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A Friendship Eighteen Years In The Making

February 14, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Albany/Indiana Firebirds News Release


Indiana Firebirds' Head Coach Mike Dailey and the Chicago Rush's Head Coach Mike Hohensee will bring their troops into battle for a meeting of Central Division rivals this Sunday afternoon at Conseco Fieldhouse. However, the connection between the two head coaches extends far beyond Sunday's meeting.

Eighteen years ago Mike Hohensee was playing professionally in the USFL for the Washington Federals when his coaching eye began to take form. Hohensee was spending his offseason working out with an aspiring basketball player outside of the Washington D.C. area when he saw some football ability kept dormant. A young man named Todd Reed had all the tools to make a great football player, however he had never given football a shot. With Hohensee's encouragement, Reed decided to enroll at local Montgomery College as a tight end. After watching a spring practice at Montgomery in 1985, Hohensee was approached and asked if he had ever thought about coaching. With a position available, it only took a short meeting between Montgomery's head coach and Hohensee for him to be named the team's quarterback coach. The offensive coordinator of Montgomery that year, Firebirds Head Coach Mike Dailey.

Dailey and Hohensee went on to coach together at Montgomery Junior College for six seasons. During that span, Hohensee spent the falls coaching at Montgomery and the springs playing for the Pittsburgh Gladiators of the Arena Football League, where he was credited for throwing the first touchdown pass in League history on June 19, 1987.

After a neck injury ended his career, Hohensee took a job in the Arena Football League as head coach of the Washington Commandos in 1990. Dailey joined Hohensee in Washington, becoming the team's line coach. In 1991, the Albany Firebirds and Head Coach Rick Buffington were seeking a line coach and an offensive coordinator. Once again Dailey and Hohensee arrived as a pair in Albany to fill the Firebirds' coaching vacancies. After three seasons as the team's offensive coordinator, Hohensee took over as the head coach of the Firebirds in 1994. Hohensee compiled a 27-11 record in three seasons at the helm in Albany, winning three consecutive division championships.

At the conclusion of the 1996 season, Hohensee decided to step down, paving the way for Dailey to take over as head coach of the Firebirds. In 1997, Mike Dailey became the third head coach in Firebirds' history, taking over for his colleague and long-time friend.

"We have worked together pretty extensively over the years and obviously developed a tremendous friendship," said Dailey. "He is one of the nicest guys that I have ever known, certainly one of the best coaches that I have ever been around and has had a tremendous influence on me as a person and a coach."

Dailey's relationship with Hohensee does not end once they step away from the football field. If anything, the two actually become closer. Throughout the years, Dailey has not only become close to Hohensee, but he has developed a strong relationship with his entire family. Dailey has essentially become a part of Hohensee's family as he is the Godfather of Hohensee's children. When the Firebirds' coaching staff moved away from their families and returned to Albany for each season, it was not uncommon for Hohensee's in-laws, who live in New York, to take care of them as if they were their own boys.

"They used to have us over all the time to the house and feed us during the season," explained Dailey. "They realized that during the season we were all leaving our wives and families to coach in Albany, so they would have us over for a cookout or a traditional Italian meal."

Dailey and Hohensee have been successful coaches in the college ranks and in the Arena Football League, however the demeanors of the two are like night and day. Dailey's has a little more in your face, raucous, hard-nosed approach to the game. On the other hand, Hohensee's coaching style is a little more Tony Dungy-like, carrying a laid back, straightforward, business-like approach to his players and the game. The two differentiate in style yet reap similar results. Dailey has accumulated a 59-36 overall record in six plus seasons as head coach of the Firebirds, winning three division titles and an ArenaBowl Championship along the way. Last season, Hohensee became only the sixth coach in AFL history to win 60 or more regular season games, joining Tim Marcum, Danny White, Perry Moss, John Gregory, and Michael Trigg. Dailey will look to join that group this week where he will get his 60th victory with a win over Chicago on Sunday. Last season, Hohensee won his fourth division championship, leading a Chicago team only in its second year of existence.

Entering Sunday's meeting with Chicago, Dailey holds a 5-3 all-time series advantage in head-to-head combat with his friend and former colleague. Emotions run high between the lines, and for Dailey emotions become mixed when Coach Hohensee is gracing the opposing sideline.

"It's really a no-win situation," said Dailey. "This is a competitive business and I know how much it hurts to lose. I hate to see my friend hurting, but it is not Mike Dailey versus Mike Hohensee, it is the Indiana Firebirds versus the Chicago Rush."

Still for Dailey it is hard not to think of their history together.

"I owe the guy a lot personally," explained Dailey. "Not only is he my best friend, but he gave me an opportunity and brought me into this League. Without him I would not be where I am today as a coach. I know how much he wants to win and I know how much I want to win, that is the hardest part."

The Firebirds enter week three of the regular season sporting a 2-0 record after two victories on the road. The Rush has lost their first two games of the season, entering Sunday's game seeking their first win of the season.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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