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Eleven games into their inaugural season, the Chupacabras have a new coach.

Head coach Kyle Moore-Brown has stepped down as the head coach of the sa国际传媒官网网页入口-based Indoor Football League (IFL) franchise, the team announced Tuesday via release.

A longtime IFL player and coach, Moore-Brown led the Chupacabras to a 1-10 record in his first and only season with the team. The club enters Sunday鈥檚 home game against the Northern Arizona Wranglers on an eight-game losing streak, including a season-worst 74-18 loss to the San Antonio Gunslingers last Saturday. 

In late May, co-owner Mike Fietz said he had confidence in the team鈥檚 coaching staff following a 1-8 start to the season. He did not immediately respond to the Journal鈥檚 request for comment Tuesday.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got a great staff (who are), quite frankly, tremendous leaders of young men,鈥� he told the Journal in May. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e just to instill the confidence into these guys that we are as good as we are. We are, no question, as talented of a football team as any other team in the league.鈥�

In Moore-Brown鈥檚 place, former New Mexico assistant Jerome Haywood has been named the team鈥檚 interim coach. The eight-year Canadian Football League veteran served as the Lobos鈥� defensive line coach from 2020-23 before joining Cibola High School鈥檚 staff and running an offensive- and defensive-line training service through 8 Grady鈥檚 sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Performance.

Haywood was not a listed member of the Chupacabras鈥� coaching staff this season. It is unclear if any other coaching changes have been made.

"Jerome's football resume speaks for itself," Fietz said via release. "He has succeeded at every level of the game 鈥� as a standout collegiate player, a veteran professional, and an accomplished coach. Just as importantly, he understands New Mexico and the passion our community has for football.

鈥淲e have complete confidence in his leadership and are excited about the future of our team under his guidance."

Formerly known as the Duke City Gladiators, Fietz and local businessman Bob Pitre purchased the team from Gina Prieskorn-Thomas last year. The franchise remained dormant for the 2025 season and was announced as the rebranded Chupacabras in August.

Since beginning the IFL鈥檚 16-game schedule in March, the Chupacabras have compiled the league鈥檚 worst scoring offense (27.7 points per game) and rushing offense (39.3 yards per game). The team notably traded starting quarterback Ja鈥檙ome Johnson 鈥� the 2024 IFL MVP with Moore-Brown in Las Vegas 鈥� for unspecified future considerations in May.

The Chupacabras host the Wranglers on Sunday (2 p.m.) at Tingley Coliseum. Both teams are tied with the Iowa Barnstormers for the worst record (1-10) in the 14-team IFL.

Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at .