Sebastian Blase resigns as head coach of the Oldenburg Knights without first informing the club management. In September, the football team barely managed to stay in the league.
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Oldenburg – Around two months after barely managing to stay in the GFL2, the Oldenburg Knights suddenly find themselves without a head coach. Sebastian Blase surprisingly announced his departure from the team that plays in the second highest German American football league.
Not coordinated
“After much consideration and with a heavy heart, I had to make the decision to resign and part ways with the Oldenburg Knights,” Blase said on a social network, without first discussing this with those responsible for the Knights. Blase added: “My thanks go to all the players, coaches and supervisors who have become very dear to me. Everyone who believed in our vision and invested their time and effort.”
The resignation apparently hit the Oldenburgers out of the blue. “That surprised us a bit because it hadn’t been discussed with us,” said Knights managing director Rainer Borkmann: “Now we have to sit down together and clarify what happens next.”
Blase, who comes from a handball-loving Oldenburg family, was promoted from assistant coach to head coach at the Knights in July 2023. Shortly before, Marcus Meckes, under whom promotion from the regional league to the GFL2 was successful, had resigned. In the 2023 season (in German American football, a season is played within a calendar year from spring to autumn), the Knights barely managed to stay in the league as sixth in the eight-team league.
Dramatic rescue
This year it was also dramatic: After all other league games had already been played, the Oldenburg team absolutely needed a win in the catch-up game against the Cottbus Crayfish on September 14th (the first game in June had been canceled due to a storm) in order to stay in the league to stay. And it succeeded: With a 36:29 win in Brandenburg, the Knights, who belong to VfL Oldenburg, secured membership in the second division for 2025. The season is scheduled for 10/11. Start in May, but the schedule has not yet been determined.
