In March 2021, it was announced that a new franchise in Cologne is one of the eight teams to play in the inaugural season of the European League of Football. The team would be named Cologne Centurions, taking the identity of the former NFL Europe team, after the league reached an agreement with the NFL for the naming rights. [1]
After not hearing anything from the Centurions for a long time, it was announced on February 3 that Anes Hodzic is the new managing director of Cologne Football Betreiber GmbH. [2]
Just under two weeks later, Javan Lenhardt was introduced as the new head coach. [3]
On March 28, insolvency proceedings were initiated against Cologne Football Betreiber GmbH.
A new company, CH Sport Betreiber GmbH, was founded. [4]
On April 14, a new management duo was announced in the form of Kevin Tewe and Senad Mecavica. [5]
On April 29, Tewe announced that he would not be joining the Centurions after all. The reason he gave was the high level of effort involved in the operational business. [6][7]
As the local newspaper Kölner Stadtanzeiger reported on May 17, a criminal complaint has been filed with the Cologne public prosecutor's office against the persons responsible for Cologne Football Betreiber GmbH - among other things on suspicion of deliberately delaying insolvency.[8]
Gregg Brandon, who already has over 40 years of college experience, has been hired as the new head coach. The Centurions have secured the services of Jag Bal as defensive coordinator.
Brandon left the Centurions after the seventh game day for health reasons. His position as head coach was taken over by Jag Bal. Offensive line coach Greg Studrawa was appointed as the new offensive coordinator.
As the Cologne stadiums were occupied during the 2024 European Football Championship, the Centurions played their first four home games at the Tivoli in nearby Aachen. However, with the exception of the first game with Rhein Fire as the opponent (8,558 spectators), the attendance was disappointing. The remaining two home games took place in Cologne's Südstadion.
In sporting terms, Cologne, who were rated as clear underdogs before the season, managed to surprise somewhat. In particular, they managed two wins against both the Frankfurt Galaxy and the Hamburg Sea Devils. Overall, the Centurions finished in fourth place in the strong Western Conference with a balanced record (6-6).
Kahlil Carter was hired as the new head coach in October 2022. [9] Carter most recently served as the defensive coordinator of the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL in 2018, as well as coaching high school football.
In mid-October 2022, Quarterback Jan Weinreich announced that he would not play for the Centurions in 2023. [10]
On March 17, 2023, the Centurions announced the retirement of Kahlil Carter from the head coaching position. [11] He was succeeded by Christos Lambropoulos, who had been the Centurions' offensive coordinator in the previous season.
The season was disappointing in sporting terms. Not a single win was achieved in the strong Western Conference. Only in the interconference games against the Prague Lions did Cologne manage to win twice. There were also two wins off the field due to the withdrawal of the Leipzig Kings.
At the beginning of October 2023, the Centurions announced that they would not be renewing the contracts of Sporting Director David Drane, Head Coach Christos Lambropoulos, Defensive Coordinator Javan Lenhardt, OL Coach Jason Tillery and RB Coach Glynn Mansfeld.
In the second season, Frank Roser took over as head coach. [12] In early April, Runningback Madre London moved to the Pittsburgh Maulers in the newly formed USFL. [13] The Centurions started the season with two wins, but then suffered nine straight losses. The team thus finished the season in third place in the Southern Conference. After the final game of the 2022 regular season, Frank Roser announced that he had resigned from his position as head coach of the Centurions by mutual agreement.
After finishing 5–5 in the regular season, Cologne advanced to the play-offs where they were eliminated by eventual champion Frankfurt Galaxy in the first round. After the season, their Head Coach Kirk Heidelberg left the organization, reportedly in mutual agreement.
The Centurions were playing their home games at Südstadion between 2021 and 2023. The stadium has a capacity of 11,748 capacity including 1,863 covered seats. It's also the home stadium of the soccer club Fortuna Köln.
The last two games of the 2021 season were played at Ostkampfbahn, a small stadium (capacity 333) next to the biggest stadium in Cologne, the Rheinenergiestadion.
The last two games of the 2023 season were played at Sportpark Höhenberg. The stadium mainly used by soccer club Viktoria Köln has a capacity of 8,343 including 3,226 seating.
As the stadiums in Cologne were not available, Centurions play the first four games of the 2024 season at Tivoli in Aachen, about 70 kilometres west of Cologne. Tivoli has a capacity of 32.960 with 19.345 seating.
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