Rhein Fire (NFL Europe)

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

Coaching history

Head coaches

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

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

References

1. "Team Colors – NFLE". SSUR.org.
2. Schlüter. (2019-05-23). "In memoriam: Manfred Burgsmüller".