COMMERCE CITY - Mike Dailey has been around long enough to know that wins often accompany longevity.

Dailey, with 99 career wins, is one Crush victory away from becoming only the fourth Arena Football League coach to reach the century mark.

The milestone will be significant, but it hasn't cluttered Dailey's thinking.

"I've never thought about it,

really," he said. "It's an accomplishment that a lot of people deserve credit for. I've had good players, I've had good assistant coaches and I've had great ownership.

"The success is really a group effort. When I started as a head coach I really never thought about (100 wins). You just kind of carry on, and the next thing you know you are right there."

Dailey, who has been coaching in the AFL for 16 years, was head coach for four seasons at Indiana and has been the Crush coach for the past three years.

He has compiled a 99-64 record in 10 seasons, and his teams have won five division titles, made eight postseason appearances and won two ArenaBowl championships.

He went 63-49 in seven seasons with the Firebirds and won the 1999 ArenaBowl championship. In three seasons under Dailey, Colorado has gone 36-15, won two division titles and captured the 2005 ArenaBowl.

"He takes pride in what he does," offensive lineman Kyle Moore- Brown said. "I've been with him for 13 years and I've never, ever questioned anything he's said."

Dailey's players also praise his enthusiasm and wisdom.

"I'm just blessed to play for him, not just as a coach but a man like him," quarterback John Dutton said.

"I'll sit and have an hourlong talk with him. About five minutes of it is about football and the rest is about life."

Dailey will face new challenges this season because of changing rules - for the first time, there will be free substitution - and improved talent across the AFL.

"I mentioned to the troops today, the landscape has changed," Dailey said. "We have to adjust with it. It's football. I did coach college football before I got into the AFL. I was used to the packaging of situational type of things.

"I think it's fun. I think it is a little bit of a challenge. I've been kind of a strategy guy my whole career, kind of liking the strategies of the game. This adds another strategy to it."

When he records his first win this season, Dailey will join his friend and Chicago Rush coach Mike Hohensee (106), Utah's Danny White (148) and Tampa Bay's Tim Marcum (183) on the list of AFL coaches with at least 100 regular-season and playoff victories.

"Mike Dailey is a fantastic coach," Hohensee said.

Big five

• All-time winningest Arena Football League coaches, including postseason (all are active):

Coach Team Wins

Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 183

Danny White Utah 148

Mike Hohensee Chicago 106

Mike Dailey Crush 99

Darren Arbet San Jose 93

Sounding off on a proven winner

• Kyle Moore-Brown, Crush offensive lineman: "He wants the best out of each and every player, whether it's a two-year player or a 13-year veteran. That's what makes him so unique. He's passionate and he wants to push you. He doesn't want to see you fail."

• John Dutton, Crush quarterback: "He has so much wisdom, it's unbelievable. He's got story after story, analogy after analogy, and you can just soak it in. I can sit there for hours and just listen to him talk and try to apply it to my life. As a person, he cares for people."

• Mike Hohensee, Chicago Rush coach: "I think the 100th career win is pretty insignificant to him. However, I expect Mike Dailey to be celebrating his 200th career win before some of the coaches in the league today get their 100th."

Back to Top