FanHouse posted an interview with New York Sentinels Head Coach Ted Cottrell this morning that is worth checking out:

FANHOUSE: How has your UFL experience been so far?

TED COTTRELL: It’s been one that’s very interesting. The goal of the league is to give guys a chance, maybe some that have been overlooked in the draft or not signed as free agents. Other guys that were practice-squad eligible, give them the chance to play and enhance their skills. In that vein, it has been very good, very interesting and very rewarding. When you put together a team with guys that haven’t even seen each other much less know each other … if you watch, you’ll be amazed that these guys were on the practice field for not even a full month (before the start of the season).

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FANHOUSE: Since you had been passed over many times for an NFL head coaching job, are you using this UFL experience as a stepping stone back to the NFL?

TC: Not even thinking about that. I’m trying to get this team to be the best that it can be. I’m looking forward to next year and hoping that we can keep the core of our team together. We’re very young. We can be that much better and more experienced next year.

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FANHOUSE: You mentioned your time in the USFL, so you would be a good person to ask — obviously, the two leagues have their differences, but what would it take for the UFL to succeed where the USFL did not?

TC: The model of the USFL was different in that the big money was given out and the big bonuses and contracts were given out to get guys away from the NFL. For example, Herschel (Walker), Doug Flutie and Steve Young. The money itself, the structure was totally different. Plus, we played in the spring. (The UFL has) a totally different model in that there is a hard salary cap. You cannot circumvent it. Some agents try to find loopholes, but those things cannot occur. Everybody gets relatively the same amount of money. In the USFL, guys at the bottom of the roster were making minimum wage, not nearly as much as other guys because of the bonuses. That, in itself, causes problems. The environment (in the UFL) is different. We are not going after No. 1 picks. We have guys that were drafted in the fourth round, fifth round and down. Guys that have been on the practice squads, they have the chance to improve their rankings by playing and showing what they can do. Then, maybe, they can go back to the NFL and have a few more teams interested in them.

FANHOUSE: In talking to the commissioner earlier this year, it was expressed that he and the UFL were going to do it their way. He said he wasn’t going to compete with the NFL … but start small and give people more football, which they have proven they will watch whenever it’s on. Do you agree with that, and how will it translate into fan response?

TC: Yes, we are going to expand to other cities that don’t have football. There are a lot people looking for football in their lives. There are some markets out there where we can be successful. There also are some guys that are strong business-minded and very successful investors (who have invested in the UFL). Ticket prices are very affordable, too. In these hard economic times, there is a chance to purchase a ticket they can afford. Like I said, in markets where there is not professional football, these fans have a chance to see a football game and see guys that play hard and play with passion.

FANHOUSE: That being said, the league has already announced that it will add two more teams next year. Can the league continue to grow? If so, how much?

TC: I don’t know. That’s up to the commissioner. Next year, there are plans to add two more teams and play a 10-game schedule. I know that. There will be some good football. It will be spread around (the country). As far as future growth, they are doing it in bits and pieces. Past next year, they will talk about that later on.

For the rest: FanHouse.com