The Stuttgart Surge just won two games in the last two seasons combined. That ranks the Germany franchise last amongst all European League of Football franchises since its inaugural season in 2021.

However, this past offseason was full of changes for the Surge. After new head coach Jordan Neuman took the reins, many of his former players from the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns were convinced to join the Surge as well. Also, a lot of outstanding players in Europe’s most competitive league like former Panthers safety Goran Zec or Raiders wide receiver Yannick Mayr wanted to be part of the new looking franchise.

But have the Surge done enough to turn things around?

Surge head coach Jordan Neuman talked to me in an interview about how he feels about his team in 2023. “We are basically a new team coming together, so that brings its challenges, but this is something we have been working hard on since January to overcome and I believe we are on the right path.”

Despite practice and team meetings, the Surge got a lot better when you look at the talent on their roster. As already mentioned, a lot of high-quality players decided to sign with the Surge to be part of Neuman’s first season in the European League of Football. Even former Minnesota Vikings sixth-round pick Moritz Böhringer decided to sign with the Stuttgart franchise which is close to his hometown.#

Do the Surge have the best WR room in the league?

“Even before the addition of Moritz [Böhringer] I felt very good about our wide receiver group,” Surge head coach Neuman comments in the interview. “Yes, it’s a talented group but I feel the strength is that we have very different types of wide receivers who can contribute based on their own specific skill set.”

Next to Böhringer and Mayr, the Surge have extended fan-favourite Paul Steigerwald and re-signed their 2021 wide receiver Louis Geyer who spent a season with the Cologne Centurions in 2022. With those signings, the wide receiver room of the Surge could be their strongest assest going into the 2023 season.

Former Unicorns players = head start?

In addition to their high-quality wide receivers, everyone knows that the Stuttgart Surge have signed a lot of former Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns players for the 2023 season. To be exact, 22 percent of this year’s Surge roster will consist out of players who suited up for the Unicorns in 2022. But what does this mean for the team?

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“There are certainly advantages to having players who played in the system already, but former Unicorns players make up 22 percent of the team. Meaning, there has still been a lot of work that has been done getting our installs taught and culture built,” the new Surge head coach Neuman explains in the interview.

However, the Surge will certainly benefit from the talent and familiarity that former Unicorns players will bring to the team. With that, the players will also be familiar with Neuman’s mindset as a coach. “[…] The mindset is no different than it was in January. We will be looking to improve every week."

Will the Surge succeed and turn around the fate of their franchise? Tune in on June 10th when Stuttgart plays its first regular season game in Week 2 against the Paris Musketeers! 

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