The Staff Behind the New Vikings Standard

Heading into the 2026 season the Vikings are once again back in Norway after a couple of seasons in the Swedish Superseries. The Vikings have assembled quite the coaching staff with a lot of football experience. This coaching staff will quite possibly also be the biggest coaching staff in Norway. Let’s get down to business, starting off with everyone’s favorite: the offense!

Jonas Hagerup – Assistant OC and Offensive Line We are kicking things off with the big men up front and their coach, Jonas Hagerup. Jonas has been a part of the Vikings for ages, starting at the youth level and progressing up to the senior level. When Norway was too easy, he went to City College in San Franscisco, before coming back to Europe to play in the ELF. With multiple years of experience in the ELF and college, Jonas has been around a lot of different coaches and offensive ideologies. When he has been with the Vikings, he has also stepped in and helped coach the offensive line. This year, he is officially the offensive line coach and will share his immense experience with the Vikings offensive line.

Dennis Isberg – Quarterbacks and Wide Receivers Even though the Vikings are back in Norway, they still have a Swede! Dennis Isberg is a familiar name to Vikings faithful. In a previous life, Dennis suited up for the Kristiansand Gladiators, where he had a good couple of seasons as their QB1. Now, having come to his senses, Dennis is joining the Vikings as their QB, and QB/WR’s coach. In this role he brings tons of playing experience to the table, as well as national team coaching experience where he was the RB coach for the men’s senior national team that beat Belgium in a friendly game this past August.

Frode Bratbak – Running Backs Frode Bratbak started his football career with the Åsane Seahawks in 1999, and has experience playing and coaching multiple positions. Frode played mostly guard and center early in his playing career. In the 2003/2004 season, Frode joined the Seahawks staff coaching juniors, before moving to Trondheim in 2004. Here he would continue to play guard and center before eventually moving to Oslo and joining the Vikings. With the Vikings, Frode switched positions to the other side of the ball, playing defensive line and linebacker before moving to running back in 2014. He also started coaching running backs with the Vikings u17 and u19 teams. He eventually made his way to the senior team and has been a part of the Vikings senior coaching staff since hanging up his cleats. A football memory that sticks out for Frode is a comeback win against the Seahawks a couple of years ago, winning 37-36 after a massive comeback with Victor Mila Berg and Tryge Langballe playing OL with him, and then Head Coach Derek Mann playing emergency QB to seal a D2 win.

Andre Wang Engedahl – Wide Receivers Possibly the longest tenured Viking of all time, if not Norwegian football’s longest tenured, Andre has played since football was invented. This man also has experience playing for the men’s senior national team. As a player, Andre was known for his speed, blocking prowess, and playing the game at a million miles an hour. Andre has seen it all and done it all, and will use that experience to coach up the next generation of great Vikings receivers. Fun fact, Andre has played more seasons than the youngest player on the team has been alive. (Editors note: this fun fact has not been fact checked, but it feels like it’s true).

Elias Kjelling – Offensive Coordinator After a year with the enemy, Elias Kjelling is back in red and white as the Vikings offensive coordinator. Elias has a great deal of coaching experience, having coached pretty much every age group in football with the Vikings, and he was recently named co-head coach of the u17 national team. With a background playing and coaching offensive line, you can be sure this offense will work like a well-oiled machine with a strong unit up front.

Now, onto everyone else’s favorite: Defense!

Alexander Andric – Defensive Line They say games are won in the trenches, and the Vikings are lucky to have Alexander Andric whipping this group into shape. Alexander went through the ranks as a player for the Vikings, playing junior ball and eventually suiting up for the senior team. He quickly became a menace on the field, spearheading a defensive line that helped the Vikings go on an undefeated streak and multiple national championships spanning 2014-2018. Alexander has even played college ball at the University of Houston. After his playing days, Alexander has stepped in as a coach for the seniors and u17s. This man always brings the energy and has tons of football knowledge and experience that he is more than happy to share.

Carl Mathisen – Assistant DC Carl has accomplished a lot in a short period of time, having played 7 seasons and taking home muliple national championships and individual accolades such as a Defensive Player of the Year award, and becoming a multiple year captain. One of his favorite memories from football is the 2023 national championship, bringing home the trophy after seeing it go to Eidsvoll 1814s the year before. As a coach Carl has been around as an assistant with the senior team, and has coached the u17 team for four years, serving as the defensive coordinator for three of them.

Olav Toftdahl – Co-DC and Linebackers Yet another man that has played for the Vikings throughout all junior levels, and with the seniors. Olav’s experience as a player stretches further than that though, as he has played professionally in the ELF with the Leipzig Kings. Coaching wise, Olav spent this fall as the head coach and defensive coordinator of the Vikings D2 team, orchestrating a defense that only allowed a total of 39 points through 5 games. A teacher on the sideline, Olav has a way of getting all 11 players on the same page, which is crucial for a good defensive unit.

Jesse Alderfer – Co-DC, Defensive Backs, and Strength and Conditioning Jesse first came to Norway and the Vikings as an import player, but over the years he has transitioned into a coaching role. His first year coaching was in 2014 when he was an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for the senior team. In 2015 he upgraded to Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator, and one of his favorite football memories comes from a preseason trip in 2015. The Vikings traveled to Denmark for a preseason game where the defense set the tone with some big hits, and the team veterans showed great leadership while the young up-and-comers showed they can ball out. In 2016 Jesse reprised his role as HC and DC and authored a season capped off by the first of four consecutive national championships. Add on two more years as DC in 2019 and 2022 and becoming the DC of the men’s senior national team in 2024, Jesse has many years of coaching experience that will be put to great use this season.

Adam Lukasiewicz - Head Coach One key element of the coaching staff is still missing here, and that is of course Adam Lukasiewicz, our new Head Coach. This man has stocked up on experienced coaches and will lead the team and coaching staff into battle this coming season. He first joined the Vikings in 2015 as a player, and worked his way up to starter by 2017. He played for three seasons before the old Frogner turf got the best of his knee. Adam’s coaching career began in 2019, serving as DC for the u17 team and the championship winning u19 team the same year. In 2022 he took over as the DC for the elite’s fall season, and the 2026 season will be his first as Head Coach. Our new HC’s favorite football memories comes from the sidelines, like winning a must-win game against the Predators this past spring, or traveling to Örebro and completing a quarter-final upset in 2024. THE favorite was watching Red (Sigurd Bøe Stenseng) turn the tide with a pick-6 in the eventual national championship win in 2023.

Looking forward to the 2026 season, our new Head Coach had this to say: «These are exciting times for the Elite team heading into 2026. There will be great competition back to here in Norway, with teams gearing up to give us their best shot. We’re focused on being the best we can be, and we’ve got the coaching staff and group of guys to build something special! The offseason couldn’t have gone better thus far, and we’ll keep progressing well into the new year.»

And with that the editor says: Everyone aboard the hype train!