ALBANY — Albany Empire coach Tom Menas has resigned following a 79-34 loss at the Jacksonville Sharks Saturday night.
“I have come to realize that my vision doesn’t match our ownership’s vision, and I need to do the right thing and step aside to allow the Albany Empire to find a head coach that matches their vision,” Menas said in a statement.
His tenure was in doubt even during the game. Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown, the Empire’s majority owner, tweeted “New coach new trainer new players Who wanna Win?????” during the fourth quarter of the loss.
Menas won National Arena League titles with Albany in 2021 and 2022, but was fired by former owner Mike Kwarta before the start of the 2023 season, while Brown and Kwarta were still co-owners. Brown later purchased Kwarta’s remaining shares to become the 95 percent owner of the team; a Saratoga Springs couple retains the remaining 5 percent.
WNYT reported that Brown said former Union football coach John Audino, currently the coach at La Salle Institute, will replace Menas. Audino would be Albany’s third coach, with the season not yet halfway over. Audino and Albany Empire representatives could not immediately be reached for comment, though Audino told WNYT that he hasn’t accepted the job yet.
Offensive coordinator Damon Ware, who was also part of the two title runs, was promoted to replace Menas but left the team, along with eight top players, at the start of May following issues over payment and an incident on the team bus.
Menas returned to Albany at Brown’s invitation, citing a desire to keep a winning team in Albany.
“I came back to Albany because I wanted to help this team and this organization in a time where structure was needed,” he said in his statement.
Menas had just two days of practice with a largely new roster before his first game, a…
Read the full article here