Borussia Mönchengladbach Seek New Coach Amid Crisis

Borussia Mönchengladbach are already staring at a crisis, and it is only three matchdays into the Bundesliga season. The coach is gone, the table makes grim reading, and the search for a successor has begun with a clear budget and a sharp profile in mind.

Four million to fix a problem

According to Bild, sporting director Rouven Schröder has around four million euros at his disposal to bring in a new head coach. That figure gives Gladbach room to manoeuvre, including paying compensation if they decide to lure a coach away from an existing contract. The club know they cannot afford to get this one wrong.

One name stands out: Brian Priske of Sparta Prague. The Danish coach is, according to Tipsbladet, high on Gladbach’s shortlist. The exact duration of the 49-year-old’s contract in Prague is not publicly known, but with the budget available, the Foals are prepared to tackle any buyout issues if they push ahead for him.

Priske is not the only candidate in the frame. Bild also links Alexander Blessin, most recently at St. Pauli, Horst Steffen of SV Werder Bremen, Christian Eichner of Karlsruher SC and Steffen Baumgart of Union Berlin with the vacancy. It is a broad mix: from tactically driven developers to emotionally charged motivators.

Schröder is not working alone. His predecessor Roland Virkus is also heavily involved, now operating in the Scouting & Recruitment directorate with a specific focus on “coach scouting” since July. Together they are sifting through profiles, looking for the right blend of experience, resilience and personality for a team already under severe pressure.

Baumgart: edge, history and a Köln past

One candidate would instantly change the temperature at Borussia-Park: Steffen Baumgart. The 54-year-old, currently at Union Berlin, is renowned for his intensity on the touchline and his uncompromising style. Bild notes that he is on the club’s list, and his appointment would bring what insiders politely call “a certain edge”.

Baumgart’s CV carries a twist that would sting some Gladbach traditionalists. Before his time in Berlin and at HSV, he coached arch-rivals 1. FC Köln. And he did more than just steady the ship there. In his first season, he propelled the Billy Goats to a remarkable seventh place, securing qualification for the Conference League and reigniting the club’s fanbase.

The story did not end in fairy-tale fashion. A sporting slump followed, and in December 2023, Baumgart and Köln parted ways after 98 matches together. Yet that stretch, with its highs and lows, shaped the image of a coach who can both ride momentum and confront adversity.

Even with his Köln background, Baumgart fits the profile Gladbach are believed to be chasing: a coach with Bundesliga experience who has already weathered setbacks and knows how to manage crisis phases without panicking. Decision-makers also value another detail: he is said to have dealt with Gladbach in depth already. He would not arrive needing weeks of video study just to get up to speed.

Right now, speed matters. The situation is described as precarious after only three league games. The table explains why.

Deep in trouble after three matchdays

Gladbach sit 17th in the Bundesliga. Zero points. A goal difference of 3:12. Only HSV are worse off, still goalless at 0:12. That is the company the Foals are keeping at the wrong end of the standings.

The latest blow came in brutal fashion. A 0:5 collapse at SC Freiburg last weekend did more than dent the goal difference; it ended Pawel Polanski’s tenure. The performance in Breisgau was alarming, and for the club hierarchy, it became the tipping point.

Polanski, 40, had originally stepped in as interim coach last season after the dismissal of Gerardo Seoane. Even before the new campaign kicked off, doubts about him lingered. Once promoted to full-time head coach, he never truly shook off the scrutiny.

The numbers underline why. Across 29 matches in charge, Polanski collected an average of just 1.10 points per game. In a league as unforgiving as the Bundesliga, that kind of return drags a club with Gladbach’s ambitions into exactly the kind of fight they are now facing.

So the shortlist grows, the phone calls intensify, and the clock keeps ticking. With four million euros to spend and the season already slipping into dangerous territory, the next man on the Gladbach touchline will not just be a coach. He will be the one asked to stop a slide before it turns into a fall.