April 11, 2016

Ticats face change on offence as OC Condell resigns

Ticats.ca

HAMILTON — Tommy Condell is no longer the offensive coordinator of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, after announcing his resignation on Monday.

The move comes as a surprise, as Condell has been at the helm of one of the league’s top offences since arriving under Head Coach and then-General Manager Kent Austin before the 2013 season.

Condell tweeted the news through his personal twitter account Monday afternoon:

Condell coached on Austin’s staff at Cornell before joining him in Hamilton.

“Today I regretfully announce the resignation of Offensive Coordinator Tommy Condell from our coaching staff, effective immediately,” Austin said in a statement. “Tommy has expressed his need to take this action as serving the best interests of his family.

“When I joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2012, Tommy was my first hire following our three seasons together on the staff at Cornell University. He did an outstanding job with us and was an important part of the winning culture we have put in place here.

“I cherish my relationship with Tommy and that goes beyond coaching,” Austin continued. “He will always be my friend. My trust and respect for him is and will always be extremely high. We coached together for six years, but our relationship goes deeper than that.”

 

Tasked with helping coach a rebuilding Ticats club in 2013, it didn’t take long for Condell to make an impact in Tiger Town. Along with veteran quarterback Henry Burris, Condell helped the Ticats get to the Grey Cup Championship in 2013, eventually a loss to the host Saskatchewan Roughriders.

A year later, despite moving in a different direction on offence from Burris to the young Zach Collaros, the Ticats reached their second Grey Cup Championship in a row before falling to Calgary.

Last season Hamilton ranked third in the league in passing touchdowns and second in the league in passing yards, but wasn’t quite the same following a season-ending injury to Collaros, eventually falling in the Eastern Final to the Ottawa REDBLACKS in heartbreaking fashion.

“I need to thank the Ticats and Coach Austin for the opportunity to coach for a first-class and distinguished organization,” Condell tweeted.

The change comes just over six weeks before the start of training camp, leaving a void on the Ticats’ coaching staff.