In a shocking move following the Hildesheim Invaders third straight defeat this past weekend, the club has released head coach Matt LeFever along with offensive coordinator Matt Crockett and defensive coordinator Winston Higgins.
On Saturday, Hildesheim were beaten by the Dresden Monarchs 31-14 dropping them to 9-4 on the year. They had lost to the Cologne Crocodiles and Braunschweig New Yorker Lions in the two weeks previous which apparently triggered the firing by Hildesheim General Manager Frank Meyer who issued this statement:
“The Hildesheim Invaders and the trio of head coach Matt LeFever, offensive coordinator Matt Crockett and defensive coordinator Winston Huggins are going their separate ways.The three will no longer be a part of the team. We thank the coaches for what they’ve achieved so far. Breakups are rare andb ut the team did not perform as we expected it to, which is a development we have been observing for some time now and have not been able to watch anymore.”
Heading into the game against the Lions, a 37-0 loss, the Invaders were a solid 9-1 and sat in second place in the GFL North and were the most improved team in the country this year. However, partway through that game, starting quarterback Casey Therriault, one of the key reasons for the success of the club to that point, left the game with a sprained ankle. Therriault returned for the game against Dresden. The team also lost the services of the team’s leading receiver, Nate Morris in the same game.
LeFever had been instrumental in the signing of Therriault, one of the best quarterbacks to play in Europe in the past six years. The Invaders
No announcement has yet been made as to replacements for the trio. Hildesheim will be facing the Potsdam Royals in the final regular season game of the year this weekend.
LeFever is the fourth head coach to be fired in the GFL this year. Former Allgau Comets head coach Jeff Scurran as well as Dusseldorf Panther head coach John Leijten and Marburg Mercenaries head caoch Dale Heffron were all let go earlier in the season.