On Wednesday afternoon in Winnipeg, the CFL announced that blank John Hufnagel won the Annis Stukus Trophy as the 2014 CFL Coach of the Year. The three finalists for the award were Chris Jones of the Edmonton Eskimos, Tom Higgins of the Montreal Alouettes and of course Mr. Hufnagel of the Grey Cup Champion Calgary Stampeders.
Higgins won the Annis Stukus Trophy in 2003 and 2005 with his counterpart’s teams (Edmonton then Calgary) while Hufnagel last won the award when the Stamps last won the Grey Cup prior to this season, 2008.
Third straight year being named a finalist for the trophy, Hufnagel finally came out on top. Third time is a charm, no? Hufnagel was under scrutiny early in the season, even here at LWOS, for having the inability to win big games and stay consistent.
He is under fire no more as the Stampeders rode the wave of momentum all year long and never looked back. Going 15-3 as the most powerful team on our power rankings from week 1-20, the Stampeders won the Grey Cup in Vancouver, showing their pure power then, dominating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from start to finish.
Hufnagel has to thank running back Jon Cornish for the success he had in the games he played this year as he missed about half the season with various injuries. Even without their star, rookie QB Bo-Levi Mitchell stepped up for the coach and dominated defences all season long. Back-up pivot Drew Tate even led the league in rushing touchdowns with 10.
Coach Hufnagel’s team played in LWOS’ game of the year when they came back from a 19-point deficit against the Toronto Argonauts in September. At that point, after that decisive win, everyone around the league had an idea that Hufnagel would be named the coach of the year.
Congratulations to John Hufnagel and his coaching staff for claiming the title of the 2014 CFL Coach of the Year and good luck to all the coaches moving forward in 2015.
What do you think of the league’s decision? Who would you have gone with? Leave your comments below.
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