FIRE HIRE NEW OC AHEAD OF VIENNA REMATCH
The Rhein Fire offense will be under new leadership when it takes the field for this weekend’s rematch with the unbeaten Vienna Vikings, with Fred Armstrong also taking on the role of assistant head coach at the reigning back-to-back European League of Football champions.
Intriguingly, Armstrong most recently served as head coach of the Vienna-based Danube Dragons in the Austrian Football League, having previously worked alongside current Fire head coach Richard Kent at the now defunct Leipzig Kings ELF franchise in 2022. On that occasion, Armstrong was head coach and Kent defensive coordinator, but the pair have known each other for over 20 years and clearly value each other’s skills and abilities.
“Fred is an outstanding coach and leader,” Kent, recently confirmed as HC for the remainder of the 2025 campaign as Jim Tomsula remains in the USA to deal with family illness, said. “I particularly value his experience in European football. He understands the working conditions and knows how to handle sometimes unique circumstances.”
Armstrong has been active in European football since 1991. In his first season as a coach, he won the national title with the Solna Chiefs in Sweden, and previously worked with the Stuttgart Scorpions in the German Football League. In the NFL, he worked with running backs, receivers and tight ends at the New York Giants (2206) and New York Jets (2015) respectively. Armstrong has also finished two of the past three years with titles, having led the Dragons to victory in the 2023 Austrian Bowl final a year after securing the Central European Football League title with the Austrian outfit. He is currently the head coach of the Dutch national football team to boot, and Fire GM Max Paatz was quick to thank the Danube team for the fair and transparent contact that made the appointment possible.
“We thank the Danube Dragons and president Uras Aslan for the discussions and short-term release of Coach Fred Armstrong,” Paatz noted. “The program has developed into one of the best in European club football in recent years, and the work that has been done there for several years is outstanding. With Chad Jeffries and Destiny Idiahi, we have already welcomed two former Dragons to the current Rhein Fire roster, and we will continue to maintain close and open communication with our colleagues in Austria. The level of football and talent in Austria is high, and I am positively optimistic that this will not be the last transfer between the Danube and the Rhein Fire.”
Armstrong faces something of a baptism of fire (if you pardon the pun) on his return to the ELF, and will be involved in preparations for the upcoming away game against the Vikings, working closely with interim OC, Mario Schulz. Florian Pos and Michael Hönig will assume head coaching duties for the Dragons in Armstrong’s absence.