Windsor Lancers

Joe D’Amore is in his eighth season as the head coach of the Lancer Football program.

He was named the fourth head coach in the Lancers’ 42-year history of the program in 2012, following a one year-stint as the interim head coach.

In 2011, Coach D'Amore was named the Tuffy Knight Award winner as the OUA Football Coach of the Year and he was a finalist for the U SPORTS Football National Coach of the Year after his team finished with a 5-3 record and returned back to the OUA playoffs for the first time since 2006.

In the playoffs, his squad knocked off the Ottawa Gee Gees 50-33 on the road in the OUA quarter-finals before being narrowly edged in the Yates Cup Semi-Finals a week later. His 2011 squad had six players named OUA All-stars off which three were named CIS Football All-Canadians as the best in the country. Under his direction, the Lancers had the league’s third-ranked offence, averaging 474 yards a game and the fewest turnovers.

Prior to joining the Lancers, Joe served as the offensive coordinator for the Essex Ravens in the Ontario Varsity Football League since 2007. With the Ravens, he has also worked as a special teams coordinator and the defensive backs coach.

No stranger to local high school football, he was also the Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator for the Villanova Wildcats two years ago. Before that, he was the Head Coach for two years with the Sandwich HS Sabres.

He is best known for his playing career at the University of Windsor. He played for the Lancers from 1996-2000 as a wide receiver and started all 40 games of his career. He was also the team captain for the Lancers for three seasons.

Following his playing career, Joe moved on to play professional football in the Arena Football League (AFL2) with the Carolina Rhinos. He also played two seasons with the Fursty Razorbacks in the German Football League in Munich, Germany.

D’Amore broke into the coaching ranks in 2000 when he worked as a Graduate Assistant with the Lancer Football program.