Joe Haering

Joseph Haering (February 1, 1946 – early 2022) was an American professional football coach. He was the head coach for the Pittsburgh Gladiators and Cincinnati Rockers of the Arena Football League (AFL). He was also the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL).

Early life Joseph Haering was born on February 1, 1946, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He played high school football at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh as a quarterback, and earned All-Catholic honors. He was then the freshman coach at Kentucky from 1969 to 1970, and the offensive backfield coach from 1971 to 1972. He was solely linebackers coach for the Jets in 1979. He was suspended indefinitely after "slugging" AFL president Jim Foster during a benches-clearing brawl on July 22, 1989, against the Chicago Bruisers. The brawl started after Bruisers quarterback Ben Bennett hit a Gladiators player from behind. However, Foster intervened and said that Bennett should stay in the game because the fans wanted to see him play. However, interim head coach Darrel Jackson was credited as the coach of record for the postseason.

Haering was the defensive coordinator for the New York/New Jersey Knights of the upstart World League of American Football from 1991 to 1992.

Personal life Haering's brother, Chuck Haering, was an assistant coach under Joe with the Pittsburgh Gladiators and Cincinnati Rockers. Chuck also coached several sports at the collegiate level. He died in early 2022.

AFL head coaching record