Hamburg Sea Devils (ELF)

Last updated
Hamburg Sea Devils
AmericanFootball current event.svg Current season
Established November 4, 2021 (2021-11-04)
Play in Flag of Germany.svg Hamburg, Germany
Hamburg OnBright.svg
League/conference affiliations
European League of Football (2021–present)
  • North Division (2021)
  • Northern Conference (2022)
  • Western Conference (2023–2024)
  • North Division (2025–present)
Current uniform
Team colorsNavy Blue, blue, red, white
    
Personnel
Owner(s)SEH Sports & Entertainment Holding GmbH
General managerMark Weitz
Head coachLee Rowland
Team history
  • Hamburg Sea Devils (2021–present)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (1)
Northern: 2022
Division championships (1)
North: 2021
Playoff appearances (2)
2021, 2022
Home stadium(s)

The Hamburg Sea Devils are an American football team based in Hamburg, Germany. The Sea Devils compete in the European League of Football (ELF) as a member of the North Division. The team plays its home games at Stadion Hoheluft. They played in the ELF Championship Games 2021 and 2022, losing both games.

Contents

History

The Hamburg franchise was announced in November 2020, as part of the inaugural season of the European League of Football. [1] In March 2021, ELF announced it has reached an agreement with the NFL, to be able to use the team names from the days of NFL Europe. On the same day, it was announced Hamburg will use the name of the defunct NFL Europe franchise Hamburg Sea Devils. [2] The Sea Devils also introduced their new head coach, former special teams coach for multiple NFL teams, Ted Daisher. [3] However, he ended up being released only 3 weeks into the inaugural season, because of "different views and expectations regarding the philosophy and leadership of our team". He was replaced by offensive coordinator Andreas Nommensen. [4] The Sea Devils secured the first place in the Division North with seven wins and three defeats. With a 30:27 victory against the Panthers Wrocław in the semi-finals, they secured their way into the first ELF Championship Game. They faced the Frankfurt Galaxy. In a close game until the end, they lost with 30-32.

For the 2022 season, they signed Charles Jones as head coach. Jones had already coached for the old Sea Devils. From July 2022 until the end of the season, former NFL coach and coordinator John Shoop worked as a consultant for the team. Shoop was a coach for various positions on the offensive side until 2015 and among others with the Oakland Raiders Offensive Coordinator. The Sea Devils started the season with a victory over the Berlin Thunder and a defeat against the Barcelona Dragons. From week three, the team had a winning streak of ten games, defended the Northern Conference title and became the best team of the regular season. In the semi-finals in front of the local crowd, the Raiders Tirol were kept at bay with 19-7. In the ELF Championship Game against the Vienna Vikings, the Sea Devils lost with 15-27 in their second ELF championship game.

Jones was extended as head coach for the 2023 season. American Preston Haire was signed as quarterback. With Kasim Edebali and Miguel Boock, two well-known linebackers ended their careers after the 2022 season. On June 11, 2023, Sea Devils played their first home game in Volksparkstadion in front of 32,500 spectators. The Sea Devils lost 22-27. With a 4-8 record, the Sea Devils missed the playoffs for the first time.

After the end of the regular season, the Sea Devils announced the dismissal of Charles Jones as head coach. In addition, defensive coordinator Kendral Ellison joined the Munich Ravens as the new head coach and general manager Max Paatz joined Rhein Fire. For the 2024 season, the American Matt Johnson was hired as head coach, and Brandon Noble as defensive coordinator. The Sea Devils signed Javarian Smith as quarterback and Jarvis McClam as wide receiver. After week 7, Smith was replaced by American D'Angelo Fulfort. The Sea Devils did not play at Stadion Hoheluft this season, but opted to play in several cities across Northern Germany. The team finished the season with a 2-10 record.

In September 2024, the team introduced Shuan Fatah as the new head coach. Previously, Fatah won two German and five Austrian Bowls, and worked for the Sea Devils of the NFL Europe as a running back coach.

Season-by-season

NameCoachRegular seasonPostseasonResultØ Attendance
GPWonLostWin %FinishGPWonLostWin %
2021 Ted Daisher 2201.0001st (North)
Andreas Nommensen853.625211.500Lost 1st Championship Game1,744
2022 Charles "Yogi" Jones 12111.9161st (North)211.500Lost 2nd Championship Game3,520
2023 1248.3334th (Western)DNQ–8,164
2024 Matt Johnson122100.1676th (Western)DNQ–9,277
2025 Lee Rowland1239.2503rd (North)DNQ-3,183

Stadium

The Sea Devils are playing their home games at the 11,000 capacity Stadion Hoheluft.

References

  1. ↑ "Pro football returns to Europe: European League of Football kicks off in 2021". AmericanFootballInternational.com. November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Football-Comeback des Jahres: Hamburg Sea Devils und Frankfurt Galaxy starten in der ELF". ran.de (in German). 9 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  3. ↑ "Ex-NFL-Trainer Ted Daisher wird Head Coach bei Hamburg Sea Devils". ran.de (in German). 12 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  4. ↑ "ELF: Hamburg Sea Devils release HC Ted Daisher". americanfootballinternational.com. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
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