The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team was founded in 1999 as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in 2004. They folded along with the original incarnation of the AFL following the 2008 season, after a total of ten seasons of play. The Destroyers played their home games in Columbus' Nationwide Arena. Their last coach was Pat Sperduto, who never actually coached the team in a game as the 2009 season was cancelled when the league filed for bankruptcy.
The Cleveland Thunderbolts were an Arena football team based in Richfield, Ohio. The Thunderbolts were founded in 1991 and were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL), as the Columbus Thunderbolts and were based in Columbus, Ohio. In 1992, the franchise relocated to the Cleveland suburb of Richfield. The team played for four seasons total, making the playoffs once. They played their home games in the Richfield Coliseum. The team was originally owned by John J. Kuczek.
Weylan Harding is the former head coach of the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League.
The Kansas City Command were a professional arena football team that played in the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was founded before the 2006 season. Former Kansas City Chiefs strong safety Kevin Porter served as head coach. The team's new head coach in 2011 was Danton Barto, he also coached the AFL's Las Vegas Gladiators, af2's Memphis Xplorers and Manchester Wolves, and the IFL's Arkansas Diamonds.
Doug Kay is currently the assistant head coach for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League (AFL). He has more than 40 years of football experience, including 12 seasons in the AFL. He was the head coach of the Charlotte Rage, Carolina Cobras and Columbus Destroyers. He was also the head coach at Olivet College.
Matthew Nagy is an American football coach and former arena football quarterback who is currently the head coach of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL).
Matthew Louis D’Orazio is a former American football quarterback who played in the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football at Otterbein College.
Greg Frey is a 1986 graduate of St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, where he played quarterback. As a three-year starting quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, he led the team to two notable come-from-behind wins. On September 24, 1988, he rallied Ohio State from a 33-20 deficit in the final four minutes to a 36–33 victory over the ninth-ranked LSU Tigers. On October 28, 1989, the Buckeyes were losing 31-0 to the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Frey brought the team back for a 41–37 win, throwing a total of 362 yards.
Vincent Eugene Clark is a former American football cornerback in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football at Ohio State University.
Jerald Brown is a Canadian football defensive back who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Glenville State College. Brown has played for the New York Dragons, Arizona Rattlers, Columbus Destroyers, and Kansas City Brigade of the Arena Football League, as well as the Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.
The Columbus Aces were a proposed indoor football team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team was set to be the final team expansion team of the Continental Indoor Football League in 2010. The Aces would have been the third attempt at arena or indoor football in Columbus, the first were the Arena Football League's, following prior teams the Columbus Thunderbolts and the Columbus Destroyers. The owners of the Aces were Michael Burtch and Stanley Jackson. The Aces were scheduled to play their home games at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum in Columbus, Ohio.
Matthew Sauk is an arena football coach and former quarterback. He played his college football at the Utah State University, an af2 quarterback from 2001 to 2005, and an AFL quarterback from 2002 to 2008. He has been a football coach since 2008. After being the offensive coordinator for the Utah Blaze from 2011 to 2013, he became the Portland Thunder head coach in 2014. He was the head coach of the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles of the Indoor Football League (IFL) in 2017 and the current head coach of the Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League.
Dave Whinham is a sports and entertainment executive, filmmaker, and former American football coach and team executive. Whinham formed in 2002 and has since served as President of a consulting and production company now known as The TEAM Productions. Based in Columbus, OH, The TEAM focuses its efforts in four areas: (1) brokering of sports and entertainment opportunities and entities, (2) providing comprehensive consulting services to the sports and entertainment industry, (3) producing live sports and entertainment events, and (4) creating, producing, and placing media elements. Whinham resides in Columbus and is a native of Detroit.
Jeff Jarnigan is an assistant general manager and coach for the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League (IFL).
The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. It consists of six teams based in the East Coast of the United States.
The Albany Empire is a professional arena football team based in Albany, New York, that began play in the Arena Football League (AFL) in 2018. Home games are played at Times Union Center.
The Carolina Cobras are a professional indoor football team in the National Arena League (NAL) and that began play for the 2018 season. Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Cobras play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.
The Atlantic City AFL team is a professional arena football team based in Atlantic City, New Jersey, that is announced to begin play in the Arena Football League (AFL) in 2019. Home games are to be played at Boardwalk Hall. The team will be operated by Trifecta Sports and Entertainment, the same ownership group as the Albany Empire and Philadelphia Soul. On January 31, the team announced two-time AFL coach of the year Ron James as its inaugural head coach. On February 4, the team released the five team names to be voted on: Blackjacks, Gamblers, Jackpot, High Rollers, and Royals.
