The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns, 2018 German Football League champions, will enter the 2019 season in unfamiliar territory. They will be without the services of their starting quarterback, and one of the most successful quarterbacks in Europe over the past five seasons, Marco Ehrenfried.
After leading the Unicorns to back-to-back, undefeated, championship-winning seasons in 2017 and 2018, Ehrenfried has decided to take a step back from football and focus on his career as a teacher.
He explained his decision in an interview with the club:
“I have to and will focus on my professional goals as a teacher over the next few months. After the upcoming teaching apprenticeship, I will have to see how much time I have. As a quarterback, every practice is mandatory which was not easy to do with my studies located in Heidelberg, an hour and a half away. “
From 2014 to 2018, Ehrenfried led the Unicorns to the German Football League South title and to the German Bowl. For the past two years he has helped Schwäbisch Hall to two perfect seasons with 34 consecutive wins and two straight German Bowl titles. In 2014, he won the European Championship with the German national team. In 90 games he threw for 22,352 yards and 267 touchdowns with only 57 interceptions. He averaged 248 passing yards and three touchdown passes and 0.6 interceptions per game. Ehrenfried has won a remarkable 82 of those 90 games.
Unicorns head coach Jordan Neuman:
“This marks the end of a Unicorn era that has helped shape Marco very successfully for five years. Marco has done a great deal for the club and has been a big part of the continuity we’ve been able to show over the last few years.”
Neuman points out that Ehrenfried led the Unicorns offense for 90 consecutive games without a break under incredible pressure:
“Quarterbacking the Unicorns is anything but a simple job, because the expectations are so high. Hardly any other player has come under so much scrutiny and been criticized and questioned as often from outside sources as Marco has. He has stayed above it all and proven that as a German quarterback you can not only make it to the German Bowl, but also win it. “
The 27-year-old Ehrenfried returns the compliments of his coach:
“I was very fortunate to have been mentored by Jordan Neuman as one of Europe’s best quarterback coaches in my youth.”
Neuman was also one of the reasons why Ehrenfried returned to his home club in Schwäbisch Hall for the 2014 season. He had spent two years with the Mannheim Bandits, earning his first spurs as a starting quarterback in the GFL. Previously, he had led the Unicorns U19 team to three south German championships in a row and was named in 2011 to the All-World U19 team.
With Ehrenfried’s retirement, Schwäbisch Hall has mounted the search for a new quarterback:
Neuman:
“We are already well into our recruiting process and discussions and I expect that we will soon be able to introduce Marco’s successor.”