ELF coaches participate in NFL coaching program

Things will kick off at the beginning of May. Three German coaches will then experience a very special week with the NFL team Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Two of them already coached in the European League of Football. 

The team from the NFC South invites to the one-week “National Coaching Academy”. For several years now, the program has attempted to offer talented football coaches intensive further training opportunities at NFL level. Provided that they have been coaching for at least three years and work in a team at high school, college or semi-professional level. 

1500 applications were received worldwide for the 25 free places. The applicants came from the USA, Japan, England, Denmark and Germany. With Nadine Nurasyid, Henry Schlegel and Simon Bramberger, three German coaches made it through.

German participant made history

Nurasyid is a well-known football face in Germany. Last season, the 38-year-old worked as a defensive assistant coach for Stuttgart Surge. Born in Munich, she started out as a player with the Munich Cowboys Ladies in 2013 and later played for the German national team for a long time. After her active career as a play, she remained with the Cowboys as a coach, where Nurasyid made international history in 2022. 

To date, she is the first and only woman in Europe to lead a men's football team in a first division as head coach. Since 2023, she has also been working as an NFL expert for the streaming service DAZN and on television for RTL. Simon Bramberger, a former teammate of Nurasyid, has also joined the NFL program. The former offensive tackle has been the Cowboys' run game coordinator and offensive line coach for several years.

ELF Coach as one of the greatest coaching talents in Europe 

Henry Schlegel will be the third German coach in the “National Coaching Academy”. At the same time, the 25-year-old is probably one of the youngest participants. Schlegel is regarded as one of the biggest coaching talents in European football. He took on his first coaching job in 2019 as wide receiver coach of the Hildesheim Young Invaders. In the same year, he was promoted to offensive coordinator. 

In 2022, he gained his first experience in US football when he accepted a volunteer position at Division I FCS Bethune-Cookman University. In 2023, Schlegel was promoted to Offensive Coordinator of the Berlin Thunder. At only 23 years old at the time, he became the youngest OC in the history of the European League of Football. During this offseason, Schlegel signed as quarterback coach at the newly founded team Nordic Storm.

Henry Schlegel ©Eric Muehle.

The big dream of the NFL is on the line

Part of the program includes group training courses and team meetings. The team's rookie camps take place at the same time. This allows the aspiring coaches to observe the knowledge they have learned directly in practice.

The participants will be mentored by a prominent team of experts. Among them are Super Bowl Champion Jon Gruden, Bruce Arians and Tony Dungy. Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles and General Manager Jason Licht will also be involved.

After the coaching program, a special opportunity awaits the participants. Five of them will be selected to join the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. They will be allowed to stay with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and gain practical experience during training camps, offseason workout programs and minicamps of the NFL teams and thus qualify for a career as an NFL coach.

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