CFL.ca Staff
HAMILTON — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats officially announced the hiring of Kent Austin as the club’s new General Manager and Head Coach.
Austin, who left the Canadian Football League following the 2007 season to pursue a coaching opportunity at the University of Mississippi, returns after leading the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a Grey Cup in his first and only season as a head coach.
“We are extremely excited to announce Kent Austin as our lead football executive and head coach. Kent brings a combination of expertise and leadership with a track record of success that we feel makes him perfect fit for our organization. It’s a tremendous day in TigerTown,” said President Scott Mitchell.
He was most recently the head coach at Cornell University.
Last week, the Tiger-Cats made headlines after relieving George Cortez of his head coaching duties after one season and transitioning former General Manager Bob O’Billovich into a consulting role.
Austin, who is now one of only two in the league to take on the dual role of General Manager and Head Coach, started his coaching career in 2003 as the quarterbacks coach with the Ottawa Renegades following a stellar 8-year CFL career as a quarterback.
“I am honoured to join the Hamilton Tiger-Cats organization. There are a lot of reasons to be excited about this opportunity, namely the strong ownership in place, a very passionate group of fans behind us and the chance for immediate success. I can’t wait to begin working on our goal of bringing another Grey Cup championship to the city of Hamilton,” said Austin.
Austin joined the Toronto Argonauts coaching staff in 2004 as an offensive coordinator, helping lead them to a Grey Cup that season and a first place finish the following year before being let go in the middle of the 2006 season.
In 2007, he joined the Riders, winning the CFL Coach of the Year following the Grey Cup win.
As a player, Austin passed for over 36,000 yards and one two Grey Cups – one with Saskatchewan (1989) and one with BC (1994).
More to come…
