Six straight defeats followed however, including a 31–0 shutout to the Amsterdam Admirals and an overtime loss to the Fire, before winning the final game of the regular season 22–9 against British rivals the London Monarchs.

[3] The Claymores made an aggressive marketing push for the 1996 campaign under new general manager Mike Keller, which even included bringing in former Scotland Rugby union captain Gavin Hastings as a placekicker.

[4] Starting 1996 where they had left off 1995, the Claymores opened with an overtime victory over the London Monarchs, followed up with home wins against the Barcelona Dragons (23–13) and the Amsterdam Admirals (21–14).

Despite defeat away to Rhein the 3–1 start propelled the Claymores into a mid-season showdown with the unbeaten Frankfurt Galaxy on 11 May, where under WLAF rules the winner would advance to the World Bowl as hosts.

The hosts rode three touchdown passes from Ballard to game MVP Yo Murphy and held off a late rally to win 32–27, thus completing the WLAF's first worst-to-first turnaround in front of a crowd of 38,982.

Sean LaChapelle was a thousand-yard receiver but forced out of the World Bowl with a groin injury, while Yo Murphy managed five touchdowns on the season.

Safety James Fuller shared Coghill's total of five interceptions, while defensive tackle Jerold Jeffcoat – brother of the Dallas Cowboys' Jim – had five sacks on the season.

[7] Quarterback time was shared between the San Francisco 49ers' Dave Barr and the Miami Dolphins' Spence Fischer (who doubled as occasional punter).

[9] A much-changed 1998 roster saw World Bowl-winning quarterback Jim Ballard back in Scotland after missing 1997; however, two of the team's offensive leaders from the previous year, Siran Stacy, and Yo Murphy, did not return.

[10] Jim Criner led his team into the opening game in Barcelona, where kicker Gary Parker missed what would have been a game-winning field goal from 31 yards, the Claymores losing out 19-18.

Their 1-4 start made World Bowl qualification very unlikely; their week 6 defeat to the Fire (perfect to this point in the season) sealed their fate.

[12] Off the field, it was a troubled season for Scotland in the now rebranded NFL Europe League, where leaked information that a third German team was to be founded to add to the already successful Fire and Galaxy sparked concerns the Claymores may be closed down: eventually however, it would be the England Monarchs who would be replaced by the Berlin Thunder, ending the Battle of Britain rivalry series tied at 4-4.

The Claymores then hammered the league's newest team, the Berlin Thunder, 48-14, Shon Bell catching two touchdown passes from tight-end.

The helmet and number 2 jersey Craig wore that night are on display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Pepe Pearson scored the second half's only touchdown for the Fire, leaving Rob Hart to attempt a game-tying field goal with eight seconds left; it sailed left, and Scotland lost World Bowl VIII in what turned out to be Criner's last game as head coach as he would depart for the XFL[19] 2000 was much more successful offensively for Scotland; Aaron Stecker, an allocation from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was the first Scotland running back to near Stacy's early-season figures with 774 rushing yards, 276 receiving yards and 11 total touchdowns.

For 2001 – the first season under Criner's replacement, Gene Dahlquist and the first home campaign that would be played entirely in Glasgow – the new Scotland quarterback was the Dallas Cowboys' Clint Stoerner; however offensive leaders of 2000 like Stecker failed to return.

Scotland did not contest a game decided by less than ten points throughout the season's remainder; three straight wins took them back to a promising 4-3, but back-to-back defeats against the Berlin Thunder ended World Bowl hopes.

[24] Driesbach completed just 95 passes all season, and was replaced with James Brown; totalling just 1518 offensive yards were top receivers McCready and Dondre Gilliam.

For 2003, Craig Nall was recruited from the Green Bay Packers to play at quarterback; Scott McCready was one of few players to return for a second Claymores season.

[28] Dahlquist was fired after the 2003 season, and after the Barcelona Dragons became the second NFL Europe team to be relocated to Germany (becoming the Cologne Centurions) their head coach Jack Bicknell stepped into the vacancy.

[30] While Scotland's attendance average over their 10-season history of 11,306 was comparable to some Scottish Premier League clubs,[31] teams in Germany were able to consistently bring in more support.

[33] Despite closing, the Scottish Claymores identity is being maintained to induct players to their Hall of Fame, and as a means for promoting amateur American football in Scotland.