Razorbacks extend the contract with their head coach

Shortly before the first play-off home game in the history of the ifm Razorbacks Ravensburg, the Upper Swabians are already setting the course for the future. As the Ravensburg team announced on Monday, they have extended the contract with head coach John Gilligan by three years.

John Gilligan returned to the Razorbacks before the current season. He had already had a lot of success there in his first engagement. The American’s first term with the American footballers of TSB Ravensburg lasted from 2018 to 2021. The biggest success so far was the championship in the GFL2 and promotion to the highest German league in American football.

The return to the GFL2 was actually planned

In the first GFL years, the Ravensburg team missed the play-offs every time – last season, after a disappointing season, the Razorbacks actually wanted to forego relegation and voluntarily return to the GFL2.

But things turned out differently. The Marburg Mercenaries did not receive a GFL license, the Razorbacks remained in the first league – and are in the play-offs in the Erima GFL for the first time in their club’s history this season. Gilligan “driven the positive development of the entire team,” the club said in a statement. With seven wins and five losses, Ravensburg finished the season in second place in the southern division behind the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns (nine wins, three losses).

So everyone at the Razorbacks is now looking forward to the party on Sunday (3 p.m./Teleata Stadium at Lindenhof, Weingarten). In the play-off quarter-finals, the Ravensburg team will face the New York Lions Braunschweig – a team with a lot of history and success. The 2019 champions also finished the main round in the northern division with a 7:5 record in third place behind the clear title favorites Potsdam Royals (12:0) and the Dresden Monarchs (10:2).

“John Gilligan signaled to us during the season that he would like to work with us long-term,” says department head Frank Kienzle. “We are of course delighted about this, and given the great course of the season, nothing stands in the way of a contract extension.” Sports director Oliver Billstein is also pleased, according to the statement: “With John Gilligan, we have a solid pillar for the next few years and together we will also look for consistent solutions in other important positions.” Gilligan is already in talks with the players for the 2025 season.