View source for Rhein Fire (NFL Europe)

{{Short description|Professional American football team in Germany}}
{{About|the defunct NFL Europe team|the later team playing in the European League of Football|Rhein Fire (ELF)|}}
{{Infobox American football team
| name = Rhein Fire
| bgcolor = #6E273D | fontcolor = #FFFFFF
| helmet = 
| logo = Rhein Fire Logo.svg
| league = [[NFL Europe|World League of American Football (NFL Europe)]]
| founded = 1995
| closed = 2007
| field = [[Rheinstadion]] <small>(1995–2002)</small><br />[[Arena AufSchalke]] <small>(2003–2004)</small><br />[[Merkur Spiel-Arena|LTU Arena]] <small>(2005–2007)</small>
| location = [[Düsseldorf]], [[Germany]] <small>(1995–2002, 2005–2007)</small><br />[[Gelsenkirchen]], Germany <small>(2003–2004)</small>
| colors = Maroon, Black, Gold, White<ref>{{cite web |title=Team Colors – NFLE|url=http://www.ssur.org/research/TeamColors/Football_Outdoor/NationalFootballLeagueEurope/NationalFootballLeagueEurope.htm |work=SSUR.org |access-date=2010-02-17 }}</ref><br><small>{{color box|#6E273D}} {{color box|#1E1E1E}} {{color box|#CE8E00}} {{color box|#FFFFFF}}</small>
| mascot = 
| coach = 
| record = 
| league_champ_type = [[World Bowl]]s&nbsp;{{nobold|(2)}}
| league_champs = {{hlist|[[World Bowl VI]] (1998)|[[World Bowl VIII]] (2000)}}
}}
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'''{{Cn|date=July 2024}}), 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 [[World Bowl '99|1999]] and [[World Bowl X|2002]] at the Rheinstadion, in [[World Bowl XII|2004]] at Arena AufSchalke, and in [[World Bowl XIII|2005]] and [[World Bowl XIV|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.{{Cn|date=July 2024}} The team itself played for five World Bowl championships throughout its history, winning in [[World Bowl '98|1998]] over the [[Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe)|Frankfurt Galaxy]] and [[World Bowl 2000|2000]] over the [[Scottish Claymores]]. They lost to the [[Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe)|Barcelona Dragons]] in [[World Bowl '97|1997]], the [[Berlin Thunder (NFL Europe)|Berlin Thunder]] in [[World Bowl X|2002]], and the Galaxy in [[World Bowl XI|2003]].

==Season-by-season==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; width:65em"
|-
! rowspan="2" | Season
! rowspan="2" | League
! colspan="5" | Regular season
! colspan="4" | Postseason
|-
! Won
! Lost
! Ties
! Win %
! Finish
! Won
! Lost
! Win %
! Result
|-
! [[1995 Rhein Fire season|1995]]
| [[1995 WLAF season|WLAF]]
| 4
| 6
| 0
| .400
| 5th {{small|(League)}}
| –
| –
| —
| —
|-
! [[1996 Rhein Fire season|1996]]
| [[1996 WLAF season|WLAF]]
| 3
| 7
| 0
| .300
| 6th {{small|(League)}}
| –
| –
| —
| —
|-
! [[1997 Rhein Fire season|1997]]
| [[1997 WLAF season|WLAF]]
| 7
| 3
| 0
| .700
| 1st {{small|(League)}}
| 0
| 1
| .000
| {{small|Lost to [[Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe)|Barcelona Dragons]] in [[World Bowl '97]]}}
|-style="background:#FDE910"
! [[1998 Rhein Fire season|1998]]
| [[1998 NFL Europe season|NFLE]]
| 7
| 3
| 0
| .700
| 2nd {{small|(League)}}
| 1
| 0
| 1.000
| {{small|[[World Bowl '98]] champions}}
|-
! [[1999 Rhein Fire season|1999]]
| [[1999 NFL Europe season|NFLE]]
| 6
| 4
| 0
| .600
| 3rd {{small|(League)}}
| –
| –
| —
| —
|-style="background:#FDE910"
! [[2000 Rhein Fire season|2000]]
| [[2000 NFL Europe season|NFLE]]
| 7
| 3
| 0
| .700
| 1st {{small|(League)}}
| 1
| 0
| 1.000
| {{small|[[World Bowl 2000]] champions}}
|-
! [[2001 Rhein Fire season|2001]]
| [[2001 NFL Europe season|NFLE]]
| 5
| 5
| 0
| .500
| 3rd {{small|(League)}}
| –
| –
| —
| —
|-
! [[2002 Rhein Fire season|2002]]
| [[2002 NFL Europe season|NFLE]]
| 7
| 3
| 0
| .700
| 1st {{small|(League)}}
| 0
| 1
| .000
| {{small|Lost to [[Berlin Thunder (NFL Europe)|Berlin Thunder]] in [[World Bowl X]]}}
|-
! [[2003 Rhein Fire season|2003]]
| [[2003 NFL Europe season|NFLE]]
| 6
| 4
| 0
| .600
| 2nd {{small|(League)}}
| 0
| 1
| .000
| {{small|Lost to [[Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe)|Frankfurt Galaxy]] in [[World Bowl XI]]}}
|-
! [[2004 Rhein Fire season|2004]]
| [[2004 NFL Europe season|NFLE]]
| 3
| 7
| 0
| .300
| 5th {{small|(League)}}
| –
| –
| —
| —
|-
! [[2005 Rhein Fire season|2005]]
| [[2005 NFL Europe season|NFLE]]
| 3
| 7
| 0
| .300
| 6th {{small|(League)}}
| –
| –
| —
| —
|-
! [[2006 Rhein Fire season|2006]]
| [[2006 NFL Europe season|NFLE]]
| 6
| 4
| 0
| .600
| 3rd {{small|(League)}}
| –
| –
| —
| —
|-
! [[2007 Rhein Fire season|2007]]
| [[2007 NFL Europa season|NFLE]]
| 4
| 6
| 0
| .400
| 4th {{small|(League)}}
| –
| –
| —
| —
|-
! colspan="2" | Total
! 68
! 62
! 0
! .523
!
! 2
! 3
! .400
!
|}

==Coaching history==
===Head coaches===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:center; width:65em"
|-
! rowspan="2" | #
! rowspan="2" | Name
! rowspan="2" | Term
! colspan="5" | Regular season
! colspan="4" | Postseason
! rowspan="2" | Achievements
|-
! GC
! Won
! Lost
! Ties
! Win %
! GC
! Won
! Lost
! Win %
|-
! 1
| [[Galen Hall]]
| [[1995 Rhein Fire season|1995]]–[[2000 Rhein Fire season|2000]]
| 60
| 34
| 26
| 0
| .567
| 3
| 2
| 1
| .667
| {{small|2 [[World Bowl]] championships ([[World Bowl '98|1998]], [[World Bowl 2000|2000]])<br />World League Coach of the Year (1997)<br />NFL Europe Coach of the Year (2000)}}
|-
! 2
| [[Pete Kuharchek]]
| [[2001 Rhein Fire season|2001]]–[[2005 Rhein Fire season|2005]]
| 50
| 24
| 26
| 0
| .480
| 2
| 0
| 2
| .000
| —
|-
! 3
| [[Jim Tomsula]]
| [[2006 Rhein Fire season|2006]]
| 10
| 6
| 4
| 0
| .600
| –
| –
| –
| —
| —
|-
! 4
| [[Rick Lantz]]
| [[2007 Rhein Fire season|2007]]
| 10
| 4
| 6
| 0
| .400
| –
| –
| –
| —
| —
|}

===Assistant coaches===
{{Div col|colwidth=20em|style=font-size:95%;}}
* [[Antonio Anderson (American football)|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 (American football)|Ken Clarke]] (2004–2005)
* Stan Davis (2007)
* [[A. J. Duhe]] (1995)
* [[Don Eck]] (2007)
* Tom Everest (2002)
* [[Barry Foster (American football)|Barry Foster]] (2003)
* Sascha Gehloff (2005–2007)
* [[Brian Webb (American football)|Brian Webb]] (2006)
* [[Alvin Harper]] (2005)
* [[James Harrell (American football)|James Harrell]] (2004)
* [[Bernardo Harris]] (2007)
* [[Mike Jones (wide receiver, born 1960)|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 (American football)|Steve Logan]] (2006)
* [[Bob Lord (American football)|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 (American football)|Adrian White]] (2001–2006)
{{Div col end}}

==Notable players==
*{{flagicon|Germany}} [[Richard Adjei]] (2004–2007)
*{{flagicon|Germany}} [[Ingo Anderbrügge]] (2003–2004), former [[Schalke 04]] soccer player, kicker during Fire's years in Gelsenkirchen
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Cedric Bonner]] (2006–2007)
*{{flagicon|Germany}} [[Manfred Burgsmüller]] (1996–2002), kicker and oldest professional American football player at age 52<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.football-aktuell.de/cgi-bin/news.pl?artikel=155862755750|title = In memoriam: Manfred Burgsmüller|last=Schlüter|language=de|date=2019-05-23|website=Football-Aktuell|access-date=2022-10-24}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Byron Chamberlain]] (1996)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Derrick Clark (American football)|Derrick Clark]] (1996–1999)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Mike Croel]] (1998)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Terry Crews]] (1995)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Nick Ferguson]] (1998)
*{{flagicon|Germany}} [[Patrick Gerigk]]  (1998)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Steve Gleason]] (2001)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[James Harrison (American football)|James Harrison]] (2004)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Drew Henson]] (2006)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Andy Kelly (American football)|Andy Kelly]] (1996)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Jeris McIntyre]] (2005)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Fred Jackson (running back)|Fred Jackson]] (2006)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Michael Lewis (NFL receiver)|Michael Lewis]] (2001)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Mike Quinn]] (1998)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Marcus Robinson (American football)|Marcus Robinson]] (1998)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Jamal Robertson]] (2002)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Bill Schroeder (wide receiver)|Bill Schroeder]] (1997)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Gino Torretta]] (1995)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Tony Wragge]] (2006)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Danny Wuerffel]] (2000)
*{{flagicon|Japan}} [[Tamon Nakamura]] (1998–1999)
*{{flagicon|Japan}} [[Akihito Amaya]] (2001–2002)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[John David Washington]] (2007)
*{{flagicon|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==
{{Reflist}}

{{Rhein Fire}}
{{NFLE}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Rhein Fire| ]]
[[Category:NFL Europe (WLAF) teams]]
[[Category:Defunct American football teams in Germany]]
[[Category:Sport in Düsseldorf]]
[[Category:American football teams established in 1995]]
[[Category:American football teams disestablished in 2007]]
[[Category:1995 establishments in Germany]]
[[Category:2007 disestablishments in Germany]]