Coaching staff announced

Ross, 64, previously spent three seasons with the BC Lions as Defensive Line Coach from 2015 to 2017, and has 40years of coaching experience in the NCAA, NFL and CFL ranks. In 2016, Ross crafted a pool of talented linemen which helped the Lions defense record 52 sacks and a tie for the league lead. Alex Bazzie racked-up a team and career-high 11 sacks propelling him to his first West Division All-Star selection. Ross’ big men up front also led the club to the second-fewest rushing yards against in 2016.
Melvin, 59, spent the 2018 season as Defensive Line Coach with the BC Lions on Washington’s staff. Under Melvin’s watch, the Lions tied for the league lead with 45 quarterback sacks, and defensive ends Shawn Lemon and Odell Willis tied for third in the CFL with 11 sacks each. The Aurora, Illinois native has over 30 years coaching experience, including three stops as a defensive line coach in the NFL with the New England Patriots (2000-01), Cleveland Browns (2005-08) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012-13).

“We sincerely want to thank Dennis ‘Deke’ McPhee, Corey Grant, Jerry Glanville, Frank Ganz Jr., Will Fields and Robert Lyles for their dedication and hard work with the Tiger-Cats,? said Steinauer. “They are all great men who made significant contributions to our accomplishments as an organization and we wish them the best in the future.?

Wow Condell. That one came out of nowhere. Must be the future OC in waiting.

Tommy Condell…

Look at that…

Cue the “how could we ever let this coach go” comments.

McPhee gone? Not liking that.

Looks like Orlondo really wants to fix our weak pass rush. Bringing in Ross and Melvin should greatly improve that aspect of our game. :slight_smile:

If you want to fix the pass rush, we should try better players.

I’m sure he’s a great guy, but under McPhee, our D Line got zero pressure on the QB last year. That’s reality. And don’t blame that all on Glanville.

Change can be good.

Washington has brought two defensive assistants from BC with him. You have to think he will also target some key free agent defensive players from BC, too.

True but a better coaching scheme should also help, motivate and inspire.

Interesting chicken & egg argument. Is it the players, or the coaches? Or both?

When McPhee coached Joe Montford, the D-line sure looked good. But I suppose one cannot always count on having the greatest lineman of his generation on one’s squad.

Sad to see Cory Grant go. I thought he did an outstanding job with our RBs.

Big changes, and overall I would say a significant upgrade. Great to see Condell and Jeff R back in Hamilton. Sorry to see McPhee gone, but the DC needs to be comfortable with his assistants. I feel very good about this group. Now we need to ensure we keep/find excellent players for them to work with.

It will be interesting to see how much influence Jones allows Condell to have over the QBs. I recall Collaros crediting Condell as the coach that taught him the most, even when Austin held the reins.

From Masoli’s perspective, Condell was the OC at a time when JM dropped as low as fourth on the QB depth chart, but also as high as first. I don’t remember ever reading anything specific about how well they got along. It is only under Jones that Masoli has truly shone.

I’d say both, but coaching to a much lesser extent: 30% to 70% talent. No way our 98/99 D line is as dominant without Montford’s natural talent.

I had no idea that Tommy Condell was so young. I thought he was more in the Kent Austin range.

It’s a bit surprising because Grant and Steinauer have a long history together, dating back to being teammates in 1999. They also both served as assistants under Austin starting in 2013.

They say relationships are everything when coaches assemble their staff. Either there is something we don’t know about this relationship, or perhaps it was a salary cap issue and Steinauer decided it was more important to have the other assistant coaches he most wanted (who came with high price tags).

I found it interesting, when last year’s staff was announced, that nobody was named as being the person coaching receivers. And, I don’t know who actually did coach them – Jones? Steinauer? Grant?

This year, with Grant gone, nobody is named as coaching the running backs.

Pleased to see Craig Butler promoted to DB Coach.

Seems like a fine group, nice to see Tommy and Jeff back. ;D ;D

Sad to see him go as well . Hopefully he catches on elsewhere in the coaching world.
Also have to agree with you on his outstanding job working with our RB’s and improved ground game last season .

It is interesting to note that not only does the new staff not list a RB coach but is also listing only 10 coaches total which is one under the maximum allowance this season of an 11 man staff . Perhaps Coach “O” has another as yet unnamed hire to announce as our new backfield coach ? If not I could see either Jones or Condell perhaps double dipping in looking after the RB position this season as well as their other assigned duties .

Also have to say that I’m also pleased as well to see Craig Butler retained and promoted up the ladder as our new DB Coach . I feel that CB is a strong up and comer in the Coaching ranks with nothing but upside ahead of him as he gains more experience on the job . IMO Butler should have a very bright future in the league for years to come .

Looks like we are finally in overdrive now in preparation for the coming season.

It is great to see His Shortness Tommy Condell back…same with Jeff Reinebold.

I’ll bet more player departures will be announced soon with an influx of new prospects for training camp.

The big question for me is Masoli. Will he be looking at some new competition for the starter’s job this season?

Hello, new OC in 2020.