Kent Austin

Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1

This is getting interesting. I'm starting to believe Rod Pederson. Of course the Cats are denying everything. They don't want anyone to know until it's time to make an announcement.

Pedersen:"The #Ticats have reached out 2 him & he's wiling 2 listen. The Riders though wnt B outbid 4 Austin." #Ticats #Sskroughriders
Pedersen:"The #Ticats r furious with me but I know the truth."
Pedersen:"I have a tough time believing it's a done deal. But thr is no doubt. I know wht I know. Austin & #Ticats r talking."
Pedersen:"Austin & the #Ticats are speaking. That's the bottom line. O'Bie knows who he wants. It looks like its Kent Austin.
You be the judge. The Cats can deny all they want, but like Marcel said "where there's smoke, there's fire.
2

First off I think the bolded is hilarious :lol:

second off- THIS NEWS HAS ME EXCITED

I really hope this isn't going to end in a huge let down, but I would love to have Austin at the helm of this team next year, man oh man i hope this is true.

3

Doesn't excite me at all.

Was a bad offensive co-ordinator in Toronto, bad offensive co-ordinator at Ole Miss, now at Cornell he's 6-4. Only time this guy was ever successful was when he had Ken Miller on his staff, who turned out to be a great head coach.

I'd rather have Cortez, Dickenson, Chapdelaine or Turner Gill.

4

If Obie sign Kent Austin, this will be another POOR choice. Austin's coaching record north and south is no raving he##. I like Winnipegs defensive coordinator. Defense builds championships............with Marcel B out of the way.....Kahari Jones should be able to get the job done. However, if Austin is hired and I certainly hope not, all the coordinators will in all likelihood .......be gondy. So far the boys down the QEW have the edge by signing Malinovich. Will this team be a day late and a dollar short again? Stay tuned faithful Tiger Cat fans.

5

Do we really need another thread on Hamilton's HC?

6

What is the source of these tweets? I can't seem to find them on Rod Pederson's twitter account. Did he possibly remove them?

7

And let's not forget that the Argo offense at the time when Austin was there was terrible and their defense carried them to the Grey cup, reminds me of Winnipeg's season this year. Only difference was that the double blue won it and the single blue blew it. Not sure if it was entirely Austin's fault, as I don't think their personnel was all that great.

And while we're on the subject of the the blue gang. I would NOT want to see O'shea on the Hamilton sidelines for ANY purpose. He doesn't have any experience as a co-ordinator, let alone as a head coach. He has already reneged on this team TWICE. Therefore, whose to say that should he be hired as this team's next leader, he would not walk away after a couple of season to go back to Toronto at the first opportunity. He's proven to me enough that his loyalties lie there and not here. I feel silly just mentioning his name.

Meanwhile, Austin's time in Regina was better. He did have Eric Tillman bringing in talent. However, he did have some obstacles to overcome, like Kerry Joseph, who got traded in the following off season. I think Austin's success there was fair.

Milanovich is a good OC, but he didn't do all the scheming (just the run game) for Montreal as Trestman had a hand in it too. And because he makes a good OC, that may not translate into being a great HC. Same with all the other co-ordinators whose names have been tossed around over the last few days. They may be good with their department, but as a head coach, they have to be able to see the ENTIRE picture.

Austin, at least, has some experience and success in the job and knows our game as both a player and as a coach. He's also demonstrated in a real way, in both capacities, his leadership skills, and could also be quite handy in developing the junior quarterbacks on this team.

I, personally, have had enough of this team using it's fans as guinea pigs while trying to develop coaches. It's time to install a head coach who doesn't require an extensive learning curve before this team can move ahead.

Whether it be Kent Austin or Turner Gill, it's time to put someone in the lead chair who's been there, and not a name who only wishes they could be.

8

Well said old fan. :thup:

9

I think Obie had the inside track on somebody before he even let MB go. Count on it.

10

Catfish, I sure hope you're right. I would otherwise really question the club's management acumen if they made that move without having a pretty good idea as to their short-list of "better is better" head coaches

11

Kent Austin will not be coaching in the CFL. I believe Austin will stay in the US College circut looking for a chance for a bigger challenge and a bigger pay cheque. Whoever Obie and Mitchell bring in must be a much better leader who can manage the current talent and replace the current mindset. Too often the team looked unprepared and unispired and lacking focus. I would prefer a defensive minded coach instead of an offensive minded coach. Either way this team has run out stupid mistakes (stuck on stupid) by hiring individuals who they "think" can do well. It's about time they hire a ringer and take this team to the promised land. It's a good thing Bob Young has deep pockets otherwise anyone in their right mind would be running away as far as they can. The coaching decision is critical to the overall success of this franchise. Obie and Mitchell had better do their homework otherwise we will be a day late and a dollar short since 1999.

12

Catfish wrote:

"I think Obie had the inside track on somebody before he even let MB go. Count on it."

There has been some wondering about a lack of comment from Obie over the last couple of weeks leading up to the end of the season and playoffs. Perhaps, during that time, he's been busy scouting for some player and coaching talent.

He may have already discounted or discarded the popular candidates for the coaching job here in Hamilton. May even have already talked to them or to those that know them.

I've already spoken my piece on Milanovich. After the stunt that Chris Jones pulled in Calgary, not sure if I would consider him. Not too much integrity there. I mean, if he would do that to them, don't you think he would also pull that here if the timing was to his benefit. I like his skills, not so crazy about his ethics. Also, somewhat disappointed that Pinball would go along with tactics like that.

13

I'm not saying I believe it is or isn't Kent Austin...But I will tell you this...in No Uncertain Words..."If you don't think that O'bie and company have had someone on their radar for some time...I've got a bridge to sell you".

You can bet there was a lot of chatter and contact of individuals long before they dismissed Marcel. They are not about to dismiss Marcel right away unless they knew there was someone else available that they liked. There was no saving any money by dismissing him when they did...he was under contract. Marcel will now be able to look at his options, but we won't be waiting long for a new coach. Whoever it is let's give the guy a chance before we "roast him". :wink:

14

They were posted on the CFL News twitter account. I don't know who that is or what their source is though.

[url]https://twitter.com/#!/CFL_News[/url]

15

From Perry Lefko, to confirm what Pederson tweeted earlier:

"the equivalent of a perfect news storm happened on Friday.

First came a report out of Saskatchewan by respected broadcaster Rod Pedersen on his blogsite that former Riders head coach Kent Austin, currently head coach at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., had been in Hamilton on Thursday to interview for the Tiger-Cats' vacant head coaching job.

It created hysteria in Regina, where Roughriders general manager Brendan Taman was inundated with media requests, which resulted in a hastily-called media conference to address the situation.

"He's obviously a good coach," Taman was quoted afterward in the Regina Leader-Post. "He's got a job. He's no different than anybody else. If and when we seek permission, we'll look at it at that point. But, as of right now, I'm not going to say much about it."

Pedersen, who does the Riders' radio play-by-play and also blogs for their website and the CFL's, insisted his information was accurate, despite claims from other media outlets suggesting otherwise.

Edmonton Eskimos GM Eric Tillman, who hired Austin in Saskatchewan and is a longtime friend of his, told sportsnet.ca that Austin did not interview in Hamilton, nor is he interested in the job.

"He told me 'it seems like every week I'm going somewhere new in the CFL. This is getting ridiculous. We have several recruits visiting here on Cornell's campus. How could I be interviewing in Hamilton for the job while I'm here talking to recruits?'"

Considering the two sources of this story....just thought I would throw this in to fan the fire!!

16

My theory is all parties will deny that talks are ongoing until its time to make an announcement. I do think that the agents have been talking.

17

Yes, Moscamania, what you say has been proven time and again in professional sports.

I heard the other day from a pretty reliable source that a BIG name FA was in Toronto the other day with his agent talking to the Jays. A big ticket player. Didn't hear about it from any broadcasting or journalistic source, but pretty sure it's true. Of course no word from the team, and AA even issued a statement saying that he would not go after free agents.

Taman denies it because he doesn't want to appear to be behind in the game with the other GM's. Tillman denied the validity of the story, as he likely respects Austin's coaching ability, after witnessing it first hand, and would not want him going elsewhere to work against his team.

Although, you would think that if the two of them were such good friends, Austin would have been brought in last year when Tillman was shopping for a coach. Unless, because of circumstances, Kent wasn't available, and perhaps, he could be now.

Just theories on my part. I just don't buy all the rhetoric that they spew. It's sometimes not what they believe, but rather what they want YOU to believe.

18

As a lifelong Rider fan, I can tell you that if any CFL team gets Kent Austin as their head coach it has made a tremendous hire. The job he did for Saskatchewan in 2007 was nothing short of brilliant. The man is a born leader and a tremendous offensive mind. Damon Allen had the best season of his long career under Kent Austin's tutelage and came away with his only MVP award. The reason that Kent got let go by Toronto is that management wanted him to build the offense around Ricky Williams and he refused to do so. When Kent came to Regina, Kerry Joseph, like Damon Allen before him, had the best season of his career (another MVP year) under Kent. I can't say enough about the job Austin did for the Riders in 2007. From the day he arrived, he talked about how the only worthwhile goal was to win a championship and all other goals were secondary. More importantly, he got absolute buy-in from the team. The job he did was an absolute tour de force and the best coaching job that I have ever witnessed in Saskatchewan. Had he stuck around I am convinced that the Riders would have been even better from 2008-2010 than they were and would have won at least one more Grey Cup during that time frame.

I doubt Kent will come back to the CFL next year. I would be over the moon if he returned to the Riders. The man is a winner and far and away the best head coaching candidate if at all available.

19

You're either Austin's agent... or his wife. :smiley:

20

You’re either Austin’s agent… or his wife. :smiley:
[/quote]
Neither. I just know that the man is a GREAT coach. What he achieved in 2007 was no fluke.