Marcus Herford kicks off the season as the new HC for Cruzeiro Esporte Clube
Graphics: Igor Lazarevic
the Brazilian club team, Cruzeiro Sports Club, have signed Marcus Herford as head coach for the 2022 season.
Cruzeiro begins its regular season at FEMFA – Federação Mineira de Futebol Americano – Sunday, April 24.
Herford recently served as the offensive coordinator for the Berlin thunder of European Football League in 2021.
“I’m super excited and blessed to be part of the Cruzeiro Futebol Americano organization. We’ve worked hard over the past two months and I can’t wait to get out there with these young men here. We have a really good group that I believe are lucky to do amazing things through continuous hard work. This is my first game as head coach since 2017 in Kiel and I’m very excited.”
This is not Herford’s first appearance in Brazil. Before the pandemic, in 2019, he was offensive coordinator for the Galo, situated at Belo Horizonte, where he led an offense that averaged 31 points per game in nine games, including the playoffs.
Before arriving in BrazilHerford led the attack for the Milan Sailors in the Italian Football League, for two years (2018 and 2019) and was the architect of the most successful team in Italy. With Herford leading the attack, the sailors won twice in a row Italian titles after winning the 2017 championship. Before arriving in ItalyHe was head coach of Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (2016-2017). The 36 year old native DeSoto, TX leads the Hurricanes to German semi-finals two years in a row and in 2017 produced the second-best attack in Germany average of 405.7 yards per game.
An exceptional punt receiver/returner in University of Kansashe was named a All-America Pre-Season Returns Specialist in 2008 and Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year in 2007. In 2015, as offensive coordinator Kentucky Wesleyan he coached Keenan Cole, currently a wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Xavier Mitchell, now with the sailors and who was one of the main recipients of the German Football League in 2017.