Michael Louis Hohensee (born February 22, 1961) is a former professional football

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

who played in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

and

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. He most recently the head coach of the AFL's

Portland Thunder The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ange ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, and was in the AFL for two seasons, from 1987 to 1988. Hohensee has been a head coach since 1990, beginning at the

Washington Commandos The Washington Commandos were an arena football team based in Fairfax, Virginia. The Commandos were founded in 1987 and were an inaugural member of the Arena Football League (AFL), and were based in Landover, Maryland. After not playing during t ...

. He has served as head coach of eight different

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

franchises, winning

ArenaBowl XX ArenaBowl XX, held on Sunday, June 11, 2006, was played to determine the championship of the 2006 season of the Arena Football League (AFL). For the second consecutive year, the game was played at the neutral site of the Thomas & Mack Center in P ...

with the Chicago Rush in 2006.

Playing career

College

In college, Hohensee played for the

. After coming out of

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is a public community college in southern California, located in Walnut in eastern Los Angeles County. It offers more than 260 degree and certificate programs, 25 support programs, and more than 50 studen ...

Walnut, California Walnut is a city in the eastern part of Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 29,172, and in 2019 the population was estimated at 29,685. The greater Walnut Valley is located betw ...

, Hohensee

ed the Gophers for two seasons in 1981 and 1982, setting numerous school passing records. Mike is also in the University of Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame.

Playing career

He played for the

Washington Federals Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

of the

from 1983 to 1984, the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

and

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the

in 1985, and was a replacement player on the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

of the

during the 1987 NFL strike. As the Washington Federals' quarterback in 1983, Hohensee is best remembered for coming up one foot short of the goal line in a loss to the

Oakland Invaders The Oakland Invaders were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983 through 1985. Based in Oakland, California, they played at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. The team can trac ...

. Before beginning his career as an

coach, Hohensee was a quarterback for the AFL's Pittsburgh Gladiators during the league's first two seasons in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

and

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. He threw the first touchdown pass in AFL history.

Coaching career

Chicago Rush, AFL 2001–2008

Hohensee was named the first coach in Chicago Rush history, with the team beginning play in 2001. With Hohensee, the Rush made the playoffs in every season, winning

. The Rush played in four consecutive AFL Conference Championship games from 2004 to 2008, and won its division in 2002, 2004, 2007, and 2008. "Coach Ho" recorded his 100th career victory in 2006 when the team defeated the

Las Vegas Gladiators {{Cat main, Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, Nevada University of Nevada, Las Vegas Wikipedia categories named after buildings and structures in the United States Wikipedia categories named after sports venues ...

Allstate Arena Allstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Rosemont, Illinois, United States. It is located near the intersection of Mannheim Road and Interstate 90, adjacent to the city limits of Chicago and O'Hare International Airport. The facility opened i ...

Peoria Pirates, AF2 2009

When the AFL stopped play in 2009, Hohensee remained in Arena Football in Illinois. He coached the Peoria Pirates, but the team finished 5-11.

Chicago Rush, AFL 2010

Hohensee returned to coach the Rush when the AFL returned for the 2010 season. He led the Rush to a 10–6 season, and the team made the playoffs. On August 20, 2010, Hohensee announced he was resigning from the Rush after nine season with the team. He finished with 108 regular season wins for the Rush and nine more in the playoffs.

Philadelphia Soul, AFL 2011

Hohensee was hired at the coach of the

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often feat ...

on August 31, 2010. He was the team's first head coach since the team went on hiatus together with the league as a whole following the 2008 season. The team's last game prior to Hohensee's hire was

ArenaBowl XXII ArenaBowl XXII was played on July 27, 2008 at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana (the host of ArenaBowl XXI). It was the 22nd and final championship game in the history of the original Arena Football League. This was the fourth neutral s ...

in which they defeated the

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

59–56. After a 6–12 season, Hohensee resigned on July 27, 2011.

Iowa Barnstormers, AFL 2012–2014

On August 16, 2011, Hohensee was named the head coach of the

Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The ...

. On August 4, 2014, it was announced that his contract would not be renewed. During his three seasons as Barnstormers coach, he posted a 19–35 record and failed to make the postseason once.

Portland Thunder, AFL 2015

On September 24, 2014, Hohensee was named the head coach of the

. After a 5–13 record, and 3rd-place finish in the Pacific Division, Hohensee's contract was not renewed. Has since become inactive as an AFL coach.

McDaniel College, Green Terror

In 2016 Hohensee become the pass game & quarterbacks coordinator at

McDaniel College McDaniel College is a private college in Westminster, Maryland. Established in 1867, it was known as Western Maryland College until 2002 when it was renamed McDaniel College in honor of an alumnus who gave a lifetime of service to the college. ...

, an

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...

. Hohensee joined the Green Terror with fellow Arena Football hall of fame coach

Mike Dailey Mike Dailey is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at McDaniel College from 2016 to 2018, compiling a record of 9–21. Dailey was a head coach in the Arena Football League for the Albany Firebirds and the Colo ...

Judson University, Eagles

In 2019 Hohensee become the Football Advisor to the University President and the football program at

Judson University Judson University is a private Baptist university in Elgin, Illinois. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Judson was formed out of the liberal arts component of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. When the seminary moved f ...

, a

that is a member of the NAIA and the

Mid-States Football Association The Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA. Member institutions are located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri. The MSFA was organized in 1993, and on-field competition b ...

conference. Hohensee consults with the coaching staff and advises the University leadership on aspects of leading and managing a football program.

Head coaching record

Accomplishments

winning coach *Reached AFL Semifinals – 1994, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 *Division Winner—1995, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008

Car accident

On Saturday April 28, 2007 Hohensee was hit by a car while walking in a grocery store parking lot, but still coached the Rush to a victory over the

two days later. He coached the game in the team press box with a sling around his arm.

References

External links

Mike Hohensee (coach) at ArenaFan.comMike Hohensee (player) at ArenaFan.comMike Hohensee (Interview) at arenafootball.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hohensee, Mike 1961 births Living people People from the San Gabriel Valley American football quarterbacks Minnesota Golden Gophers football players American players of Canadian football Canadian football quarterbacks Ottawa Rough Riders players Toronto Argonauts players Pittsburgh Gladiators players Chicago Bears players Washington Federals/Orlando Renegades players National Football League replacement players Indiana Firebirds coaches Toronto Phantoms coaches Philadelphia Soul coaches Chicago Rush coaches Mt. SAC Mounties football players Players of American football from Inglewood, California Washington Commandos coaches Portland Thunder coaches Anaheim Piranhas coaches Iowa Barnstormers coaches Peoria Pirates coaches