The biggest names in the upstart Alliance of American Football probably won’t be on the field.

They'll be on the sidelines.

In conversations with multiple industry sources, Sporting News has learned several prominent former NFL head coaches are potential targets to join the eight-team upstart spring league that is scheduled to begin play in February after Super Bowl 53 is completed.

There might even be additions from the college ranks, although Alliance co-founder Bill Polian has recommended the league pursue only those with previous NFL experience as either a head coach or assistant.

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For some older coaches, the Alliance will appeal as a chance to remain connected with the game sans the year-round commitment required to succeed at the NFL and college ranks. Others might view it as a chance to catch the attention of an NFL or college team in hopes of coaching at those levels in the future.

There is monetary appeal, as well. One source told Sporting News there is talk of a $500,000 salary for what amounts primarily to working a preseason, 10-game schedule and four-team playoff format to determine the first Alliance champion.

Confirming names has proven difficult since all head coaches will be operating under a non-disclosure agreement that would result in financial penalties for violation. The Alliance also is trying to keep the announcement of head coaches under wraps until the cities in which they will be working are announced in the coming weeks and months.

But as deals are finalized, here are eight coaches who fit the bill of what the Alliance is seeking.

— Mike Singletary: The Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker enjoyed a quick NFL ascent, becoming San Francisco’s head coach less than five years after first becoming an assistant in 2003. His descent was almost as rapid. Singletary has spent three of the past four seasons out of the NFL entirely after his 18-22 tenure with the 49ers ended after the 2010 campaign.

— Rick Neuheisel: Although he is best known for his 12 seasons as a college head coach, Neuheisel spent three years on Baltimore’s staff as quarterbacks coach (2005-06) and offensive coordinator (2007). He remains close to the sport as a television and SiriusXM analyst.

— Steve Spurrier: Yes, the “Ol’ ball coach" is getting old with Spurrier set to turn 73 in April, and his two-year NFL head coaching run with Washington was disastrous. Spurrier, though, did later regain his mojo as South Carolina’s head coach for 11 years. Spurrier also is the kind of presence that will draw fans and media attention if connected with an Alliance team stationed in the Sunshine State — Orlando, I’m looking at you — based on his legacy at the University of Florida.

Spurrier last October publicly said he was open to coaching again under the right circumstances.

"I don’t want to be a head coach,” Spurrier said during a news conference at Duke University. "There’s too much involved with being the head coach. But a high school somewhere to coach quarterbacks and pitch the ball around, that might be something that someday I might want to do again. But it’d have to be the right situation.

"Major college football — these guys work 11 months a year now. It’s so different than back in the '90s or even the 2000s as far as the total number of hours these guys work. I don’t look forward to that."

Spurrier wouldn't have to worry about that with the Alliance. Plus, he'd be able to do what he misses most — working with quarterbacks — while still having plenty of time for his golf game.

(Getty Images) https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/43/55/steve-spurrier-florida-getty-ftrjpg_1eys80w9upe2a1wffqvbxjonag.jpg?t=1563566303&w=500&quality=80

Steve Spurrier (Getty Images)

— Jeff Fisher: Multiple NFL sources have told Sporting News that Fisher believed he had a strong chance to become an NFL head coach again in 2018. The rapid rise of the downtrodden Rams in the first year after his firing didn't help Fisher’s cause. The Alliance would give him a chance to reinvent himself; a chance that might not be coming in the NFL again unless it comes as an assistant.

— Mike Martz: The 66-year-old already has spent the past four Januaries as one of the head coaches in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. It wouldn't be a stretch for the “Greatest Show on Turf" architect to join the Alliance and prove his offensive concepts are still viable in today's game.

— Rob Ryan: When Ryan was fired as Cowboys defensive coordinator after the 2012 season, he famously proclaimed he would be out of work for "five minutes” because he was "too damn good." Ryan is now going on two years out of the NFL entirely following subsequent failed stints with the Saints and Bills. The swagger Ryan would bring should have appeal to a league that could use some colorful characters to pitch the product.

— Pepper Johnson: A two-time Super Bowl-winning player as one of the NFL’s top linebackers, Johnson later spent 14 years (2000-13) on the coaching staff of New England’s Bill Belichick. Johnson’s career has sputtered since then after three seasons handling the defensive line for Rex Ryan-coached teams.

— Jim Fassel: The 68-year-old has pined for a return to coaching since the alternative football league he was involved with (the UFL) went under in 2012. Fassel led the Giants to a Super Bowl and two other playoff appearances during his season seasons with the franchise (1997-03).

Alex Marvez can be heard from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET Monday and Tuesday on SiriusXM NFL Radio from the NFL owners meetings in Orlando.

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