Author: bigdaddc@comcast.net

We started the first off staff meetings the very next morning – which was fine.  We included all the coaches and the complete administrative staff.  A total of thirteen of us in a room that probably should have held ten.  But, we dragged in some extra chairs and I sat halfway in the hallway.

From the management side we had Mukka Erdonmez (President and primary owner), Toni Zöeller (Communications), Zeki Öxtürk (Head of Operations), Ferhat Kahraman (Head of Administration).  Our sporting organization was Matt Hammer and JC Williams (Athletic Directors), Norm Chow (Head Coach), Otis Smith (Defensive Coordinator), Mike Wilson (Wide Receivers), Bob Palcic (Offensive line), Darius Willis (Running Backs), Bert Hill (Defensive Line) and myself.

This group would look way different a few months later!

As the Guard’s primary owner Mukka headed up the meeting … he allowed Norm to start off with an intro and also his vision of the team.  A good idea in my eyes since he was going to control the day to day operations of our team.

Mukka was a top dog at XL Insurance (a giant worldwide group) he had a bigtime title – Head of International Casualty Europe, Africa and Latin America.  He had a a PHD in International Management from University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.  (This is one of the best business schools in the world).  I’ve been assured by many people that he is for real!

When Mukka took over the meeting it was apparent that he was used to directing people.  Now leadership obviously can go in many directions.  Mukka liked making lists and assigning people tasks with timelines.

He also liked to show everyone who was in charge.  After a few preliminaries about trust, building a team and having fun together.  He then commenced to start chewing some ass.

Taking all of us from the states by surprise  — he started in

on JC and Matt.  He was very aggressive and wanted to know why Matt hadn’t signed more guys … why a list of guys he gave to Matt wasn’t graded and in some spread sheet.

JC got the same barrage with both barrels.  Why do we have so many spread sheets with different information … why are they impossible to read?  Wow.

Well…so much for trust, friendship and the like.  Maybe this was his management style.

I happened to be glancing at Norm and Otis as this was going on.  I could see them lower their heads and take down a few notes – sensing what they were thinking.

Now, all of us had been ripped pretty good during our coaching careers at various times.  But, that was done by professionals to us also as professionals where the stakes were way higher than the European League of Football.

Norm tried to calm the seas and intercede by telling Mukka that he and I had set up a scouting system and were building an evaluated and graded database by position.  We brought Darius into the conversation who really knew the Swiss players.

The temperature in the room cooled considerably and we did work through a computerized list we were able to show on a big screen TV.  It became apparent we did have a lot of work to do on several guys.   But in reality, we already had four A-tag players signed and several E-tag guys lined up as well.

Those players were key.  We then had some meetings set up with the best Swiss players during the combine. Mukka wanted to know the schedule for meetings and needed another list .. this time showing when these guys were showing up.

He lost it again when there really wasn’t a schedule for visiting with players.  Again, he started to get on Matt and JC.  But luckily, I was able to just say … it wasn’t going to be a problem.  Each of the coaches would be available all day during the combine and we only needed to concentrate on a handful at each position.  Plus, we would circulate when we weren’t doing a one-on-one meeting.

I assured him that we learned flexibility at the NFL combine because there were times in the early years before it became extremely organized that we had to adjust on the run.  It would get done … no sense in trying to control something we couldn’t.

We broke for lunch and most of the US coaches went outside to get some air and also to huddle about this shit show we just took part in.

Pretty much it was apparent that there wouldn’t be any BS taken from Mukka.  And yes …Bert said he might just throw him out the window if he there was any cannon fire at him.

Otis and I talked a little apart and he asked if this was normal … I told him – not in my wildest dreams did I expect our owner to lose his mind in the first 20 minutes we were together.

After lunch we got back to it.  Concentrating on the combine location, the logistics involved and the equipment required.  I know I was hoping this would be a shorter meeting.

But, once Mukka put his crosshairs on Matt again I got the feeling that this might turn into another heated session.  The problem was we didn’t have the players T-shirts for the combine.

Where they were was a question.

As an aside here – you have to understand this.  To print a bunch of t-shirts in Switzerland is expensive.  It’s much cheaper to have them made in Germany or Turkey.  But, then you have to get them through customs … another problem.  Something simple in the US is not that easy in Switzerland.

I guess Matt had ordered them weeks ago, but no one knew where they were.  Phone calls were going unanswered.  When they were picked up – the company couldn’t tell Matt where the truck was.  Mukka was getting fired up again.

We didn’t need another shit show like the morning … Norm and Otis cut everything off by saying we could live without t-shirts as long as we had accurate results and tabulation on a spread sheet.  JC jumped in and said that was under control.

The next thing on Mukka’s “list” was volunteers to run the combine.  Apparently, we had enough and even if Mukka was still asking for who was running what drill and who was recording the information we assured him that if we had the right number of coaches we could make it work.

The man was obsessed with the details … which I could appreciate.  But, I was just happy to get things started and get out of this meeting.

But, that wasn’t going to happen quite that easily.  Next, we had to line up the equipment we needed for the workout phase of the combine.  So, this fell to Zeki.  (Zeki is a fantastic guy – love him.)

Zeki, started with Bert (well, he was sitting next to him).  Bert needed five step-over bags, four hand shields and a big pass rush dummy if one was available.  Leave it to Bert to be ready.

Next was Bob – well despite the fact that he asked for basically the same thing as Bert it took him another fifteen minutes to design what he wanted to do – which we didn’t need.  We only cared about the equipment – it was up to each of us to set up our drills.

Darius asked for five step-over bags, six cones and 4 hand shields.

Poor Zeki had never done this before it was apparent to me … I asked him “OK Zek what do you have so far?”  He told that we needed 20 step over bags, about 12 hand shields, six cones.

Gently I said …whoa there Zeki!!!

I did tell him that all we needed was 10 step over bags and six hand shields with 30 cones.

He looked at me astounded and said but everyone needs 5 and that adds up to a lot more.  Mukka agreed that we needed many more..

I just tried to assure them we would be OK with that number because only one position group- was going at a time.

Therefore, just have a few extra of each and we would be fine.  Then – they got it.

The biggest pointer I gave them was this – make sure we have footballs.  That was the most important thing.

Man – we were going to have a task coaching these guys up.

Another meeting tomorrow morning!

The coaches from the US arrive in Zurich from various destinations … their landing times are all different so, it is basically an all-day sucker.  The pickups are on and off for the entire morning and afternoon.

But, we have some great help in picking up and dropping off the visitors.

Zeki Öztürk (Director of Operations), Ferhat Kahraman (Director of Administration), Toni Zöller (Communications) and Matt help all the coaches get from the Zurich Airport to our Airbnb and apartments for the week.

Bert flies in from Miami, Norm and Mike Wilson a direct shot from LA, Bob Palcic and his wife Theresa fly from DC.  Otis Smith and his wife from Newark.

Zeki and Ferhat then show us a great time at dinner.  We told them that we were perfectly fine with pizza and beer but they told us Mukka wanted them to entertain us at a restaurant.  We ate a lot and then hit the sack with many of the travelers having some form or another of jet lag.

Norm and I were lodged in a beautiful house with the others were in an apartment next door.

I felt a little awkward that Bob and Otis brought their wives because that meant Bert and Mike had to each share space in two bedroom apartments with married couples.  Yes, I get it … we are all adults and can handle it for a few days.

Sure, it is important for the wives to be comfortable with the situation we were entering.  Problem is … the expense you put on the club.  It’s not cheap to fly this many people to Europe, house, feed and entertain them.

When we spoke privately –  our head investor Mukka Erdonmez told Norm and I not to worry about anything financial because it was no problem.  Maybe it was foreshadowing … but the phrase “don’t worry about it …it’s under control.”

Well, should have been wary about that.

In my eyes finances are going to be an issue eventually … I’m not sure how much money the franchise group has.  We don’t want to spent a lot on “outside” expenses when we will need it for running the team later.

This is not the NFL and the sooner everyone understood that, the better.  We won’t be flying all over the place when we play games.  – that will be by bus (as much as six or seven hours) or train for the most part.  That is how it is done in Europe.

The way things were starting out … well not sure how this group would handle this when everything is laid out on the table during the week.

If things don’t work out (which would later occur with a few of our coaches in this [mis]adventure in football) it makes the remaining guys look like the “ugly Americans.    I have learned a lot over the years of coaching in Europe – each time you experience a problem situation you make sure it doesn’t happen again because it hurts your credibility.

US coaches working in Europe – well it takes a special personality and attitude.  I thought this experience might be rough on a few of our guys because I could sense a little lack of flexibility.  But, their credentials were impeccable and we needed to attract players to our team – exceptional coaches would help us do that.

Unfortunately, I found out I was right.

But you have to admit the credentials looked really good as we started out.

Norm Chow as the head coach/offensive coordinator.  Head coach at University of Hawaii  … many years as an offensive coordinator in the NCAA and then with the Tennessee Titans.  Coached on National Championship teams at BYU and USC.  Coached three Heisman Trophy winners.

Bob Palcic the offensive line coach at USC, UCLA, Ohio State, Wisconsin and SMU.  Then in the NFL with Detroit, New Orleans, Cleveland and Atlanta.  As much experience as was needed.  Unfortunately, when we got together it became apparent that his knee, hip and back might be a problem.  He had a hard time getting around and this could be a problem in Switzerland where there is a lot of walking.

Mike Wilson, Wide Receivers…four time Superbowl champ with the SF 49ers as a receiver.  Coached at Stanford, USC, Oakland Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns and the LA Wildcats of the XFL.

Darius Willis would coach our running backs.  Played halfback at Indiana University then after injuring his knee played in Europe for several years.  (Bern Grizzlies and Bienna Jets in Switzerland)  He now own a company called Willis Sports Organization in his second homeland of Switzerland.

Otis Smith was our defensive coordinator and secondary coach had played from 1990 until 2003 as a corner in the NFL for five different teams and won a Superbowl with the New England Patriots in 2002.  Otis played the final year of his illustrious career with the Lions where I got to know him.

Bert Hill would be the defensive line for the Helvetic Guards.  He and I coached with the Detroit Lions for eleven years.  Bert is in the Strength Coaches Hall of Fame.  A tremendous all around coach

 

Then there was me.

 

 

 

Quite a staff.

But, when the smoke would clear several months later … just Norm and I remained of the original staff.  Again, reaffirming my beliefs about finding experienced US coaches who have already been in Europe is key.  Lesson learned.

No sense in dealing with issues if you didn’t have to – continuing to learn that you better know the guys you try to bring overseas before you expend a lot of resources.

 

 

 

 

Matt Hammer and I traveled from Zurich to the beautiful city of Vienna, Austria.  Unfortunately, when we arrived there we never left the airport – so never got to see any of it.  After a short lay-over we jump on another jet to fly to Klagenfurt where the ELF championship was being played.

I asked Matt why the European League of Football (ELF) Championship was being held in a city that had no franchise.  If there was to be a game in Austria – why not Innsbruck or Vienna?  It didn’t make sense to me.  Think of the NFL having a championship game in Lubbock, Texas instead of Dallas?

Nothing wrong with Lubbock at all, but the city has no NFL franchise and it is a little out of the way for NFL fans.

Matt explained to me that the Wörthersee Stadion (now known as 28 Black Arena) was controlled by one of the partners and the ELF would reap the rewards of that partnership.  Therefore, the proceeds for the game would go directly to the league office.

Now I know that European sports operate a little different than they do in the states.  I am not saying that anything was underhanded (but I always reflect back on Sepp Blatter and corruption of FIFA funds as well as the controversial awarding of the 2022 Soccer World Cup to Qatar).

There were a lot of rumors about ELF money and where it was directed …. But then there are rumors and there are false promises.  So, we will let it go at that.

Prior to the game Matt and I attended the ELF management banquet.  It was interesting .. the food was good and listening to the speakers was fun … there was a lot of back slapping and congratulations as well.

There certainly was a lot to be proud of.

Matt and I were invited to attend the General Managers meeting the next day by the GM’s at the banquet.  It was nice of them to do it … but they were all very open with us during the evening and felt it would be helpful to the Guards to have someone from the club there to listen in.

That meeting was interesting.  As the forum moved along … it became apparent that there were several issues for the franchises.  Many of them had to do directly with the league office.

For instance, the profit sharing hadn’t been paid… travel that was supposed to be underwritten  didn’t shake out the way it was supposed to, uniforms and merchandising (controlled by the ELF) was not on time.

Not only was merchandising late but much of it was also incorrect.  For instance, your team might be the Wroclaw Panthers or the Barcelona Dragons … but your merchandise might have misspellings like Baclorna Dragons or your team might suddenly become the Wroclaw Surge.

Weird, but these things really happened.  Then, when the clubs sent the gear back to the manufacturer (owned by an ELF sponsor) they refused to replace merchandise or reimburse the money.

This happened a lot from what I gathered.  Now, one might ask … how can this be?  But .. this started to make me think the league itself might be a little shaky.  When we later inquired if anyone had a business plan from the ELF.  Hmmm – no solid answer on that.

Well, just a little strange to me.

The next day we attended the game at the stadium.  A very nice production although the weather did not cooperate early in the day.

Matt and I were treated very well and we were able to attend the game in the press box and sit in the outdoor seats in front of the box.  Everyone there was very accommodating.  It was a great game and the crowd was excited.

Vienna won the game over the Sea Devils.

It was a nice trip to be on with Matt and I learned a lot about our organization and also how the league operated from many of the franchise key players.  I was very impressed by how open they were with us – they truly wanted to help us start on the right foot.

I have to say my impression of the Guards was dampened when I found out that Mukka (primary owner of the team) didn’t allow the club to cover our expenses to the game.  So, Matt covered all the expenses without telling me until later.

Now, that made me worried about our own leadership and the finances they had.

We continued to develop the roster and coaching staff over the next several months.  Then our majority owner Mukka Erdonmez and our athletic directors (JC Williams and Matt Hammer) met with Norm Chow and myself via zoom.

The purpose was to develop a schedule for the fall.  We wanted to find a way to meet in person with the players and also start preparations for the season.  Mukka wanted to bring the entire US staff to Zurich to meet and also run an open combine for European players (we were looking for Swiss players primarily since we had pretty much organized our E-Tags.)

Now we knew when we were going to have the combine (October 1-2 or 2022).  So, it was decided that the coaches would come over at the end of September and stay in Zurich (actually Konstanz, Germany.)

I decided to go over a little early and watch the 2022 European League of Football (ELF)  Championship Game in Klagenfurt, Austria.  Matt Hammer would meet me when I arrived in Zurich and we would then fly together to Vienna and then to Klagenfurt.

We spent two nights in Klagenfurt attending the ELF banquet and the General Managers meeting before attending the game between the Vienna Vikings and the Hamburg Sea Devils.

 

One of our key targets to sign … Tim Hänni – was an ELF all-star for the Sea Devils.  I was really looking forward to the game and also watching him play.

The entire ELF Championship weekend was well done.  Even with the rainy weather the festivities the day before with games for kids, food trucks and tents…beer wagons (imagine that beer in Austria!?!)

The General Managers meeting was enlightening and also a little frightening as well.

More on that later.

Schedule for the Guards:

2022

September                           ELF Championship

September – October     Meetings (US coaches in Switzerland)

Meet and Greet with potential Swiss coaches

October                                 Open Combine (With US Coaches)

November                            Officially Sign “A” Tags (4) and E-Tags

November                            Group Tryouts

2023

Mid February                     Practice Sessions with US Coaches.

Mid February                    Super Bowl Gathering

Mid February                    Select 60-70 man roster

Mid February                   Strength Training Starts

April                                     OTA’s (No A-Tags allowed)

May 1                                  Begin Practice

September 3                 Season Start at Barcelona

 

 

 

 

So, we continue on building our roster for the Helvetic Guards and also our coaching staff.  We identify several players who were either on the National Team or playing in Germany for teams there.

We added Otis Smith as our Defensive Coordinator.  Otis was a friend and a long time NFL player who had coached in the pros as well.  I watched Otis finish his playing career in Detroit and guide our group of young defensive backs … showing them how to be professionals.  A really good man.

Our defense was now pretty much intact.  Otis would coordinate, Bert Hill coach the defensive line and I would handle the linebackers.  Later this would change dramatically before we would start the season.  But … in late August we appeared to be solidifying out coaches.

We would probably add another coach to work with Special Teams and also work on the offensive side.

We also found ourselves in really positive conversations with Swiss players who were competing for teams in Germany.

Adrian Fielder (linebacker) and Timmy Schürmann (linebacker) were with the Schwäbish Hall Unicorns.  Both excellent players on a team that was the champion of the powerful German Football League.

The Unicorns have always been a fantastic organization – one of the strongest teams in all of Europe … winning the 2021 European championship over the Tyrol Raiders in the CEFL Bowl 22-16..

We eventually signed both players and they strengthened our roster significantly.

We then turned to two other Swiss players in Germany – playing for Allgäu Comets.  Fabio Rothmund a linebacker and Pascal Ruegg a wide receiver – both excellent players.

Fabio played for the Swiss junior National Team when I worked with them and we played in Amsterdam against the German team and the Netherlands.  I have always been a fan and also it was easy to see that he continued to play better while with the Comets.

Pascal was recognized as one of the better football players to come out of Switzerland.  A very good receiver with good speed and great hands.  Unfortunately, after he signed with us he decided not to play for the Guards as we began to practice.

While I was really excited about getting Fabio we got even more good news when Andres Buri from the Bern Grizzlies agreed to come on board.  I had watched Andres play for several years.

He was a really hard-nosed player and he was what I always called a “knock-back hitter.”  In other words when he tackled you – went backwards.

The linebacker corps was certainly coming together nicely.  These guys were all good football players.

Norm Chow was also working hard on bolstering the offensive line … grabbing some Bern Grizzly players Timmy Schmid (who would be elected as one of our captains – and oh yeah he will be a doctor!) Jurg Stalder and Pascal Hollenstein.

Through Pascal I was reunited with one of my favorite players from the National team – JP Stadler.  JP is a terrific defensive tackle.  A tough guy who was dominant whenever he played.  He was also really interested in coming onto the squad.  A great addition to our team.

The defensive line just kept getting stronger.  We also were lucky to grab one of the most respected players in Switzerland – Mike Sousa. He was going to join the Guards to play his last year of competing.

Soon after we also were able to land giant Milos Panic as another defensive tackle.  I had known Milos for many years as he played for the Zurich Renegades in the Swiss American Football Verband (SAFV).

Then there was the addition of up and coming linebacker Julian Conus.  He would eventually become one of our best special teams player with a bright future.

 

Finding Swiss Players 2

Well, since we needed to play with about 50 Swiss football players on our roster we had to look hard at our Swiss National Team for some talent.  Now finding talent was one thing … but we also had to work around what I call the “Swiss mentality.”

Honestly it isn’t a knock on anyone … but the neutrality of the country of Switzerland does effect the people.  I think that often the Swiss will step back and think to themselves … “well let’s hold on and see how this turns out” before they will commit.

There is nothing wrong with that thought process … but when you need to build a football roster in a short period of time.  Well – we need people to make decisions fairly quickly.  But, after spending several years in Switzerland I realized that this might be a problem.

We needed to make a relatively quick signing to get our team rolling.  As I mentioned early we felt Tim Hänni was on board … but he wanted to hold off on our announcing his signing.  His name would help us get other Swiss players on the roster.

Obviously, we stayed with our word to the 6-4, 280-pound Defensive End and held off on publicizing Tim’s decision to play for the Guards.  But, I’m sure there were rumors throughout the Swiss football world about his joining the team.

Knowing that there were only two Swiss quarterbacks worth looking to sign  (and I love them both).  I suggested to Norm to go after the only guy we had a shot at.  Richie Wartmann who played for the Winterthur Warriors had been our QB for the 2017 Junior National Team and I absolutely loved him.

A strapping 6-2, 225 he was really a great looking player.  But, actually Richie might be a linebacker playing quarterback.  However .. whoever (whomever?) we got was actually going to be the backup to our A-tag QB Collin Hill.

The other Swiss player who played QB was another favorite of mine.  Nic Leibundgut was our quarterback while I was with the Thun Tigers.  A tough hard-nosed competitor who was a tremendous thrower.

But, Nic was starting his family and had a daughter on the way .. not the right time to take time away from his home.

So, we went hard after Richie.  He did have his reservations.  Not because of him being a backup to Collin .. but because he had an injured shoulder – which was on this throwing side.  He was debating surgery.  His doctor had basically told him – he could rest it and see how things turned out, or get the surgery.

Richie decided to chance his shoulder and sign with us.

Obviously, Norm Chow our head coach was happy – being the offensive coach as well as our leader – he now had two QB’s.  Big problem solved.

Around the same time we lined up one of the best defensive ends in the country.  Dom Liechti had been a dominant player for the Bern Grizzlies and he wanted on board the Guard’s train.  He also was pretty adamant that he could secure several other top flight Swiss players as well.

Truthfully with his help we were able to gain traction with several other Swiss players.

Then, we went pretty hard on several other players as well.

I already knew about Robert and William Harvey (as well as their younger brother Bay as an intern – a QB at Johns Hopkins).  So, after clearing it with their dad Peter I contacted them and they did both have some interest.  Although they would be in the states until late May.

John Falk was a no brainer for me.  He was coaching already, but had just recently retired as a player.  He would come out of retirement and be a linebacker for us.  John is a warrior – he was always working out and training players.  His signing would help us in so many ways.  As a player, as a leader and his knowledge of the game … a natural born football player.

Norm new we had to find some offensive linemen and so we turned to one of the well-coached (Jeff Buffum) teams  in Switzerland and convinced two of the Calanda Broncos to join us.  Honestly, we were lucky to get them because they had to drive nearly three hours just to get to practice.

Frederico Ferretti and Filip (Peepo) Kovlijenic were considered two of the best players in Switzerland.  They had size and the background to help build our franchise. Plus, they were fantastic guys who knew what it would take to be a good team.

We knew we needed a sound and strong kicker and Matt Hammer told us there was only one way to go.  That was Nils Jonkmans.  Not only was he a very good place kicker – but he was an excellent punter as well.  Oh yeah … what he did in real life – he was a doctor in Switzerland as well.

The trouble with getting Nils signed up was that no one had evidence that he started playing football in Switzerland.  (Remember the ELF rule stated … it wasn’t your passport that determined your place of origin … but where you first played football.

Nils had played soccer in Canada (and football I guess) but everyone said he started playing American football in Bern.  That would allow us to claim him as a Swiss player since after all Bern is the capitol of Switzerland.

It took us several weeks, but we finally were able to get Nils on our roster.

I really liked two defensive backs from Basel after playing against them in the Swiss league (SAFV).  Faubian Bruhin and Florian Ziegler were solid and tough players.

Faubian played corner … but I thought right off the bat he would be a great safety.  But he wanted to play corner – so we promised him first crack at that position.

Now, Florian was one of those guys you automatically liked because he was a really tough guy.  I remembered him from when we played against him when our Swiss team (Thun Tigers) faced off against his Basel Gladiators.

He always played hard and wasn’t afraid to “chirp” at our sideline when he made a play.  At the time I got pissed off at him – but several months later I loved that we had him lined up with our guys.

Pascal Rüegg … Pascal Rüegg … Pascal Rüegg – a gifted wide receiver.  Played in Germany for the  Allgau Comets – but a Swiss player.  We can get him … he signs – and the night before we start practicing he quits.  Concussion, long covid, arthritis … whatever.  He just didn’t want to play.

It’s a shame – a really good football player – and at 6-0, 205 would have been a big help for the Helvetic Guards.

Next up finding more Swiss players who were competing abroad!

 

 

Finding the Swiss players:

While we were finding our A-tags and E-tags we certainly were working every single day to find a way to build a Swiss roster.  Norm and I were evaluating as many players as we could also getting a lot of help from Matt Hammer and JC Williams.  They were awesome.

Then when Darius Willis jumped in … wow we could see some great opportunities.

Unfortunately, we also started to see some cracks in our management team.  Our primary owner Mukka Erdönmez never really allowed Matt to design contracts for players.  So, here we (Norm and I) were in the US and wondering why we weren’t seeing Swiss players being signed after we wanted them on the roster.

We had developed a grading system so we could have a consistent and effective system of scouting players.  Norm and I had been well acquainted with scouting players … we weren’t sure about our compadres across the ocean.

So, we developed our own grading system that was easy to understand.   Now, everyone has their own way of scouting players – but we needed something which was simple and could be applied to the athletes we were watching.

Although it was a little rocky … we found some common ground and we also made sure that we would have the final call on the roster.  (Now, over the past season we found out that management would not always adhere to that.  This caused some frustration amongst the coaches.)

But, anyway we started to work hard on getting 45-50 good players who were “all Swiss!”

Now … we were also building our coaching staff at the same time.  We had already signed up Bob Palcic (offensive line) and Bert Hill (defensive line).  Still looking for a defensive coordinator and perhaps two other guys.

But, Norm and I decided we would build the roster.  None of the coaches (including us) would be paid until we were actually in Europe.  So, we didn’t want to involve the other coaches in the scouting because it wouldn’t be fair to ask anyone else to work for free.

Hell, Norm and I had worked for free many times in the past … what is one more time?

First off … I wanted to go after some of the Swiss guys playing in the ELF … then we would look at the Swiss National Team.

The top guy we zeroed in was Tim Hänni.  Tim played on the defensive line with the Hamburg Sea Devils  – the team that played in the ELF championship game in 2022.  He was a gifted athlete – NFL size (6-4+, 280 pounds) and speed and a motor that was amazing.  If we could get him it would be a great gain for our roster and it would show the entire country we were serious.

He was definitely interested and we did eventually sign him.

Next up were LB Lukas Rouss (played for ELF team – Rhein Fire) and Basil Weber a huge offensive lineman.

We spent time with both guys … including a face to face with Lukas at our combine held in Switzerland in October.

Weber seemed legitimately interested but later decided to go to play in Austria with the Tirol Raiders.

Rouss, on the other hand was just playing around with us – after years of recruiting you can tell when you are being lead around the tree.  He wasn’t really going to come to us.

Well, we got neither … not a problem – move on!  (Honestly losing recruits to USC, UCLA of U of A in the 80’s hurt more – these Swiss guys were good – but not that good!)

Next up finding more Swiss players from the National Team and the in-country league the SAFV.

Part 2 of building a team

Norm did a great job finding a few A-tags right away.  He had some contacts with a group he worked with and we suddenly had a Division I quarterback on our team and a legitimate defensive pass rusher.

Collin Hill played in three of four years (starting when he was healthy) at Colorado State and then played as a grad transfer at University of South Carolina – starting eight games.  An accurate and gifted QB.  Truly a steal for our expansion franchise.

JR Tavaii would become a lynchpin for our defense.  JR was an on and off starter at USC.  He  would certainly  be a top player for us and the Helvetic Guards.  Plus, he is a fantastic guy.

We had our eye on a quick and fast WR early on.  But, he had other plans and we had to move on.  Later we would find an excellent athlete in Silas Nacita – an experienced and well known player in Europe.  But more about that later.

We really hit gold when we found a corner.  Kenny Hike Jr. was a GFL all-star for Dresden, played in the Spring League for Jerry Glanville.  Kenny was everything we heard about him.  A gifted cover corner … a leader and most importantly a fantastic person.

Every one of those guys turned out to be excellent additions for a first-year team.  Very good players but their leadership and guidance meant so much for our young and inexperienced team.

I would say that we hit on each one of these players as far as finding first rate players for our team.  It would turn out that we weren’t as good with the six E-tag players we went after.

First, we found two offensive linemen in Gabriel Rodriguez and Amos Laoye.  Gabe from Spain, Amos from Belgium… well not so fast… turns out Amos cannot be considered an E-Tag.  Unfortunately, we didn’t find out this until too late.  We never replaced him.  Playing without an E-tag was probably a mistake.

We then picked up Igor Mašlanka a TE from Slovakia and Swedish wide receiver Anton Jallai.  Norm really thought Mašlanka would be a great fit for his vision of our offense. I saw Anton running past guys in his league – looked straight line fast.

Unfortunately for us Igor just never developed into a flexible enough player for us and Anton got a case of the “yips.”  He had a hard time catching the ball … we tried to get them going – just couldn’t get it done.

I really think both will have good futures – but we had to move on and we eventually released them both.  (That turned out to be another problem for us … releasing players … more on that later).

Defensively, we picked up two versatile defensive backs Chaska Perron and Maceo Beard who were both French.  They both lived up to our expectations.

Mace would go on to be the most valuable defensive player in the European Football League.  Chaska was equally important to our defense.  Both were also instrumental in helping us sign two wide receivers towards the end of the season.

Next we needed to find our Swiss players!

 

 

Obviously, hiring Norm Chow as the new head coach for the Guards was a priority for our management team.  Now we had to start building a team from scratch.  This had to be accomplished within the unique structure of the European League of Football (ELF).

Within the ELF there is a formula for each team’s roster to insure that the foundation of the team is built around “Home-grown” players.  In other words the vast majority of your squad had to be athletes who first started playing football in your country.

Again, this is unusual.  It means that you have to show where you first started playing football … not your passport declaration.  Unlike other European leagues which allow dual passport players to have flexibility in their designations – the ELF had different mandates for eligibility.

The ELF had specific ways to structure the roster as well.  For instance, each team was allowed to sign four players designated as A-tags (A player from either of four countries – the US, Canada, Mexico or Japan).  In addition, you could add 6 E-tags (player from another country besides the A-Tag regions).  The rest (about fifty) had to be from your country.

We now had to find a lot of players who started to play ball in Switzerland.  Not an easy task since Switzerland is a country of about 8.7 million people – and football here is a niche sport that most guys don’t start playing until they are in the 16-17 year range.

Also, Switzerland is the smallest of the nine countries making up the ELF.

The nine countries which have franchises in the ELF population wise:  Germany (83.2 Million), France (64.7M), Italy (58.7M), Spain (47.5M), Poland (41M), Czech Republic (10.4M), Hungary (10.1M), Austria (8.9M), Switzerland (8.7M)

 The list of the teams for 2023 season.

• Hamburg Sea Devils (Germany)
• Frankfurt Galaxy (Germany)
• Cologne Centurions (Germany)
• Stuttgart Surge (Germany)
• Berlin Thunder (Germany)
• Munich Ravens (Germany)
• Rhein Fire (Germany)
• Vienna Vikings (Austria)
• Tirol Raiders (Austria)
• Barcelona Dragons (Spain)
• Wroclaw Panthers (Poland)
• Paris Musketeers (France)
• Prague Lions (Czech Republic)
• Helvetic Guards (Switzerland)
• Milano Seamen (Italy)
• Fehérár Enthroners (Hungary)

Istanbul (Turkey) played one season in 2022 and then dropped out of the league.

Leipzig Kings (Germany) dropped out of the league during the 2023 season.

Prague Lions suspended play for a week during the 2023 season.

Fortunately, I had a pretty good handle on many of the better players in the Swiss league (Swiss American Football Verband) since I had spent several years with the Thun Tigers located on the Thunersee in the Bernese Oberland.

But, it was going to be a pretty hard task regardless of my experience.  First, we had to identify the players and then analyze their videos to assess their value to the team.

We decided that Norm and I (here in the US) along with JC and Matt (in Switzerland) would start to organize the team.  Matt would also handle setting up the contracts so that we stayed within the salary cap the ELF had.

Matt’s job would be very stressful since our majority owner didn’t set a budget.  Obviously, it would be helpful to know how much money Mukka was going to allot to the signing of players and how it should be structured.

But, like many things we would encounter along the way beginning til end …. there was little if any transparency when it came to the money.  No one knew where it was going to come from and no one knew how much was there.

Plus, the fact that we were an ocean away – literally!  Well, it was hard to get together.

Later Darius Willis joined our coaching/scouting department and his help was invaluable.  Later we all agreed we could have never accomplished this without him.

So, Norm and I would start watching all kinds of highlight videos on Hudl (football app).  Now, one thing you know as a coach – you need to see “game” videos to study a player.  That we could only get our hands (or eyes I guess) on self-made highlights makes it hard.

Think about it … shouldn’t you look good on a highlight video you put together?  If you don’t look good on your own highlight film.  Yikes!

More to come!

 

 

The Helvetic Guards were very fortunate  to be able to hire a quality coach in Norm Chow for their first season in the European League of Football.  Norm is a well-known offensive coach who has coached in the college ranks as an assistant and also as a  head coach and he has spent several seasons in the pro ranks as well.

I didn’t know Norm until we became acquainted during this hiring process.  Since then we have become good friends.  Honestly, I wish we had met before … the chance to learn from such a great football mind.  Well, lucky to have spent this year working closely with him.

Many people will remember him for coaching three Heisman Trophy winners  …  Ty Detmer at BYU, Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer at USC.  Norm was also a coach on National Championship teams at USC (two) and BYU.

Best known as a QB coach / offensive coordinator.   He developed many QB’s – Steve Young, Mark Wilson, Philip Rivers, Carson Palmer, Jim McMahon, Matt Leinart, Ty Detmer and also Matt Cassel.  Quite a list of star players who had excellent football careers in college and many went on to play professionally.

Norm was an assistant at BYU, North Carolina State, USC, UCLA and Utah … more than 30 years of experience at the college.  Three years as the offensive coordinator at Tennessee Titans as well.  He was also the Head Coach at Hawaii.

The Guards ownership was greatly impressed by the time he spent with them.  Soon after the interview he was hired.  Again … lucky to have him.