Firebirds Friday - Damon Ware

Welcome back to Firebirds Friday flock!  This week we are going to be covering the Head Coach and General Manager of the Albany Firebirds, Damon Ware.  Coach Ware is entering  his fourth season with the team, so let's take a look back at what he has been able to accomplish in his first few seasons here in Albany.

Year One

    Year one for coach Damon Ware was a successful one as he was able to lead the team to an 8-3 record and brought the team to the championship game.  For a first season, this is quite a solid season overall.  It was a strong start for Albany as the team was looking to re-establish the greatness of the team from years prior.  

    Ware brought in quarterback Jake Medlock, who was able to lead the team to a strong 7-0 start to the season.  Albany was able to make the playoffs fairly easily and had a home playoff game against the Salina Liberty.  Ware and the Firebirds were able to get by the Liberty 80-59.  This would set up a neutral site championship game at American Dream Mall in New Jersey. Unfortunately, the Firebirds were unable to win the game, falling just short 46-41.  This was an overall successful season though as it set a strong foundation for the team and the future of Damon Ware in Albany.

Year Two

    The second season in Albany for Damon Ware was a historic one.  Ware brought in quarterback Sam Castronova, who would be a game changer for the team.  Another player of note was Duane Brown.  Brown would go on to be incredible for the team and would have 30 touchdowns and win offensive player of the year.  With that, Castronova would go on to be the league MVP in the inaugural year for the AF1.  Ware built  an elite roster that would go and have an undefeated regular season and entered the playoffs with perfect momentum.

    In the first round of the playoffs, the Firebirds would have to face the Salina Liberty.  This would end up being a convincing win for the Firebirds, 75-44, where quarterback Castronova would throw for eight touchdown passes split between four different receivers.  Winning this game would mean that the Firebirds would put their undefeated season on the line against an old foe, the Nashville Kats in the Arena Crown Championship.  

    Going into the first ever Arena Crown Championship, Albany already had two solid wins over Nashville.  They were able to beat them on the road 42-34 and then later at home 71-55.  In this clash of the league's top two teams, both teams would come out swinging.  The game was a great duel between both Tyler Kulka and Sam Castronova, with Kulka throwing seven touchdowns and Castronova throwing five.  Receiver Isiah Scott had a huge game with eight receptions and 155 yards and two touchdowns.  Other players, including Duane Brown and Darien Townsend, also made impacts in the game.  On the defensive side, Ezekiel Rose and Prince Umanmielen continued their great seasons, each getting a sack in the game.  Albany would go on to win the game 60-57 in Albany to complete the perfect season and win the first ever Arena Crown.  This second season was quite remarkable for Damon Ware as he would look to continue the success going into his third season in 2026.

Year Three

    Coming off of an undefeated season and Arena Crown championship, Damon Ware had his sights set on another championship run.  The team was able to bring back players like Duane Brown, Darien Townsend, and Isaiah Scott, as well as a bunch of others.  Going into the season, it was looking like Sam Castronova was going to be the quarterback of the team again until he got an opportunity to join the Houston Gamblers of the UFL.  This would leave the team in the hands of Joshua Kulka.  Kulka played very well at the beginning of the season through the first few weeks until Sam Castronova made his return a few weeks into the season.  The team was able to get off to an 8-0 start, extending their overall win streak to 20 games.

They encountered a few bumps along the way as there were some losses towards the end of the season, as well as many players unfortunately going down with injuries.  Another recurring challenge was the kicking for the team.  Coach Ware was able to lead the Firebirds to another successful regular season though, going 9-3, which set up another home playoff game in the first round.  Albany hosted the Minnesota Monsters in the first round in a highly competitive matchup.  This was the first time the teams met since week one of the season.  The game went back and forth with high emotions and ejections.  Many highlight plays were made in the game and Albany was able to get the win 69-56.  An absolutely amazing performance from Castronova including nine touchdown passes, with four being each being caught by Duane Brown and Darien Townsend, would send the Firebirds down to Tennessee for an Arena Crown rematch with the Kats.

In the championship game, the Firebirds got off to a slow start in the first quarter before some adjustments were made.  Albany came out firing in the second half, shutting out the Kats in the third quarter.  In the fourth, there were many key plays and turnovers that happened and it all led to the final play of the game.  Castronova tried to sneak the ball in before attempting to toss the ball to Duane Brown where he was unable to bring it in.  Albany fell just short of bringing home another championship, but it still was an overall successful season with all of the adversity that had to be faced throughout.

Continued Success

So far in his tenure with Albany, Damon Ware has done a great job being able to build competitive teams and coach them far into the playoffs.  This offseason, Ware has been able to bring back many key contributors from last year's team, and they will look to improve even more with more time on the field and in Albany.  The roster will continue to fill out over the offseason and with his track record, it is likely that Coach Ware will feel very strongly about his team leading into week one.