BD Kennedy returns to lead Team Sweden as IFAF European & World Championships loom

AFI | American Football | 09/15/2022

Graphic: Igor Lazarevic

BD Kennedy will return as the head coach of Team Sweden as the squad heads into the European Championship qualifying phase this fall with the ultimate goal of reaching the 2023 World Championships.

Together with also returning general manager Robert Sundberg, Kennedy led Sweden to the European Championship title game in 2021 when they beaten by Team Italy.

Kennedy served as general manager of the Carlstad Crusaders in 2022 after returning to coach the team from 2019 to 2021. During that team, he guided the team to two Swedish title games winning once, in 2020.

The amiable native of Blanchard, Oklahoma returned to the Swedish national team in 2019 and took the team all the way to the European final in 2021. During that time, Sweden defeated Russia, Great Britain and Finland before the title game against Italy. This was Kennedy’s second stint with Team Sweden. Kennedy served as Team Sweden’s offensive coordinator when the team won the European Championships in 2005 and head coach in 2007.

Kennedy originally came to Carlstad in 2002 as head coach, serving for three seasons before moving to the Arlanda Jets in 2005 where he stayed until 2012. He has served in a number of capacities with the club, coaching the Crusaders U19 team as well as working as both the offensive line coach for the men’s team and as offensive coordinator. The Crusader teams that he coached in the early 2000s reached three Swedish Super Series finals as well as winning the 2003 EFAF Cup championship over Austria’s Swarco Raiders after a 24+ hour bus ride one way to Austria. With Arlanda, he reached the Swedish final in 2008.

Before coming to Sweden, Kennedy was a graduate assistant at Baylor University for two seasons, offensive line coach at Hutchinsson Community College for two seasons, and offensive line coach at Washburn University for 11 seasons.

Kennedy and Sundberg have assembled an impressive coaching staff including Robert Johansson as offensive coordinator and Patrik Lundqvist as defensive coordinator. Positional coaches include Joakim Holm, Erik Ahlberg, Matthew Retzlaff, Robin Jutwreten and former national team coach Andreas Ehrenreich.