TOMSULA TO SIT OUT REMAINS OF ELF CAMPAIGN

Reigning European League of Football champions Rhein Fire have made a couple of moves of consequence within their coaching team as they look to break out of a rare two-game losing streak.

The biggest change concerns head coach Jim Tomsula, who has been absent through the first four weeks of the new season, and has now been confirmed as missing the remainder of the campaign for personal reasons.

“This has been a developmental process over the past few weeks and months,” GM Max Paatz explained. “Jim is taking care of his family in the USA where, unfortunately, there have been a few cases of illness. After many years in professional football, it was important to him to be there for his family now. He has always communicated this clearly.”

To provide certainty to all parties and enable the team to focus fully on the remaining games, the decision has been taken that Tomsula should concentrate on family matters, with discussions over an ongoing working relationship to be held in due course. The Fire will continue to be led by erstwhile defensive coordinator Richard Kent, who assumed the head coaching position on an interim basis during the preseason.

Kent says he wants to ‘keep the ship on course and continue to move forward’, but will have to do so without OC Ed Warinner, who mutually agreed to the termination of his contract following the defeat to Paris in Duisburg at the weekend, having apparently asked to be allowed to return to the USA early for personal reasons.

“I would like to thank Coach Warinner for his efforts over the past few months,” Paatz noted. “Rhein Fire is in transition after two very successful years, and the past few weeks have shown that things haven’t been running smoothly on offense, partly due to numerous injuries. The circumstances were anything but easy, and the reasons were complex, but we are parting ways on good terms.

“The team has accepted the decisions calmly. Everyone is aware that we have to get back on track quickly. We have to focus on what we have. Control what you can control.”

Wide receivers coach Mario Schulz will work with the other offensive coaches and quarterbacks Chad Jeffries and Rohat Dagdelen to develop the game plan for the home game against Hamburg this Saturday, and a new OC is expected to be announced next week.

“I would like to express how much I love the Rhein Fire players, coaches, staff, and fans,” Warinner said. “I’ve really enjoyed my time here. Thank you.”

“We’re going through a weak period from which we must recover – and the team is now facing this challenge together.”