Sweden: Örebro Black Knights re-sign HC Branko Mutic
The Örebro Black Knights have announced the re-signing of Branko Mutic as their head coach for the 2026 Swedish Superserien season.
In his first year as head coach, the 37 year old native of Belgrade, Serbia guided the Black Knights to a third place finish with a 6-2 record and a berth in the semifinals. Behind a league best defense (allowed 11.4 pts, 187.6 yds/g) Örebro rebounded from back-to-back dismal seasons. The team’s offense averaged 36.5 points a game (2nd best in the league) behind by far the best ground game (187.2 rushing yds/g).
Mutic had had spent the previous two seasons serving as offensive line coach for the Black Knights as well as with the Swedish national team.
He entered the coaching field after an illustrious 17 year career as a player. He started playing football as an offensive lineman in his native Serbia in 2005 for SBB Vukovi Belgrade. In 2011, he moved to Germany to play for the Saarland Hurricanes in the German Football League and then spent two seasons with the Osnabrück Tigers. In 2015, he signed with the Limhamn Griffins in the Swedish Superserien and remained there for three seasons. Injuries halted his playing career until 2020 when he moved to the Uppsala 86ers. He returned to Serbia and his home club, Vukovi Belgrade where he spent one season before retiring.
Micael Jönsson, Black Knights GM:
“Branko is the kind of leader players want to play for and coaches want to coach with. He brings a rare combination of technical expertise, emotional intelligence, and presence. His background as a top European offensive lineman gives him a deep respect for the work done in the trenches, and that translates into a team identity built on physicality, discipline, and accountability.
“But what truly sets Branko apart is his ability to connect. He listens. He challenges. He inspires. He treats people with honesty and respect — and in doing so, he elevates the standard of everyone around him.
“Over the past season, we’ve seen him transform our culture, our preparation, and our belief in who we can be. Players feel valued and empowered under his leadership, and coaches are aligned and growing alongside him. Branko doesn’t just lead a football team — he builds a program.
“We are proud to have him guiding the Örebro Black Knights, and even prouder of the direction he is leading us.”
Throughout his playing career, he was an anchor of the Serbian national team where he finished as team captain. He played in a total of 12 games for Serbia in the European Championship tournaments starting in 2007 against Austria and finishing in 2021, also against Austria.
