Borussia Mönchengladbach Searches for New Coach Amid Urgency
Borussia Mönchengladbach are searching for a new coach with urgency – and with money on the table.
According to Bild, sporting director Rouven Schröder has around four million euros at his disposal to solve the problem on the touchline. That sum gives Gladbach the freedom to pay compensation if they decide to prise a coach away from an existing contract rather than gamble on a free agent.
One name keeps coming up.
Priske tops a crowded shortlist
Brian Priske of Sparta Prague is said to be high on Gladbach’s list, as reported by Danish outlet Tipsbladet. The 49-year-old Dane has rebuilt his reputation in the Czech top flight, but the exact duration of his current deal in Prague is not publicly known. That uncertainty could make negotiations tricky, but the budget in Mönchengladbach means it will not be a deal-breaker if Sparta demand a fee.
Priske is not the only candidate under serious consideration. Bild also links Gladbach with Alexander Blessin (most recently at St. Pauli), Horst Steffen (currently at SV Werder Bremen), Christian Eichner (Karlsruher SC) and Steffen Baumgart (Union Berlin).
The process is being driven by more than one voice. Schröder is working through the options together with his predecessor Roland Virkus, who since July has been operating in the Scouting & Recruitment directorate, specialising in “coach scouting”. The club want this appointment to be precise, not panicked.
Baumgart stands out on that list for one reason: edge. If he walks into the Borussia-Park dugout, the touchline will not be quiet for long.
Baumgart: from Köln cult figure to Gladbach candidate
Where was Steffen Baumgart most recently employed? Before landing at Union Berlin and HSV, he built his reputation just down the Rhine – at 1. FC Köln, of all clubs, Gladbach’s arch-rivals.
In his first season with the Billy Goats, Baumgart dragged Köln to a sensational seventh-place finish and a ticket to the UEFA Europa Conference League. High-intensity football, emotional touchline performances, a team that ran itself into the ground for him – he became a cult figure.
The story did not end in fairy-tale fashion. A sporting downturn set in, results dipped, and in December 2023 Köln and Baumgart went their separate ways after 98 competitive matches together. The separation hurt, but it did not erase what he had shown: he can stabilise a wobbling club and push it above its expected level.
Even with his Köln past, Baumgart fits the profile Gladbach’s hierarchy are said to be chasing – a coach with Bundesliga experience, hardened by setbacks, who knows how to work in crisis mode. Decision-makers also value another detail: he has already dealt intensively with Gladbach as an opponent. He would not arrive needing weeks of video study just to understand the squad and the club’s environment.
Time is a luxury Gladbach do not have.
A table that tells a brutal truth
After only three matchdays, the situation is already precarious. Gladbach sit 17th in the Bundesliga, pointless and exposed, with a goal difference of 3:12. Only HSV, still goalless at 0:12, are worse off.
The latest blow cut deep. A 0:5 collapse at SC Freiburg last weekend did more than dent the goal difference – it ended Eugen Polanski’s tenure.
Polanski, 40, had initially stepped in as interim coach last season after the dismissal of Gerardo Seoane. Even before this campaign kicked off, doubts surrounded his promotion to permanent head coach. Over 29 matches in charge, he collected an average of just 1.10 points per game. The numbers never truly argued his case.
The Freiburg debacle removed the last layer of protection. The club acted. Now the dugout is empty, the pressure is rising, and a shortlist sits on Schröder’s desk.
Gladbach have money, names and a clear need. The next decision will define whether this season becomes a rescue mission or something far darker.
