The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1995, the franchise resurrected the name of the former Birmingham Fire team which was active during the 1991–1992 WLAF seasons.

History The team was based in Düsseldorf (and early on the team was occasionally referred to in the U.S. as the Düsseldorf Fire), playing at the Rheinstadion until 2002. After the demolition of the Rheinstadion, the team moved to nearby Gelsenkirchen and played at Arena AufSchalke for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. The team returned to Düsseldorf for the 2005 season, playing at the newly constructed LTU Arena. The Fire would remain at the LTU Arena until NFL Europe's dissolution in 2007.

The Fire hosted the World Bowl a record five times: in 1999 and 2002 at the Rheinstadion, in 2004 at Arena AufSchalke, and in 2005 and 2006 at the LTU Arena.

The Fire were one of NFL Europe's most successful teams in terms of fan support and on-field success. The team itself played for five World Bowl championships throughout its history, winning in 1998 over the Frankfurt Galaxy and 2000 over the Scottish Claymores. They lost to the Barcelona Dragons in 1997, the Berlin Thunder in 2002, and the Galaxy in 2003.

Season-by-season Season League Regular season Postseason Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result 1995 WLAF 4 6 0 .400 5th – – — — 1996 WLAF 3 7 0 .300 6th – – — — 1997 WLAF 7 3 0 .700 1st 0 1 .000 1998 NFLE 7 3 0 .700 2nd 1 0 1.000 1999 NFLE 6 4 0 .600 3rd – – — — 2000 NFLE 7 3 0 .700 1st 1 0 1.000 2001 NFLE 5 5 0 .500 3rd – – — — 2002 NFLE 7 3 0 .700 1st 0 1 .000 2003 NFLE 6 4 0 .600 2nd 0 1 .000 2004 NFLE 3 7 0 .300 5th – – — — 2005 NFLE 3 7 0 .300 6th – – — — 2006 NFLE 6 4 0 .600 3rd – – — — 2007 NFLE 4 6 0 .400 4th – – — — Total 68 62 0 .523 2 3 .400

Coaching history Head coaches # Name Term Regular season Postseason Achievements GC Won Lost Ties Win % GC Won Lost Win % 1 Galen Hall 1995–2000 60 34 26 0 .567 3 2 1 .667 2 Pete Kuharchek 2001–2005 50 24 26 0 .480 2 0 2 .000 — 3 Jim Tomsula 2006 10 6 4 0 .600 – – – — — 4 Rick Lantz 2007 10 4 6 0 .400 – – – — —

Assistant coaches

Antonio Anderson (2006) Bart Andrus (2000) Mike Bender (2001) Booker Brooks (2001) Steve Carson (1996–1997) Wes Chandler (1995–1997) Joe Clark (2001) Ken Clarke (2004–2005) Stan Davis (2007) A. J. Duhe (1995) Don Eck (2007) Tom Everest (2002) Barry Foster (2003) Sascha Gehloff (2005–2007) Brian Webb (2006) Alvin Harper (2005) James Harrell (2004) Bernardo Harris (2007) Mike Jones (1998–2000, 2002–2003) Whitey Jordan (1998–2000, 2002–2004) E. J. Junior (2005) Ken Karcher (1997–1999) Pete Kuharchek (1996–2000) Bob Lancaster (2006) Pete Levine (1996) Steve Logan (2006) Bob Lord (1997) Duval Love (2006) Jörn Maier (2001–2004) Vince Marrow (2007) Guy McIntyre (2002) Scott Milanovich (2003–2005) Larry New (2007) Jeff Ogden (2004) Kevin O'Neal (2004–2005) Ed O'Neil (2001–2003) Nate Poole (2007) Jan Quarless (2005) Jeff Reinebold (1995, 1999–2000) Walter Rohlfing (1995–2000) Steve Smith (2006) Don Strock (1995) Gary Tranquill (2007) Dean Unruh (1995–1996) Adrian White (2001–2006)

Notable players Richard Adjei (2004–2007) Ingo Anderbrügge (2003–2004), former Schalke 04 soccer player, kicker during Fire's years in Gelsenkirchen Cedric Bonner (2006–2007) Manfred Burgsmüller (1996–2002), kicker and oldest professional American football player at age 52 Byron Chamberlain (1996) Derrick Clark (1996–1999) Mike Croel (1998) Terry Crews (1995) Nick Ferguson (1998) Patrick Gerigk (1998) Steve Gleason (2001) James Harrison (2004) Drew Henson (2006) Andy Kelly (1996) Jeris McIntyre (2005) Fred Jackson (2006) Michael Lewis (2001) Mike Quinn (1998) Marcus Robinson (1998) Jamal Robertson (2002) Bill Schroeder (1997) Gino Torretta (1995) Tony Wragge (2006) Danny Wuerffel (2000) Tamon Nakamura (1998–1999) Akihito Amaya (2001–2002) John David Washington (2007) Herbert Linecker (1997-2003)

Other notable personnel

Alexander Leibkind – General Manager 1996–2004 Ken Karcher – Assistant coach for the Fire, was previously an NFL replacement player and later became a collegiate head coach. Oliver Luck – General Manager 1995, became league president the following year.

References