Andrew Weidinger (born July 10, 1982) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach who is the head coach of the Madrid Bravos in the

European League of Football The European League of Football (ELF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football sports league, league based in Europe, continuing some team names and logos of the former NFL Europe. The ELF played its first season in 2 ...

(ELF). Weidinger joined the Bravos after serving two seasons as the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

for the

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

in 2023-2024 and one as head coach of the Barcelona Dragons in 2022. Weidinger won back-to-back championships with the Fire and led the Barcelona Dragons to an 8–4 record and their first ever playoff appearance. Weidinger was named the 2022 ELF Coach of the Year for his work with the Dragons and 2023 ELF Assistant Coach of the Year for his work in Rhein. He previously coached for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

, the

Arizona Hotshots The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their ...

of the now defunct

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

and

The University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university established in ...

College coaching

Weidinger began his football and coaching career in 2000 when he enrolled at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

. There he worked as a student assistant and later a graduate assistant on defense. At the end of his college career he was assistant director of football operations with a focus on recruiting and scouting.

Professional coaching

Atlanta Falcons

In 2006 Weidinger had a pre-season internship with the Atlanta Falcons where he assisted in scouting and evaluating of potential players throughout the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

. In 2008 he was hired as assistant to the head coach under Mike Smith. In the 2012 season he was promoted to offensive assistant. He stayed with the Falcons until 2014.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

For the 2015 season Weidinger was hired by the

as an offensive quality control coach. There he reunited with former Falcons OC

Dirk Koetter Dirk Jeffrey Koetter ( ; born February 5, 1959) is an American former college and professional football coach. He recently served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Boise State. He was the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccane ...

who was the OC and head coach for the Bucs. One year later he was promoted to assistant wide receivers coach and was assigned to game management. Weidinger left the franchise following the conclusion of the 2018 season.

Arizona Hotshots

In 2019 Weidinger served as the running backs coach for the

of the

. When the league folded mid-season the Hotshots held a record of 5-3 and all three of their RB's were in the Top 11 of th
league leaders in rushing

European coaching

Potsdam Royals

In March of 2021 Weidinger was named the offensive coordinator of the Potsdam Royals in the

German Football League The German Football League (GFL) is a professional American football league in Germany. The league was formed in 1979. In 1999, the league changed to its current name from American-Football-Bundesliga.

. The Royals finished the season 7-3, losing to the

Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns are an American football team from Schwäbisch Hall, Germany founded in 1983. The club's greatest successes were winning the southern division title in the German Football League in 2009 and in every season played s ...

in the Semi-Finals.

Barcelona Dragons

Weidinger was announced as the head coach of the Barcelona Dragons of the

in March of 2022. The Dragons had recorded a record of 3-7 in 2021 but improved to 8-4 in 2022 under Weidinger earning him Coach of the Year honors. They reached the playoffs, where they were eliminated by the

Vienna Vikings The Vienna Vikings is a professional American football club based in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1983, the Vikings are known as one of Europe's most dominant clubs, having won the Eurobowl title five times (2004–2007 and 2013), as well as be ...

in the semifinals. On September 13, 2022, the team announced that they had parted ways.

Rhein Fire

Weidinger was announced as the offensive coordinator for the

of the

on September 27, 2022. The Fire finished the regular season unscathed at 12-0. They remained unbeaten in the playoffs, overcoming the

Stuttgart Surge The Stuttgart Surge are an American football team based in Stuttgart, Germany. They play in the European League of Football (ELF) as part of the league's Devision West . The team plays its home games at the Gazi Stadion (full name with sponsor ' ...

53-34 in the championship game to become the first undefeated champions in ELF history. In his first season with the Fire, Weidinger's offense led the league in Points, Total Yards, Passing Yards, Touchdowns, Passing Touchdowns and 3rd Down Conversions. The performance of his unit once again earned Weidinger recognition from the league, this time as the Assistant Coach of the Year. Weidinger remained the offensive coordinator in Rhein for the 2024 ELF season. The team lead the league in Rushing Yards and Rushing Touchdowns while ranking 3rd in Total Points, Touchdowns and 3rd Down Conversions. The Rhein Fire had a record of 11-1 in the regular season en route to a second consecutive ELF Championship, beating the

51-20 in front of 41,364 fans at

Veltins-Arena Arena AufSchalke (), currently known as Veltins-Arena () for sponsorship reasons, is a retractable roof and pitch, football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened on 13 August 2001, as the new home ground for FC S ...

in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Madrid Bravos

On October 1, 2024, Weidinger became the head coach of the Madrid Bravos.

References

External links

University of Arizona bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weidinger, Andrew 1982 births Living people Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Atlanta Falcons coaches European League of Football coaches German Football League coaches Coaches of American football from Arizona Arizona Wildcats football coaches Arizona Hotshots coaches Sportspeople from Phoenix, Arizona American expatriate sportspeople in Germany Madrid Bravos coaches