After missing out on last year's playoffs by a small margin, the Raiders Tirol underwent some major changes in the off season. How will the team look in 2024? A well-known quote in Football states, that it‘s a game of inches. In the case of Raiders Tirol, however, one could argue, that it’s a game of points. The Austrian franchise missed out on last year's playoff due to the point differential – a heart-breaking end to a season, in which they managed to win eight out of twelve games.

Despite the winning record, Tirol had to deal with a tumultuous season. After eight games, quarterback Christian Strong and wide receiver Jarvis McClam left the team. After the season, the contract of head coach Kevin Herron was not extended. Running back Sandro Platzgummer, who missed most of the season due to an injury, also found a new home in Frankfurt and will be playing for Galaxy.

In the middle of the mountains, the Raiders are getting ready. © Angelo Sarabia

NFL-experienced Coaches

However, Tirol was able to keep key players like running back Tobias Bonatti, who rushed for 776 Yards and wide receiver Philipp Haun, who amassed 766 receiving yards. The duo will look to make life easy for the new quarterback: D’Angelo Fulford. After a successful college-career, the 26-year-old had stints in the CFL and XFL and is now coming to Europe. He will look to reduce the 23 offensive turnovers the Raiders committed last season and help establish the offense implemented by new head coach Jim Herrmann.

The 63-year-old Herrmann can look back on a long coaching journey, which included stints with the New York Jets, New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts. As a linebacker coach with the Giants, he won the Super Bowl in 2012. Joining him will be Mike Waufle as a Coach for the Defensive Line. Like Herrmann, Waufle coached for multiple teams in the NFL, most recently the Buffalo Bills.

D'Angelo Fulford is the new face and fan-magnet in the Alps. © Tom Plattner

New look on defense

However, Waufle has to work with a defensive Line, which lost a key player in Niklas Gustav. As a team, the Raiders collected 21 sacks last season, Gustav was involved in half of them, as he managed to reach 10,5 Sacks. Now, he will join the front office as the Head of International Recruiting. The defense will get a nice boost in the secondary, adding two import-players in Devin Taylor and Fara’ad McCombs. Many new faces will represent the Raiders Tirol in the upcoming season. Still, the goal remains the same: "We want to bring the trophy to Tirol," Bonatti says. After last year's disappointing end to the season, they will be looking for a happy end this season.