2-0 vs. their divisional rivals in the regular season; not coincidentally, they, along with the Xtreme and Demons, were the only three XFL teams to maintain the same starting quarterback through the entire season.

NBC officials wanted to move the XFL games to afternoons after the first season (2001) due to dismal ratings, and when, somewhat to McMahon's surprise and disappointment the [[United Paramount Network]] ([[UPN]]) wanted to follow suit, the league was then folded and the team disbanded.

Ehrhart would later claim that he was originally approached by the XFL to sell the intellectual property rights of the [[United States Football League]] to them, but that he owned the rights to the league, received royalties from them, and refused to sell.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/eagles/usfl-fox-philadelphia-stars-spring-20210603.html|title=Did the new spring football league get permission to use the USFL name?}}</ref> (Ehrhart's claims are somewhat dubious as he never held any ownership stake in the league, the original XFL had an [[Attitude Era]] aesthetic which did not match the brands the USFL had, and the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]] has never recognized any claims from any vestige of the USFL, which dissolved in 1990, regarding the league's intellectual properties and has allowed other organizations to register the trademarks.)

==Season by season==
{{Start NFL SBS}}
|-
|2001 || 5 || 5 || 0 || 3rd Western || Did not survive
|}

===Schedule===
====Regular season====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! style="{{Gridiron primary style|Memphis Maniax|border=2}};"|Week
! style="{{Gridiron primary style|Memphis Maniax|border=2}};"|Date
! style="{{Gridiron primary style|Memphis Maniax|border=2}};"|Opponent
! style="{{Gridiron primary style|Memphis Maniax|border=2}};"|Result
! style="{{Gridiron primary style|Memphis Maniax|border=2}};"|Record
! style="{{Gridiron primary style|Memphis Maniax|border=2}};"|Venue
|-{{Game-won}}
! 1
| February 4
| at [[Birmingham Thunderbolts]]
| '''W''' 22–20
| 1–0
| [[Legion Field]]
|-{{Game-lost}}
! 2
| February 11
| [[Las Vegas Outlaws (XFL)|Las Vegas Outlaws]]
| '''L''' 3–25
| 1–1
| [[Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium]]
|-{{Game-lost}}
! 3
| {{dow tooltip|February 17, 2001}}
| [[San Francisco Demons]]
| '''L''' 6–13
| 1–2
| Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
|-{{Game-won}}
! 4
| February 25
| at [[Los Angeles Xtreme]]
| '''W''' 18–12
| 2–2
| [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]]
|-{{Game-lost}}
! 5
| March 4
| [[Orlando Rage]]
| '''L''' 19–21
| 2–3
| Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
|-{{Game-won}}
! 6
| {{dow tooltip|March 10, 2001}}
| [[Chicago Enforcers]]
| '''W''' 29–23
| 3–3
| Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
|-{{Game-lost}}
! 7
| {{dow tooltip|March 17, 2001}}
| at [[New York/New Jersey Hitmen]]
| '''L''' 15–16
| 3–4
| [[Giants Stadium]]
|-{{Game-lost}}
! 8
| {{dow tooltip|March 24, 2001}}
| at San Francisco Demons
| '''L''' 12–21
| 3–5
| [[Pacific Bell Park]]
|-{{Game-won}}
! 9
| April 1
| Los Angeles Xtreme
| '''W''' 27–12
| 4–5
| Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
|-{{Game-won}}
! 10
| {{dow tooltip|April 7, 2001}}
| at Las Vegas Outlaws
| '''W''' 16–3
| 5–5
| Sam Boyd Stadium 
|}

==Personnel==
===Roster===
{{NFL final roster
|Year=2001
|TeamName=Memphis Maniax
|active=37
|inactive=3
|PS=5

|Quarterbacks=
{{NFLplayer|&nbsp;5|Marcus Crandell}}
{{NFLplayer|16|Jim Druckenmiller}}

|Running Backs=
{{NFLplayer|48|Jim Kitts|FB}}
{{NFLplayer|33|Brent Moss}}
{{NFLplayer|32|Beau Morgan|QB}}
{{NFLplayer|42|Roosevelt Potts|FB}}
{{NFLplayer|22|Ketric Sanford}}

|Wide Receivers=
{{NFLplayer|86|Keith Crawford}}
{{NFLplayer|80|Daryl Hobbs}}
{{NFLplayer|88|Charles Jordan|d=American football}}

|Tight Ends=
{{NFLplayer|85|Mark Thomas|d=tight end}}

|Offensive Linemen=
{{NFLplayer|79|Harry Boatswain|OT}}
{{NFLplayer|69|Isaac Davis|d=American football|OG}}
{{NFLplayer|70|Jesse James|d=center|C}}
{{NFLplayer|75|Glenn Rountree|link=no|OG}}
{{NFLplayer|71|Earl Scott|link=no|C}}
{{NFLplayer|77|Mike Sheldon|OT}}
{{NFLplayer|74|Bernard Williams|d=gridiron football|OT}}

|Defensive Linemen=
{{NFLplayer|79|Antonio Anderson|d=American football|DT}}
{{NFLplayer|93|Shante Carver|DE}}
{{NFLplayer|73|D. J. Cooper|link=no|DE}}
{{NFLplayer|53|Tramont Lawless|link=no|DE}}
{{NFLplayer|92|Leonta Rheams|DT}}
{{NFLplayer|60|Marvin Thomas|link=no|DE}}

|Linebackers=
{{NFLplayer|59|Richard Hogans|link=no}}
{{NFLplayer|51|Paris Lenon}}
{{NFLplayer|40|Cornell Menafee|link=no}}
{{NFLplayer|99|Patrick Sapp}}
{{NFLplayer|50|Caspor Stiles|link=no}}

|Defensive Backs=
{{NFLplayer|35|Tyrone Bell}}
{{NFLplayer|27|Rico Clark|link=no}}
{{NFLplayer|25|Kevin Cobb|link=no}}
{{NFLplayer|&nbsp;3|Jackie Kellogg}}
{{NFLplayer|10|Corey Sawyer}}
{{NFLplayer|21|John Williams|link=no}}
{{NFLplayer|29|Marcus Wimberly}}

|Special Teams=
{{NFLplayer|&nbsp;4|Jeff Hall|K/P|d=American football}}

|Reserve Lists=
{{NFLplayer|20|Rafael Cooper|RB|IR}}
{{NFLplayer|12|Kevin Prentiss|link=no|WR|IR}}
{{NFLplayer|31|Rashaan Salaam|RB|IR}}

|Practice Squad=
{{NFLplayer|81|Damien Dodson|WR|link=no}}
{{NFLplayer|96|T. J. Frier|DT}}
{{NFLplayer|52|Paul Lacoste|d=Canadian football|LB}}
{{NFLplayer|62|Tim Seymour|C|link=no}}
{{NFLplayer|46|Shinzo Yamada|DB|link=no}}
}}

===Jersey nicknames===
The XFL allowed its players to wear a nickname on the back of their jersey, as opposed to the legal last name most professional sports leagues have required since the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Game Nine game notes|url=http://www.xflmemphismaniax.com/gamenotes/week9.html|website=xflmemphismaniax.com|date=August 26, 2025}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Player !! Nickname !! Notes 
|-
| [[Jim Druckenmiller]] || Druck || Shortened version of his last name.
|-
|  John Williams || [[Christians|Christian]] || Believes strongly in his faith and is an ordained [[Minister (Christianity)|minster]].
|-
| Kevin Cobb || Kev Cobb || Play on name.
|-
| Shinzo Yamada || [[Samurai]] || Nickname, that was given by the [[SKY Perfect JSAT|Japan Sky Sports]] crew that came to Memphis in mid-February.
|-
| [[Shante Carver]] || Chaka || Nickname, physical appearance of [[Shaka]].
|-
| [[Daryl Hobbs]] || The Mantis || Nickname, physical attributes reminded others of a [[Mantis|praying mantis]].
|-
| [[Antonio Anderson (American football)|Antonio Anderson]] || [[Big Cat]] || Nickname.
|-
|}

==Standings==
{{2001 XFL West standings}}
<ref>{{cite web |title=XFL Standings |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/xfl/standings.htm |work=[[USA Today]] |date=May 12, 2001 |accessdate=February 18, 2011}}</ref>

==Team leaders==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"|
| Led the league
|}

=== Passing ===
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! style="text-align:center;{{Gridiron primary style|Memphis Maniax|border=2|color=white}};"colspan="12"|Passing statistics{{efn|Whelihan was traded to Chicago and the team took his statistics off of the final season statistics.<ref>{{cite web|title=#8 Craig Whelihan (QB) - Maniax Roster|url=https://www.all-xfl.com/memphismaniax/team/roster/craigwhelihan.htm|language=en}}</ref> Morgan threw two passes that were credited to Crandell.<ref>{{cite web|title=#32 Beau Morgan (QB) - Maniax Roster|url=https://www.all-xfl.com/memphismaniax/team/roster/beaumorgan.htm|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=#9 Marcus Crandell (QB) - Maniax Roster|url=https://www.all-xfl.com/memphismaniax/team/roster/marcuscrandell.htm|language=en}}</ref> For the purpose of this chart, Whelihan and Morgan's statistics are included.}} 
|-
! NAME !! GP !! GS !! Record !! Cmp !! Att !! Pct !! Yds !! TD !! Int !! Rtg 
|-
| [[Jim Druckenmiller]] || 8 || 7 || 4–3 || 109 || 199 || 54.8 || 1,499 || 13 || 7 || 86.2 
|-
| [[Marcus Crandell]] || 4 || 3 || 1–2 || 32 || 67 || 47.8 || 463 || 1 || 2 || 63.2 
|-
| [[Craig Whelihan]] || 1 || 0 || — || 5 || 12 || 41.7 || 46 || 0 || 1 || 18.1
|-
| [[Beau Morgan]] || — || — || — || 1 || 2 || 50.0 || 10 || 0 || 0 || 64.6
|-
! colspan="1"| [https://www.statscrew.com/football/stats/t-XFLMEM/y-2001 Totals] !! 10 !! 10 !! 5–5 !! 147 !! 280 !! 52.5 !! 2,018 !! 14 !! 10 !! 77.6  
|}
{{notelist}}

=== Rushing ===
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! style="text-align:center;{{Gridiron primary style|Memphis Maniax|border=2|color=white}};"colspan="8"| Rushing statistics
|-
! NAME !!  Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD 
|-
| [[Rashaan Salaam]] || 114 || 528 || 4.6 || 39t || 5 
|-
| [[Brent Moss]] || 33 || 135 || 4.1 || 18 || 0 
|-
| [[Jim Druckenmiller]] || 31 || 208 || 6.7 || 36 || 0 
|-
| [[Ketric Sanford]] || 26 || 93 || 3.6 || 30t || 2  
|-
| [[Rafael Cooper]] || 19 || 87 || 4.6 || 28 || 0   
|-
| [[Beau Morgan]] || 17 || 37 || 2.2 || 16 || 0 
|-
| [[Roosevelt Potts]] || 5 || 39 || 7.8 || 24 || 0 
|-
| [[Marcus Crandell]] || 5 || 11 || 2.2 || 10 || 0 
|-
| [[Charles Jordan (American football)|Charles Jordan]] || 2 || 19 || 9.5 || 12 || 0 
|-
| Kevin Prentiss || 1 || -9 || -9.0 || -9 || 0 
|-
! colspan="1"| [https://www.statscrew.com/football/stats/t-XFLMEM/y-2001 Totals] !! 253 !! 1,148 !! 4.5 !! 39 !! 7
|}

=== Receiving ===
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! style="text-align:center;{{Gridiron primary style|Memphis Maniax|border=2|color=white}};"colspan="9| Receiving statistics
|-
! NAME !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD
|-
| [[Charles Jordan (American football)|Charles Jordan]]  || 45 || 823 || 18.3 || 49 || 4 
|-
| [[Daryl Hobbs]] || 30 || 419 || 14.0 || 49t || 5 
|-
| Kevin Prentiss || 25 || 383 || 15.3 || 53 || 0 
|-
| Mark Thomas || 13 || 133 || 10.2 || 23 || 3 
|-
| [[Beau Morgan]] || 10 || 82 || 8.2 || 17 || 2 
|-
| [[Rashaan Salaam]] || 6 || 41 || 6.8 || 8 || 0 
|-
| [[Keith Crawford]] || 4 || 46 || 11.5 || 17 || 0 
|-
| [[Jim Kitts]] || 4 || 35 || 8.8 || 14 || 0 
|-
| [[Rafael Cooper]] || 3 || 16 || 5.3 || 12 || 0
|-
| John Jennings || 2 || 12 || 6.0 || 9 || 0
|-
| [[Roosevelt Potts]] || 2 || 5 || 2.5 || 5 || 0
|-
| [[Jahine Arnold]] || 1 || 10 || 10.0 || 10 || 0
|-
| [[Alvin Harper]] || 1 || 8 || 8.0 || 8 || 0
|-
| [[Brent Moss]] || 1 || 5 || 5.0 || 10 || 0
|-
! colspan="1"| [https://www.statscrew.com/football/stats/t-XFLMEM/y-2001 Totals] !! 147 !! 2,018 !! 13.7 !! 53 !! 14 
|}

=== Scoring ===
''8-21 (38.1)% on extra point conversion attempts''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.all-xfl.com/memphismaniax/team/teamstats/week10.htm | title= 2001 Maniax Final Regular Season Stats}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! style="text-align:center;{{Gridiron primary style|Memphis Maniax|border=2|color=white}};"colspan="9| Total Scoring
|-
! NAME !! Rush !! Rec !! Return !! XPM !! FGM !! PTS
|-
| [[Jeff Hall (American football)|Jeff Hall]]  || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 11 || 33 
|-
| [[Rashaan Salaam]] || 5 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 32
|-
| [[Daryl Hobbs]] || 0 || 5 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 32 
|-
| [[Charles Jordan (American football)|Charles Jordan]] || 0 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 24 
|-
| Mark Thomas || 0 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 18  
|-
| [[Ketric Sanford]]  || 2 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 0 || 15 
|-
| [[Beau Morgan]] || 0 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 13  
|-
! colspan="1"| [https://www.all-xfl.com/memphismaniax/team/teamstats/week10.htm Totals] !! 7 !! 14 !! 0 !! 8 !! 11 !! 167
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{XFL}}

[[Category:Memphis Maniax| ]]
[[Category:XFL (2001) teams]]
[[Category:2001 establishments in Tennessee]]
[[Category:2001 disestablishments in Tennessee]]
[[Category:American football teams in Tennessee]]
[[Category:American football teams established in 2001]]
[[Category:American football teams disestablished in 2001]]