Oliver Luck had questions. A lot of them. As he should have. He knew the story, just like everyone else. He knew the XFL debuted in 2001 and lasted one whole season. He knew that, as the connecting branch of Vince McMahon's WWF (now WWE) and Dick Ebersol's NBC programming, the "other" pro league was far more of a cheesy game show than actual football. He knew that it failed with a blemish so big it took nearly two decades to disappear.

So when one of McMahon's representatives reached out to Luck roughly two years ago about joining the new XFL as the league's commissioner, he was understandably hesitant. He had a good job with the NCAA as the executive vice president for regulatory affairs. Before that, he was the athletic director at his alma mater, West Virginia. And to know Luck is to know that he remains a fan of college athletics, despite its numerous challenges.

But Luck was also intrigued. "It's not often someone says they want to start a football league," he told CBS Sports. Of course, Luck had pro sports experience, too, from his time as President of NFL Europe and the Houston Dynamo of the MLS. So, he headed to WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, and spent a couple of weekends discussing the idea with McMahon. What was the vision, he wondered, and why was McMahon determined to blow off the dust and try this again?

The selling point

The answer was simple. The original XFL, for all its problems, was an innovator in pro football entertainment and technology, and many of its fingerprints are all over the NFL today. This time, McMahon insisted, the XFL was going to be about quality football as much as it was going to be about entertainment and access. That was the selling point for Luck, who then turned around and sold the league to the likes of Bob Stoops, Marc Trestman, Jim Zorn, as well as player development execs like Moose Johnston. "Football guys," as Luck stated.

"I think this country is great because of the entrepreneurial spirit," Luck said. "There are not a ton of start-ups in sports so this was unique. The opportunity to build it with the resources and expertise from WWE and other projects is what appealed to me."

And, yes, those resources matter. Look no further than the AAF, which folded last year before it could even complete its first season in large part because of resources. CEO Charlie Ebersol (Dick's son) worked tirelessly to gain financial backing with multiple investors. Employees were under the impression they were going to have a job for at least three years, only to have the league's control owner, Tom Dundon, drop curtains on the operation because visions didn't align. That's not a problem with McMahon and it's a key distinguishing difference between the two leagues. The XFL also has powerful broadcast partners (games will be shown on ABC/ESPN and FOX family of networks). The brand recognition of the XFL remains strong.

Those are big leg-ups, absolutely. But at the end of the day, the XFL will survive if it's entertaining enough to keep the attention of casual fans. If the XFL is anything like its first edition or the AAF, ratings will probably spike in Week 1 and taper off as the season progresses. That's natural. The challenge is mitigating that drop-off and finding encouraging levels for the long term.

A new level of talent

This is where Luck has a lot of confidence in the survival chances of a pro football league not named the NFL. Talent, he feels, is as spread out as it has ever been. "I think it's different from the old USFL and NFL Europe days. The whole sport has been elevated," Luck said. "We're seeing the best possible football we've ever seen. In both the NFL and major college ball, the athletes are so much better," Luck said. "The nutrition, sleep, all of that ... the quality of play is a good as it's ever been.

"Our goal was to have the best 560 players not under contract in the NFL, and CFL to some extent," Luck continued. "I look at a guy like (Houston Roughnecks wideout) Sammie Coates, a third round pick out of Auburn. And I watched him during scrimmages and he's so talented. And for whatever reason he's not in the league. There are lots of guys like that."

Indeed there are. The reality is if these players were good (or healthy) enough to be in the NFL, they'd be in the NFL. Almost all are journeymen in some form or fashion. They're guys who have slipped through the cracks. There are some former AAF stars -- D.C. Defenders WR Rashad Ross and New York Guardians CB Jamar Summers among them -- mixed in with some big-name college legends and ex-NFL vets. A small percentage of them will go on and get another shot with the NFL. Most are trying to play football for as long as they can. They are all talented, without question; the difference between XFL starters and some NFL backups isn't large. But how high the collective ceiling is remains one of the XFL's biggest questions.

Depending on quarterbacks

No position is going to be more heavily scrutinized than quarterback. There aren't 32 great starting quarterbacks in the NFL (there aren't even 15) so any other pro football league is facing an uphill battle. The AAF in particular suffered from some poor quarterback play, and coupled with protection issues, offenses didn't start showing signs of life until about a month into the season. In fact, the AAF had one true star quarterback: Garrett Gilbert from the Orlando Apollos, who ended up signing with the Cleveland Browns.

The XFL is dealing with quarterbacks differently than the AAF, though, starting with the money. Yahoo Sports reported last year that starting XFL quarterbacks could earn up to 10 times more than their teammates. The average salary of a XFL player is $55,000. The hope, Luck said, is that more money means better quarterback options.

"We said quarterbacks are critical so we pay them more money. We're going to recruit quarterbacks sooner than any other position," Luck explained. "We asked our coaches 'who do you like who could be available to us?' It could be a guy who could be on the 53-man roster who just needs to play. We had a list of 30-something guys who could be interested. We started last summer to contact those guys, those agents, and putting money on the table. There were guys like (Dallas Renegades QB) Landry Jones, (L.A. Wildcats QB) Josh Johnson -- experienced guys who have played."

Who knows, there might be some hidden gems, as well. Luck also singled out Wildcats quarterback Chad Kanoff, a former Princeton star who had a stint with the Arizona Cardinals, as a sleeper. Still, what are the odds the XFL will have eight great starting quarterbacks? Eight decent ones? Four decent ones? Coaching will matter and there are some big college and pro names calling plays on that side of the ball. From Renegades offensive coordinator Hal Mumme and Seattle Dragons OC Mike Riley, to Roughnecks coach June Jones and Defenders coach Pep Hamilton, there are plenty of experienced offensive minds in the XFL.

Coaching is key

That leads to another point. The benefit of coaching in a league like the XFL is that it can be low stress. If you're a Stoops or Norm Chow type, there's little to lose by signing up, calling some plays, developing some players and then enjoying some down time. It keeps them in the game without the stress of a big-time college or NFL coaching gig.

At least at first, those types are probably the XFL's best bets.

"We go back a year-plus, I made my wish list of coaches," Luck said. "On that wish list were a variety of names, including young guys like (Carolina Panthers OC and ex-LSU passing game coordinator) Joe Brady. Young, innovative offensive minds and we talked to those guys -- though we didn't talk to Brady -- and they were on a deep trajectory in college or the NFL. And it's hard for them to step out of that trajectory.

"This was our situation with NFL Europe. We'll be better off in this first round with these more experienced coaches who have been around the block. You hire coaches like Stoops and his name ID means a lot for players. He has a couple of Heisman winning QBs and who wouldn't want to play in that system? And, if you're being honest, not many people knew who Joe Brady was a year ago."

Fair, but Luck also brings up an interesting point about job security in coaching. For the more established or high profile ones, whether the XFL survives a year or 10 is of lesser importance. They'll either go back into retirement or find the next gig if this falls through. When the AAF folded, however, what you didn't hear about as much were the dozens of other, lesser known or less experienced coaches who were now suddenly looking for a job. And because the AAF was a spring league, by the time the final nail was hammered into the proverbial coffin, hiring season was over. One AAF assistant who also coached in the original XFL told CBS Sports last year that McMahon actually paid out the contracts for every coach when his league collapsed in 2001. However, some coaches looking for their big break or their next paycheck aren't always that lucky. That can be a deterrent.

Ready for rebirth

The XFL has to prove itself, again, on a lot of levels. But in its own way, the unknown what makes this type of league exciting. Training camp in Houston was a blast -- albeit a blast with heavy traffic and spread-out camp sites. Everyone was eager. Hope sprang eternal. Maybe, finally, an offseason pro football league could work.

"Vince has given me the space to develop this thing to build this thing with proper guidelines," Luck said. "America loves the game, It's our no. 1 sport. It's a real juggernaut ... Saturdays and Sundays have become our second religion and the stadiums are our cathedrals."

Starting at 2 p.m. ET on February 8, church will be in session.