Last match day of the 2024 season: the Tirol Raiders played their direct rivals, the Munich Ravens. There was a lot on the line for both teams. After all, victory decided who will makes the play-offs. The Raiders lost clearly with 3:30.

Disappointing for the ambitious team. For the upcoming season, they reorganized their coaching staff. Chales Eger, previously Offensive Line Coach, has been promoted to Offensive Coordinator. 

“It's an exciting opportunity,” says Eger, who sees a good foundation with the Raiders. The experienced coach now wants to build on this. “My focus is to keep the positives and to address some of the areas that we had some deficiencies in.” He sees these in the passing game, for example. 

The experienced coach knows how to make a team better. “I’ve coached at every level,” he says. This includes high school teams and college football in the third, second and first divisions. In addition to teams from the Canadian Football League, he has also coached in the NFL. As part of a coaching program, he helped at organized team activities of the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. A time from which he learned a lot.

"I think whenever you're looking at an organization, and you're trying to build a program, you're looking at every part of them.” Eger adds: “And it starts with having good teammates and good players. Also coaches that can adjust and communicate with that group of guys.” 

Charlie Eger (left) remains with the Tirol Raiders. ©Goran Milosavljevic

Team culture makes Eger happy

In general, he feels a strong culture in the team: “We have a bunch of hungry guys that are willing to listen and learn. And that's one of my favorite things about coaching. I think that is so undervalued in football today. He adds: “I felt like the kids believed in us.”

The team also grew into a unit off the pitch. Something that Eger wants to take advantage of. “So now when you talk about growing, we have a culture and an idea of who we are. We're violent, we're aggressive, and we're going to play with passion.”

This was already demonstrated last year in the running game. With 2218 rushing yards, the Raiders achieved the second most in the league. Only Rhein Fire with MVP Glen Toonga ran for more. The Raiders' strong performance was also thanks to Eger's offensive line.

“We're going to have this identity of being strong and tough, and that's also thanks to our head coach. He wants tough guys that love the game and our passion,” explains Eger. Head coach Jim Herrmann joined the Raiders at the beginning of the 2024 season and impressed in his first year in the European League of Football.

Difficult start with a big happy ending

Eger's start with the Raiders was not easy at all. He only joined the team at the end of March. Most of the preparation had already been completed, with the first match day starting at the end of May.

Eger was faced with a thinned-out O-line. The coach formed them into one of the best lines in the league. “My guys weren't the first, but we finished second in the league in sacks and second in the league in rushing. Impressive for a bunch of guys that showed up in the end of March, and we're proud of that.”

Eger feels a strong bond with his players. One of the reasons why he is staying with the Raiders.

Great support in the team

If you ask around the team, you can also feel this bond. Whether as part of the offensive line or not. “I have to say, Charles Eger is certainly the best offense coach I've ever experienced or watched anywhere,” says wide receiver and Raiders captain Adrian Platzgummer. He praises Eger's great knowledge of technique and coaching. "Nobody would have expected what he did with the O-line last year."

Jan Mayerhofer, who as a defensive back is far away from practicing under Eger, has a similar opinion. “But what I do notice is that the man is respected by everyone.” He describes Eger as a strict coach, but one who does everything he can to make his players better. “I'm a huge fan of him,” says Mayerhofer.

The fact that Eger will now remain part of the Raiders was received enthusiastically: “Even during the season, everyone wanted him to come back and run the entire offense,” Platzgummer reveals. He continues: “Because if he can do that with the O-line, what will he do with the whole offense? And when it was confirmed that he will stay, we were of course very happy.”

Raiders, ELF and Italy - Eger feels at home

The team feels comfortable with Eger, and he also feels comfortable with the Raiders: “I love the league and I love the Raiders,” he says. Another good reason for him to stay was the city: "I've absolutely loved Innsbruck. I thought it is a beautiful city and the people are great."

He also likes the location. The German city of Munich is just as easy to reach from Innsbruck as Italy, a country with which Eger has some connections. “My wife and I actually got married in Italy.” With Munich, he associates a kind of unfinished business. Not in a sporting sense, but in a personal sense. “The one regret my wife and I had, was that we didn't spend enough time there.” Now they have plenty of time to catch up on this.

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