Mexican American football team
Jefes de Ciudad Juárez (English: Ciudad Juárez Chiefs) are an American football team based in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The Jefes compete in the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA), the top American football league in Mexico, after playing its inaugural season in the Fútbol Americano de México league. The team plays its home games at the Estadio 20 de Noviembre, with a capacity of 5,000 seated spectators.[1]
History
On 18 March 2022, the team was presented at a press conference in Ciudad Juárez as an expansion team in the Fútbol Americano de México (FAM) league, with César Durán as the owner and president and David Silva as its first head coach.[2][3] The inaugural 48-man roster was revealed the following month and included 16 foreign players, all with NCAA Division I or Division II experience.[4]
The Jefes played their first game on 30 April 2022, kicking off the 2022 season with an 18–0 victory over the Bulldogs de Naucalpan at the Estadio Jaime Labastida.[5] Andre Dowdell caught the first touchdown in team history from quarterback Andrés Chío in their first drive.[5] The following week, the Jefes lost 18–16 to the Rojos CDMX in their home opener.[6] After another loss in week 3, the team fired head coach David Silva and promoted linebackers coach Mario Diaz to the position.[7] The Jefes finished their inaugural season with a 3–5 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs.[8]
League change
On 30 September 2022, the FAM league announced it was shutting down operations, leaving the Jefes without a league.[6] In October, the team announced it was joining the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA) for its upcoming season with Lorenzo Gathers as the new head coach.[9][10] He became the first non-Mexican coach in LFA history.[11]
On 26 March, Jefes fired Lorenzo Gathers after the team failed to win a single game on their first four matches; Gathers was replaced by Randall Mendoza.[12] Later, Gathers published a letter in which he pointed out the team's disorganization, such as not paying the players and staff and not allowing him to choose his coaching staff.[13]
Roster
Jefes de Ciudad Juárez roster
Quarterbacks
- 2 Arnold López
- 9 Paul Beltrán
- 0 David Perkins
Running backs
- 21 DeMarques Johnson
- 3 Kerrion Moore
- 32 Eder Padilla
- 33 Jorge Rodríguez
Wide receivers
- 13 Normando Alarcón
- 7 Robert Johnson Jr.
- 4 Seantavius Jones
- 18 Deante McDonald
- 28 Humberto Meza
- 88 Julio Ojeda
Tight ends
- 22 Andrés Chio Méndez
- 85 Jeremiah López
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Offensive linemen
- 72 Daniel Carmona
- 57 Román Chávez
- 69 Roberto Díaz
- 53 Juan Pablo Franco
- 77 Francisco Martínez
- 59 Enrique Mejía
- 62 Javier Morales
- 55 Kevin Pérez
- 52 Gustavo Romo
Defensive linemen
- 14 Alfredo Durán
- -- Oscar Garza
- 98 Javier Luna
- 90 Emilio Loera
- 11 Alejandro Longoria
- 56 José Mendoza
- 12 Fernando Reyes
- 92 Jesse Trejo
- 97 Xavier Williams
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Linebackers
- 20 Kenneth Bradley
- 54 Carlos Chaparro
- -- Luis González
- -- Salvador Muñoz
- 24 Sergio Ramos
Defensive backs
- 45 Luis Acevedo
- 25 Humberto Beltrán
- -- Jorge Bolaños
- 1 Daijon Carson
- 8 Richard Garret
- 34 Edwin Ibarra
- 6 Sean Jones II
- 30 Guillermo Larrañaga
- 5 LaMarcus O'Neal
Special teams
- 99 José María Aguirre K
- 82 César Córdova K
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Italics indicate International player Roster updated 17-07-2022
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Season-by-season
Season
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League
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Head coach
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Regular season
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Postseason
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Won
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Lost
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Win %
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Finish
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Won
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Lost
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Win %
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Result
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2022
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FAM
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David Silva/Mario Díaz
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3
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5
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.375
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7th
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Did not qualify
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2023
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LFA
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Lorenzo Gathers/Randall Mendoza
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1
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9
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.100
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10th
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Total
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4
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14
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.222
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References
External links