AUSTIN’S LATERAL
Head coach no more but still VP
Kent Austin began to look this thing right in the eye right around the time he hired June Jones as assistant head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
As of Thursday, the 64-year-old Jones is head coach, as Austin — in his other role as vice-president of football operations — decided in consultation with team owner Bob Young and CEO Scott Young, to step down as field boss.
Not an appetizing thing to do, firing yourself.
“Seriously, thinking through all the layers, you need to think through and the ramifications, potentially, of them probably began two or three weeks ago,” said Austin at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
It was Aug. 7 that the Ticats hired Jones, who played in the National Football League and briefly for the Toronto Argonauts before moving on to a cumulative 112-84 record in 16 years as head coach at two major U.S. college football factories (Hawaii and SMU).
Austin’s decision to hand over the on-field reins, made Wednesday, reflected the woeful state of the Tiger-Cats both in the Canadian Football League standings and during individual games. They are 0-8 this season, have lost 12 straight games at Tim Hortons Field over the past two years, are being beaten by an average of more than 20 points a game, and rank at the bottom of almost every CFL statistical chart.
Additionally, their marquee quarterback Zach Collaros has struggled to regain the form he showed two years ago, losing 12 straight starts, just one short of a 63-year-old CFL record.
It may be that Collaros will feel more comfortable with Jones, and Austin said yesterday that players needing to hear another voice was one of the factors in his decision to step down. Getting Collaros back on track is likely a key driver of this change.
But it could also be that Jones opts to give more playing time to Jeremiah Masoli, who replaced Collaros for the latter part of the Ticats’ eighth loss, at home last week to Ottawa.
Austin made it clear that all staffing and playing decisions are now Jones’s and that he has no plans to ever return to the sidelines here.
Former McMaster head coach Stefan Ptaszek remains as offensive co-ordinator, but there is now one less voice in the offensive mix. Some players had said privately that, essentially, there were too many cooks stirring the broth.
Now there will be another cook — make that a head chef — active in off-field football operations. Eric Tillman is the general manager, with overall responsibility for player procurement, while assistant GMs Shawn Burke and Drew Allemang have significant player evaluation responsibilities as well.
Austin replaced first-year defensive co-ordinator Jeff Reinebold (who had been special teams co-ordinator) with linebackers coach Phillip Lolley the same day Jones was hired, and Austin has now replaced himself.
But he hinted yesterday that this year’s disaster isn’t all coaching.
He talked about the need for him to address the overall football operations. He seemed to imply that the players provided haven’t been good enough.
“I need to focus on the operational side right now,” Austin said. “We need to do some things to get that piece of the puzzle going in a positive direction so there will be a tangible impact on the football field.”
Austin, whose contract runs through 2019, said that he would advise Jones, who is under contract for only this season, only when asked. And he won’t be on the sidelines during games or practices.
“I feel very comfortable,” said Austin who looked relieved. “June’s very capable, he has a great track record. He’s a really good man.
“This was a decision that wasn’t made lightly. There was a lot of deliberation. I tried to be as self-aware as possible to do the right thing for the organization.”