Former Alabama football player Mike Riley has a new head coaching job

Former Alabama defensive back Mike Riley will be among the eight head coaches in the rebooted United States Football League, after being hired coach the New Jersey Generals.

The league announced the coaching hires on Thursday.

Riley played four seasons under Paul W. "Bear" Bryant at Alabama, winning four consecutive SEC Championships from 1971-74.

He also has served as coach at Oregon State and Nebraska, in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers, and has had stints in the Canadian Football League, the World League of American Football, and the Alliance of American Football.

His most recent coaching opportunity came with the San Antonio Commanders of the AAF in 2019.

The USFL is set to return in April with eight teams. Four teams— the New Jersey Generals, Houston Gamblers, Tampa Bay Bandits, and Philadelphia Stars —already have head coaches. The remaining four— the Birmingham Stallions, New Orleans Breakers, Michigan Panthers, and Pittsburgh Maulers —have not announced head coaches yet.

The USFL was initially in play from 1983-85 before folding. None of the reported figures from the rebooted league were involved in the original league.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Ex-Alabama DB Mike Riley named coach of USFL's New Jersey Generals