The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have reportedly re-signed general manager and head coach Kent Austin to a four-year extension. The extension carries out until the end of the 2019 CFL season.
According to TSN CFL analyst Gary Lawless, Austin had rejected a couple offers from the NFL and many from the NCAA in order to stay with the Ticats. “This is a really big day for the the Tiger-Cats. They must be really happy with this deal,” said Lawless.
Ticats Re-sign Kent Austin
Austin has a 29-25 record since joining the Ticats back in 2013, including two consecutive Grey Cup appearances in 2013 and 2014, where they lost to the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders respectively. He was also a finalist for CFL coach of the year in 2013.
Before joining the Tiger-Cats in 2013, Kent Austin was head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who he led to a Grey Cup victory in 2007 with a 23-19 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He then accepted an offensive coordinator job at the University of Mississippi. In 2008, the Austin-coached team scored 12 more points per game than they did the year before (32 to 20).
In 2010, Austin accepted the head coaching job at Cornell University, replacing Jim Knowles who left Cornell to be defensive Coordinator at Duke University.
“Kent Austin has done an outstanding job in every way since he joined the organization. He’s one of the brightest minds in professional football and we’re thrilled that he has made such a serious commitment to the Tiger-Cats, the City of Hamilton and our incredible fans,” Ticats’ CEO Scott Mitchell said in a statement.
“I’m very grateful to Bob Young, Scott Mitchell and our entire organization for this extension and believing in our vision for this team,” Austin said, following the announcement of his extension. “A great foundation has been built the past few seasons, and we’ll continue to develop our program to ensure the opportunity for not only short-term but sustained success. Simply put, it’s easy to wake up excited every day when you work with such tremendous individuals who share the common goal of just being the best.”
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