Oct 19th, 2022 00:00, by Dominik Krauss

What the Jordan Neuman signing means for the Stuttgart Surge

After being considered as one of the worst teams in the league for two years, things are going to change drastically with Neuman at the helm. These are the reasons why.

© Svenja Sabatini

Oct 19th, 2022 00:00, by Dominik Krauss

What the Jordan Neuman signing means for the Stuttgart Surge

After being considered as one of the worst teams in the league for two years, things are going to change drastically with Neuman at the helm. These are the reasons why.

Proven winner in football

Although Jordan Neuman inherited a successful team, the Unicorns had not won the German Bowl in four years, including three Bowl game losses in a row. With him taking over as head coach in October 2016, things changed.

His Unicorns started one of the most impressive winning streaks in German sports history, as they went on to win 50 games in a row (including playoffs), before failing to accomplish the three-peat in 2019.

After the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID, Neumann picked up right where he left off. Although the Unicorns lost the German Bowl in 2021, they managed to win the CEFL Bowl (European club championship), before winning the German Bowl and the CEFL this year again.

Neuman’s record speaks for itself. During his five years as Schwäbisch Hall head coach, Neuman never lost a regular season game, and his Unicorns made the final every year. After five years in Hall, the head coach of the German football national team is looking at a 75-2 record, 3 German Bowl domestic titles and 2 CEFL Bowl wins.

Talented staff

The German national team coach is not the only one, who is coming to Stuttgart. Johannes Brenner, one of the most respected coordinators in Germany, will stay on Neuman’s staff and continue as the defensive coordinator.

Cody Pastorino, who was one of the defensive leaders on the Unicorns for seven seasons will also come along. The now retired safety, who coached the academy team before, will be the assistant defensive coordinator to Brenner.

With those three guys in place, there are no doubts that the coaching staff in Stuttgart will be one of the best in the league in 2023.

Great recruiter

Coaching alone does not win you games. You need the players to execute. Luckily, Neuman has a reputation for identifying and recruiting young talents and also the standing to lure proven players to his team. By taking one of the best coordinators in the country and a team-leader with him, there are many reasons for players to join their old HC in Stuttgart.

Since the distance between Schwäbisch Hall and Stuttgart us only about 70 kilometers, it is likely that a lot of Unicorns players, especially defenders, will follow their former coaches to the European League of Football.

Last to first?

By having one of the best coaches in Europe leading their team into the 2023 season, the Stuttgart Surge are well equipped to finally show their great and passionate fan base what they are capable of. With Neuman most likely recruiting many of his former players and other highly regarded players in Europe, the Surge will make a massive jump compared to the last two seasons.

But how good can they be? It is hard to make a prediction at this point, since free agency has not started, and the schedule has not been released yet. But there is no doubt that the Surge will win more games than they did in their entire European League of Football tenure.

Share this article on your favorite platform: