Ticats fire Cortez after 6-12 season
George Cortez paid the price Tuesday for the Hamilton TigerCats’ disappointing season as the CFL team relieved him of his duties as head coach and director of football operations.
The firing came just more than a month after the Ticats wrapped up a disappointing 6-12 season.
“After a thorough evaluation of our organization and our goals moving forward, we have determined that a change in direction is needed,” team president Scott Mitchell said in a release.
“We want to thank coach Cortez for his contributions to the TigerCats and wish him well in his future endeavours.
“We will immediately begin the search for our new general manager and head coach.”
Cortez said he was surprised by the news, but seemed to be taking his dismissal well when he talked to reporters Tuesday.
“That’s the way things go,” he said. “We didn’t win enough games and ultimately, that’s what you’re judged on.”
When asked if he would have done anything differently during his tenure in Hamilton, he relied dryly: “I would have won more games.
“I think we had a good plan of how we did things,” he added. “It was pretty much based on places I’d been in the past and how we’d done things successfully in the past, so I don’t do a lot of second-guessing. Once you make a decision, you move forward.”
Cortez said he would like to return to coaching next year, possibly as an offensive co-ordinator. He said he hasn’t ruled out a return to the CFL’s head coaching ranks, but noted that as of right now, job vacancies are hard to come by.