USA FOOTBALL ANNOUNCES COACHING STAFFS FOR 2024 U.S. MEN’S AND WOMEN’S FLAG NATIONAL TEAMS

USA Football names coaches to lead gold-medal winning U.S. National Teams 

INDIANAPOLIS – Today, USA Football, the sport’s governing body and a Recognized Sport Organization of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, announced the coaching staffs that will lead the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Flag Football National Teams against the best international competition at the 2024 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Flag Football World Championships, in Lahti, Finland in August.  

U.S. Men’s Flag National Team head coach Jorge Cascudo and assistant coach Patrick Alley will return for their third years with the program. The duo aims to lead the U.S. to its fifth consecutive IFAF Flag World Championships gold medal. U.S. Women’s Flag National Team head coach Saaid Mortazavi returns for his second year with the team and is joined by new assistant coach Mary Kate Bula. The women’s team has won the past two IFAF Flag World Championships.  

U.S. National Team Trials take place from March 1-3 on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Sixty men and 60 women will participate in athletic testing and practice sessions with the hope of advancing to National Team Training Camps in June and July. Only 18 men and 18 women will advance from trials to training camp before the final 12-athlete rosters are selected ahead of the Flag Football World Championships. 

The expanding opportunities for flag football domestically and internationally are reflective of the sport’s staggering growth, which gained even more momentum from the announcement this past October that flag football will be included in the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. Flag football is played by millions worldwide in more than 100 countries. 

Both the U.S. Men’s Flag National Team and U.S. Women’s Flag National Team won gold medals in front of capacity crowds including fans and athletes from the seven competing nations at the 2023 IFAF Americas Continental Flag Football Championship on the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s campus on Friday, July 7.  

U.S. Men's and Women's National Team Coaching Staffs 

Jorge Cascudo, Men’s Head Coach 

Cascudo, a Miami native, is a legendary flag quarterback who played the sport from 1996-2018 and competed on the U.S. National Team. He is one of the most accomplished flag coaches in the United States, leading the U.S. to gold at The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, Ala. and the 2023 IFAF Americas Continental Flag Football Championship in Charlotte, N.C.  

Before becoming the U.S. Men’s Flag National Team head coach, Cascudo coached the 2021 Panama Men’s Flag National Team to a bronze medal finish at the 2021 IFAF Flag World Championships in Jerusalem, Israel. 

Patrick Alley, Men’s Assistant Coach 

Hailing from Plano, Texas, Alley has more than 20 years of experience at the highest level of competitive flag football. As a high school varsity athlete, Alley won a Texas State Championship in 1994. He is a Southern Methodist University graduate and a former member of the Mustangs football team. Alley previously served as a head coach and offensive coordinator in arena football and is the head coach of the Dallas Ocelots in the American Flag Football League (AFFL).  

Alley won gold medals as an assistant coach with the 2022 and 2023 U.S. Men’s Flag National Teams. He previously won three flag football national championships as a quarterback.  

Saaid Mortazavi, Women’s Head Coach 

A native of Miami, Mortazavi served as the assistant coach of the 2021 Panamanian Men’s Flag National Team that won bronze at the 2021 IFAF Flag World Championships. He stepped into the head coaching role for Panama in 2022, guiding the men’s team to a fifth place finish at The World Games 2022. Mortazavi led the U.S. Women’s Flag National Team to gold at the 2023 IFAF Americas Continental Flag Football Championship.  

Mortazavi also has experience coaching Redzone Varsity Youth (14U) and 7v7 Varsity (18U) flag football. He was a part of 23 national championships as a 4v4 flag football player. 

Mary Kate Bula, Women’s Assistant Coach 

Bula, a native of Rockville, Md. who currently resides in Charlotte, N.C., was a defensive back with the U.S. Women’s Flag National Team in 2021 and 2022. She was a member of the team that defeated Mexico 31-21 in Jerusalem, Israel at the 2021 IFAF Flag World Championship. The following year, Bula and the U.S. won silver medals at The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, Ala.  

Prior to her international playing career, Bula won three National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) Regional Flag Football Championships during her time at Towson University.  

About USA Football: USA Football is the governing body of American football in the United States, the sole US member of the International Federation of American Football, and a recognized sports organization of the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Its non-profit mission includes designing and delivering premier educational, development, and competitive programs for American football, including tackle and flag football. USA Football is the only organization that selects and organizes men’s and women’s US National Teams in federation-sanctioned international competition.