Austin is Vice President of Football Operations, GM and HC

My point wasn’t to say since it worked before, it will definitely work now. And I don’t think you’re point was to say that it didn’t work with others so it won’t work now. A wait-and-see approach is definitely what I am taking. Most seem think this will work out, but I recall a lot of the same being written and said about Cortez last year. To steal your ending: we’ll see.

Just one question, where is his office going to be? lol

In Hufnagel’s case, he started only as HC. In 2008, Barker was GM, and Cortez was the OC. He also had a good veteran DC in Chris Jones on whom he could rely. The following year, Huf got promoted to VP football ops, with Barker relinquishing much of his managerial responsibility, until he finally departed in 2010 to head up the Argonauts.

Buono did GM and HC for many years, but had quality football ops people in place to assist him as GM. Moreover, we’re talking about what Buono did after decades of experience.

By contrast, Austin has never been a GM or VP football ops before, and has exactly one year of CFL head-coaching experience. And he is taking on four titles, not two (as with Huf and Buono): HC, GM, VP football ops, and QB coach. There is even the possibility that he may also be the OC! That is way too much for one man, no matter how talented and bright he is.

We have to wait and see how the rest of the football operations are setup. I think the Ticats are possibly playing a game of smoke and mirrors if they are bringing in Tillman but they can't give him a GM title So they give it to Austin and then bring in Tillman under some misc. title, this way they don't lose their existing people and then offload the GM duties to him. I think that's where its heading if Obilovich finally retires. We shall see.

You can’t do the job until you’ve done it before. We don’t know how Austin will do in his new jobs since he has no track record, just like anyone who is a first-time hire. He could fail spectacularly, be a huge success or somewhere in between. That’s the only point I was trying to make. Just because he’s wearing a lot of hats doesn’t mean it won’t work (the reverse is true as well). Austin will succeed or fail based on his own merits, not because it worked or didn’t work somewhere else. We all just have to wait and see.

Specious reasoning. While there is no causative connection between too many job titles and not succeeding, there is certainly a strong correlation between the two, whether or not the person in question is experienced. Sure, we don’t know how Austin will do, but wearing so many different hats (we’re not even talking about two jobs here, but four and possibly five, if he decides against hiring an OC) reduces his chances of being successful, as it does, by and large, for most people, no matter how smart and focused they are. Will Austin be the exception that proves the rule? No way to know, but it’s fair to be skeptical of his chances given the circumstances and the state of the team.

Austin certainly has all the tools like many that have gone through Hamilton. The question is more everything around him, like a quality DC for example or patience...

With last year’s offense and special teams performances by Congi and Williams, it’s a tall order to get more out of their production.

Of course defense is another matter. I don’t think anyone can get any less out of that D.

That offense is good for 500 points even with an average season, the key is bringing the points against down to 400-415 range.

Deal with Austin came together with Catlike quickness, sources say

[url=http://www.thespec.com/sports/ticats/article/856270--deal-with-austin-came-together-with-catlike-quickness-sources-say]http://www.thespec.com/sports/ticats/ar ... ources-say[/url]
Sources say that Mitchell wasn’t keen to dump Cortez, who he’d lured from the Buffalo Bills just a year earlier and has known for more than a decade. However, talks between Mitchell and owner Bob Young that took place in early December convinced both men that moving forward with Cortez was no longer the best course of action. Cortez was fired shortly after — despite the fact Austin wasn’t a lock to replace him.
Mitchell and Austin are longtime friends and have similar ideas on the development of football operations, particularly around advanced scouting techniques and the use of technology in the recruitment and development of players — [b][i][u]something the Ticats have been slow to adapt[/u][/i][/b].
Head scratcher. I don't get it. What's up with that last highlighted part? Not trying to pick on Scott Mitchell, but why would Drew say that Scott Mitchell has ideas about scouting techniques and using technology for recruitment but was slow to adapt them?

[i]
Ron Lancaster - FAIL
Greg Marshall- FAIL
Ron Lancaster part 2 - FAIL
Charlie Taaffe - FAIL
Marcel Bellefeuille - FAIL
George Cortez - FAIL
Kent Austin - (FAIL PENDING?)

Well, cats do have 9 lives, so Johnny guesses that the seventh time's the charm? :roll:

[/i]

who was the coach the last time the ticats won the cup?

I do think that it was Al Bruno.

Richard

1999 Ron Lancaster was the HC

The Cats beat the Stamps 32-21

No kidding. hard to believe anyone has forgotten that already.

RL was a pass in my books. Took a bad team and made it to the GC twice in a row, winning once. If that’s a fail, every HC we’ve ever had is a fail.

I wouldn’t call MB a fail either. He made the playoffs every season except when he was interim HC following Taaffe.

Don’t usually quote myself, but didn’t want this to get lost, as I think it would be a great topic to discuss.

According to Edwards, Scott Mitchell is all set to continue with Cortez, has a talk with Bob Young a week or two ago, and then BLAMMO – Cortez is fired. Did the owner essentially fire the coach? What was discussed, and what was the reasoning at such a strange time?

I think the prevailing thought is that they knew Austin wanted to come here and only then did they decide to fire Cortez, but Drew says otherwise.

Oh, to have been a fly on the wall that day.

Maybe Johnny knows Jerry’s friend George.

Yes, would have been interesting and would have been interesting as well to hear ol’ Ralphie speak of Doug:

Flutie: Finding opportunity and respect has been a career long journey

[i]… player personnel director A.J. Smith and general manager John Butler, are the same guys who hired him four years ago in Buffalo, only to have their will undone by their boss, 84-year-old Bills owner Ralph Wilson.

He didn't like Doug at all,'' A. J. Smith said. Ralph Wilson thinks he’s a personnel guy, and really he hasn’t a clue. He wanted Doug Flutie cut and gone his first camp. He wanted [Pro Bowl receiver] Eric Moulds cut and gone, and he’d just paid him the highest contract in the history of the Buffalo Bills. When you’re working for someone, you protect yourself. You can’t always say what you want to say. But it was very, very difficult.‘’[/i] …

[url=http://articles.courant.com/2001-10-14/sports/0110141274_1_bills-owner-rob-johnson-antowain-smith]http://articles.courant.com/2001-10-14/ ... wain-smith[/url]