The ifm Razorbacks still have a lot planned

Wide receiver Michael “Showtime” Mayer had just caught the 112th touchdown of his football career in the Teledata Stadium in Weingarten. Actually a reason for great joy, but it was not evident on the 30-year-old’s face. “It is of course nice to score a touchdown in the last game of my career, but I would have been happier if we had not already been so far behind,” said the outgoing captain of the Ravensburg football offensive team on Sunday after the elimination in the play-off quarter-final against the New York Lions from Braunschweig (14:45).

From relegation to play-off participant

At the beginning of the season, only one man believed that the Upper Swabians, who had actually been relegated from the highest German football league the year before and were only allowed to stay in the GFL because the Marburg Mercenaries got into financial difficulties and withdrew from the league, would even make it into the postseason of the German Football League (GFL): head coach John Gilligan. “The goal is always the title,” the American announced back in May, adding: “We are talented, the opponents will see that.” He didn’t care that he was laughed at for it in football circles.

If you ask the Razorbacks what the reason for the team’s new success is, you always get the same answer: “Coach Gilly.” John Gilligan returned to Ravensburg as head coach at the start of the season. In 2016 he was already in charge of the Razorbacks’ defense, and in 2017 and 2018 he was also head coach. With him, the Ravensburg football player was promoted to the GFL2 and won the championship title there in 2018 before returning to the USA. Those in charge didn’t even have to persuade Gilligan to return this time – he had followed his old team’s performances online in the USA and offered his help on his own initiative. “Ravensburg and the region are very close to my heart,” he emphasizes again and again.

Then the season probably got off to a bad start: The first three games were all away games – and all were lost (28:52 at the Allgäu Comets, 3:14 at the Straubing Spiders, 32:44 at the Saarland Hurricanes). A 32:17 home win against the favored Munich Cowboys brought about the turnaround – but something had to change first. The Ravensburg offensive scheme was simply not fit for the first division. Offensive line coach Jake Suggett, who had himself been a player for the ifm Razorbacks in previous years, took over the role of offensive coordinator from game four and dictated the plays – and suddenly things were working.

A force at home

During the course of the season, the ifm Razorbacks Ravensburg won every home game without exception, which not only led to a steady increase in the number of spectators at the Teledata Stadium, but also the respect that other teams had for away games in Weingarten. The game against the Munich Cowboys on the last day of the regular season, which was so important for the play-off home advantage, was also won 33:27. In the end, they only had to settle behind the multiple German champions Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns in the southern group of the league.

The secret: team spirit. Head coach John Gilligan recognizes which types of players and characters work well together and is not afraid to weed out a good player who is bad for the team structure. In this way, he succeeds in making even better players out of good players. The best examples of this are quarterback Broghean McGovern, who established himself in the top 5 in his position in the league and is given the freedom by Gilligan to make his own decisions on the field, and defensive lineman Ben Rashid, who became the best quarterback hunter in the GFL with 13.5 sacks. “Coach Gilligan is a master of people management and tactics,” says Oliver Billstein, Ravensburg’s defensive backs coach, and Michael Mayer tells footbowl.eu: “He is the head of the team and I am sure that with him we will play very successful football in Ravensburg in the next few years. This is guaranteed to make some players decide to continue playing for the Razorbacks.

John Gilligan will build something in Ravensburg

Gilligan had already extended his contract with Ravensburg for another three years before the quarterfinals against Braunschweig. “He will really build something here,” says Michael Mayer. And Gilligan himself? “Perhaps the contract extension was premature,” he joked directly after the 14:45 defeat against the Lions. “No, seriously, we reached the postseason for the first time this season – that was already an initial success. But we will get even better as a team. That is a process that we are now continuing to pursue. The ifm Razorbacks should become one of the top teams in the league.” A very confident statement – but no one will laugh at it anymore.