The Chicago Rush are a professional arena football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Arena Football League. They are the second Chicago Rush team to play in the league. The original team played at the Allstate Arena from 2001 to 2013. They were a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the AFL. Founded in 2001, the team qualified for the playoffs 11 out of 12 seasons and won one AFL championship, ArenaBowl XX in 2006. During their history, the Rush won five divisional titles and competed in the AFL Conference Championship six times, including four consecutive appearances from 2004 to 2007. They also had the largest market in the AFL.
Mark Richard Grieb is a former Arena football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League (AFL). Grieb currently serves as the head coach of the Sacred Heart Prep Gators football team in Atherton, California. He was a 13-year veteran of the AFL, having played quarterback for the Anaheim Piranhas (1997) and San Jose SaberCats. Grieb also played in NFL Europe for the Scottish Claymores (1998) and in the XFL with the Las Vegas Outlaws (2001). Grieb is the second quarterback in AFL history to throw for over 47,000 yards, over 900 touchdowns, over 3,800 completions, and over 10,000 pass attempts. He officially retired on November 8, 2012. He played college football at University of California, Davis. Grieb passed for 48,080 yards between the Arena League, XFL and NFL Europe.
Doug Kay is a retired American football coach who was most recently assistant head coach for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League (AFL), which league ceased operations after the 2017 season. He has more than 55 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 football coach at Olivet College from 1971 to 1975.
Rashied Khalid Davis is a former American football wide receiver. He was originally signed by the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League (AFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at San Jose State. He has also played for the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions.
Barry Wagner is a former American football player in the Arena Football League (AFL) for the Orlando Predators, with whom he won his first ArenaBowl Championship, and the San Jose SaberCats, with whom he won two championships. He also played in the World Indoor Football League (WIFL) as a wide receiver/defensive back with the Daytona Beach Thunder. Wagner is the all-time AFL all-purpose yardage leader. He is considered the best Arena Football player of all time. During the 2012 Arena Football League season, Wagner was named the league's greatest player of all time.
James Edward Roe II is a former American football wide receiver and coach. He served as the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Brigade of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2017–2019. He played for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL) from 1996–1998.
Omarr Ali Hasan Smith is a former American football defensive back who was most recently the head coach of the Baltimore Brigade of the Arena Football League (AFL). He played professionally for the San Jose SaberCats of the AFL, and played college football at San Jose State.
Marquis Floyd is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, and Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the Tennessee Valley Vipers, Rio Grande Valley Dorados, San Jose SaberCats and Arizona Rattlers in the Arena Football League (AFL). He was signed by the Tennessee Valley Vipers as a street free agent in 2004. He played college football at West Georgia.
Maurice "Mo" Purify is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is currently the wide receivers coach for College of the Redwoods. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Nebraska. Purify also played for the Georgia Force, Omaha Nighthawks, Arizona Rattlers, and San Jose SaberCats. Having scored over 150 touchdowns and over 6,000 receiving yards in his career, as well as winning four consecutive ArenaBowls with two teams, Purify is considered one of the best receivers in AFL history.
Kevin Guy is an arena football coach and former wide receiver and defensive back who is the head coach for the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He played his college football at the University of West Alabama, and was an AFL wide receiver and defensive back from 1996 to 1999. He has been a football coach since 2000, and first served as a head coach in 2000 as the interim head coach for the New Jersey Red Dogs. After being the defensive coordinator for the San Jose SaberCats from 2006 to 2007, he became the Rattlers head coach in 2008.
Clevan Nathaniel Thomas is a former American football cornerback. Along with Kenny McEntyre, he is regarded as one of the top defensive backs in Arena Football history. He spent ten of his seasons in the AFL with the SaberCats; over this span, he won four ArenaBowl championships and three Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) awards. In 2012, Thomas was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame.
Richard Ranglin is a former American football offensive lineman. He was signed out of the Arena Football League in May 2012 by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Albrey Battle is a former American football defensive lineman who played eight seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) with the San Jose SaberCats and Arizona Rattlers. He played college football at Arizona State University and attended Poway High School in Poway, California. He was also a member of the Tennessee Titans and San Francisco Demons.
The 2015 San Jose SaberCats season was the team's 19th in San Jose, California. The team was coached by Darren Arbet and played their home games at the SAP Center at San Jose. They finished first in the Pacific Division with a 17–1 regular season record and went on to defeat the Jacksonville Sharks 68–47 in ArenaBowl XXVIII.
Jarvis Williams is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He played college football at the North Carolina State University.
Cedric Walker is a former American football defensive back and coach who is currently the head coach and defensive coordinator of the Billings Outlaws of the Arena Football League (AFL). Walker played football at Stephen F. Austin University; once his stint there concluded, he signed with the AFL's Charlotte Rage. Walker played for a succession of AFL teams over his ten-season career; these included the Orlando Predators, Arizona Rattlers, Indiana Firebirds, Chicago Rush, Austin Wranglers, and Las Vegas Gladiators. At the end of his AFL Career, Walker had amassed some 522 solo tackles ; this was the league's seventh-highest total. Walker also won one ArenaBowl as a player; this came with the Arizona Rattlers in 1997.
Jeff Jarnigan is an assistant general manager and coach for the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League (IFL).
Dan Loney is a former American football offensive lineman who last played for the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League. Loney attended Atascadero High School in Atascadero, California, where he played competitive football; he continued to play football at Cal Poly. Upon graduating, he was not selected in the 2000 NFL Draft; as such, he signed with the San Jose SaberCats in early 2001.
Lorenzo "Chuck" Reed is a former American football offensive lineman who played for the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League (AFL). Prior to joining the SaberCats, he played for the Shreveport Pirates of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Anaheim Piranhas, Portland Forest Dragons, and Oklahoma Wranglers of the AFL. Prior to playing professionally, Reed played collegiate football at UNLV.
Julius Gant is a former American football lineman who last played for the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League. Gant attended Maynard H. Jackson High School, where he excelled as an offensive lineman; following his departure from the school, he played football at Middle Tennessee State University. At Middle Tennessee State, Gant served primarily as a right tackle; in 2003, his best season, he started eleven games for the team.