BELLEFEUILLE, MILLER, TRESTMAN NOMINEES FOR 2009 CFL COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD
“All three gentlemen are a credit to our league and their organizations”: Canadian Football League Commissioner Mark Cohon

TORONTO -- Marcel Bellefeuille, Ken Miller, and Marc Trestman are the nominees for the 2009 Canadian Football League Coach of the Year Award, the league announced today.

“All three of these gentlemen are a tremendous credit to our league and their organizations, leading their teams to successful 2009 seasons on the field, while displaying their customary class on the sidelines and in the community,” said CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon.

“We’re thrilled they have been nominated for this prestigious award by the Football Reporters of Canada, and we’re very pleased that all three will be back in the CFL for the upcoming 2010 season. I want to congratulate them on behalf of our Board of Governors, and our fans across the country.”

Marc Trestman will be in his third season as Head Coach of the Montreal Alouettes in 2010 after leading the team to a franchise-best 15-3-0 record in 2009 and guiding the Als to the ultimate destination, the Grey Cup championship.

He has led the Alouettes to the CFL’s best record over the last two seasons with an overall mark of 26-10-0, two East Division Championships, two Grey Cup appearances, and now a Grey Cup victory, a thrilling 28-27 win over Saskatchewan last November.

His impressive NCAA and NFL coaching resume includes successful stints tutoring some of the greatest quarterbacks in U.S. history, including Bernie Kosar, Steve Young and Rich Gannon. He has been credited with helping the Alouettes’ superb quarterback Anthony Calvillo, the Most Outstanding Player in the CFL in 2008 and 2009, reach new heights.

Ken Miller is entering his third season as head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders after leading his team to first place in the ultra-competitive CFL West Division with a 10-7-1record in 2009, and a berth in the 2009 Grey Cup.

Miller first joined the Saskatchewan coaching staff in 2007 as offensive co-ordinator, playing a key role in a ‘Rider offence that led the CFL in touchdowns that year and helped win the Grey Cup.

Prior to joining the CFL as an assistant coach with the Toronto Argonauts in 2002, Miller spent nearly four decades coaching at the university and high school level in southern California. Going into 2010, he will be the Riders’ Vice-President of Football Operations as well as their Head Coach.

Marcel Bellefeuille led the resurgent Hamilton Tiger-Cats to a 9-9 record, second place in the CFL’s East Division, and the team’s first playoff berth since 2004.

An Ottawa native, Bellefeuille has also coached In Montreal, Saskatchewan, and at the University of Ottawa, where the Gee-Gees captured the 2000 Vanier Cup, one year after he was named the 1999 OQIFC Coach of the Year.

In 2010, Bellefeuille will be back at the helm of the Tiger-Cats, considered one of the up and coming teams in the CFL.

The 49th Coach of the Year Award will presented at a luncheon on Friday, March 5th at the conclusion of the annual CFL Congress meetings in Edmonton, Alberta.

The three finalists were nominated by 50 voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada.