There is no professional team sport quite like football, in which the time spent in preparation and practice so heavily outweighs the time spent actually playing games.
So, arguably, coaching is even more important to the gridiron game than it is to other major team sports.
Which brings us around to the Tiger-Cats’ 2025 coaching staff which Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator Scott Milanovich announced today.
Milanovich has struck a balance of the familiar and the fresh; of relative youth and relative age; of veterans with established CFL pedigree and those who are building promising careers.
There’s a diverse assortment of experiences and voices and—importantly, it says here—a recognition that special teams are so important to the three-down game that it deserves coaching depth.
Aside from Milanovich, who’s back for a second year as head coach and third as offensive coordinator (he took over the offence halfway through 2023), there are five returning coaches including Special Teams Coordinator Dennis McKnight; Quarterbacks Coach Jarryd Baines; Receivers Coach Naaman Roosevelt; Defensive Backs Coach Brandon Isaac and offensive Quality Control Coach Myer Spitulnik.
Newcomers from last year are Defensive Coordinator Brent Monson, Offensive Line Coach Brendan Walsh, Defensive Line Coach Casey Creehan; Linebackers and Assistant Special Teams Coach Elijah Sandweiss; and Running Backs and Special Teams Assistant Coach James Tuck, who spent his tenth and final season of his playing career in a Ticat uniform last year.
“I think it’s a good mix,” Milanovich said. “You’ve got the older guys with me and Dennis, and then Casey (48) pushing getting older now too.
“But the rest of our guys are pretty young guys. I think with today’s athlete you need to have that mix. Dennis and I can remember when we played, and it seems like it was just around the corner, but it isn’t really. The younger guys can maybe relate a little bit better to our players. It gives us a mix of experience, and some new ideas. These guys are up-and-comers who will end up with more titles and bigger titles on their resumés before their career is over. I’m excited about the staff we’ve got, that’s for sure.”
Significantly, two coordinators, Milanovich and McKnight, are back from last season and the third, Monson comes directly from spending five years as the defensive coordinator in Calgary, with a decade before that spent with the Stampeders inhaling all aspects of the CFL game from the ground floor up. There’s CFL history and continuity there.
But was an off-season of change for the Ticats, who hired Ted Goveia as General Manager and are bringing in plenty of new starters on defence as well as marquee free agents on offence—receivers Kenny Lawler and Drew Wolitarsky, and guard Liam Dobson—and the five incoming coaches reflect that.
Both sides of the ball will have new coaches in the trenches, with the veteran Creehan on defence and new-to-the-CFL Walsh on offence. But each of them will have intelligent leaders in their playing unit (offensive linemen Brandon Revenberg, Coulter Woodmansey and Dobson; defensive linemen Casey Sayles and Julian Howsare) to call upon.
“Obviously a lot of change within our organization and a fair amount of change within our coaching staff and our players,” Milanovich said. “We’re looking to improve upon the effort that we had last year and sometimes that means change.”
Four of the six returning coaches, including Milanovich, are on offence and that, of course, makes sense. While the group struggled with turnovers earlier in the season, it was the only offence in the CFL to average 400 yards per game, led the league in several categories, had four receivers in the CFL’s top 15, and got a monster year from Bo Levi Mitchell.
“I know what we have on offence because I’ve worked with them,” Milanovich agreed. “And a number of them were holdovers from the year prior. So I’ve had almost two years with some of these guys and we just work well together. And I think that’s what you’re looking for, especially when you’re the head coach, but also involved in the offence. People have to pick up the slack because you’re not always available to do your side of the ball. So that’s what I have in JB and Naaman and Meyer, guys that have been with me for over a year.”
The younger guys can maybe relate a little bit better to our players. It gives us a mix of experience, and some new ideas … I’m excited about the staff we’ve got, that’s for sure.
So here’s Milanovich’s thumbnail-sketch rundown of his coaching staff, starting with the offence.
Jarryd Baines is much more than the quarterbacks coach. He joined the Ticats for the 2016 season, making him the coach with the longest continued tenure, has worked his way up basically from the bottom rung through several offensive coaching jobs. He’s back for his second year as quarterbacks coach under Milanovich, who has referred to him as a rising star.
Milanovich: “I’m thrilled about JB. He he’s pretty much my right hand. I mean, they list me as the offensive coordinator, but he’s the guy I rely on when anything needs to be picked up when I can’t be in the meeting rooms. He’ll be the guy that takes over, does the installs (putting in new plays.) He grew a lot in his first year as the quarterbacks coach. We’re going to give him some more responsibilities this year in regards to protection, get him in front of the (offensive meeting) room a little bit more, but he’s a guy I can really rely on.
“I value his opinion. He’s not afraid to tell me or disagree with me, which is a big part of this. He’s a guy who’s worked his way up and deserves the opportunities he’s getting.”
Naaman Roosevelt spent a dozen years in the NFL and CFL and embarked on a coaching career just a couple of years ago. He’s back for his second year as a receivers coach.
Milanovich: “Obviously the players really respect him because they know he’s done it. In fact, last year at one point we showed some clips from when Naaman was playing for the Buffalo Bills. I think there’s value in that. There’s value in the fact obviously that he played in the CFL as well with the waggle, different motions, all of those things. He’s a young receivers coach who really got his feet wet and had his own room for the first time last year. And he’s another one that we’re going to ask to do more this year.”
Myer Spitulnik returns as offensive quality control coach. Last year was his first in the pro ranks, and Milanovich has added offensive line assistant to his portfolio. Quality control coaches have to cut up and re-splice game and practice film for review—sometimes immediately—by players and other coaches.
Milanovich: “The most difficult part of his job is that Myer probably spends more time in the office than anybody. He draws up both the pass-game plays and the run-game plays, which is phenomenally time consuming. So there are a number of nights each week where he’s probably sleeping on the floor in his office.
“It’s how a lot of young guys get started in this business. He did a great job last year and looking forward to having him back. He’s just a young guy and working his way up and he’s getting a lot of great experience and adding to his resumé.”
New offensive line coach Brendan Walsh comes out of Colgate, where he was an outstanding offensive lineman in their undefeated 2012 season. He returned to the school to coach running backs in 2018, when Colgate was among the top 10 offences in the nation. He spent the past four seasons coaching offensive line for Colgate in the Patriot League.
Milanovich: “I didn’t know him before. Brendan came recommended from a friend of Brent Monson’s and a colleague from the NFL. This guy’s also a rising star. He’s young, but he is highly, highly intelligent. He studies the game. He knows very quickly what’s going wrong, what can be done to fix it. There’s a transition period for somebody who hasn’t coached in the CFL, but we have veterans like Woody and Rev to help. The transition is going to be quick. He’s going to be a bonus for us. Hopefully, we can keep this guy around, let’s put it that way. I think he’s going to be a really, really good addition.”
James Tuck played 11 years in the CFL with Montreal, Winnipeg, Toronto, Edmonton, Saskatchewan and last year here as a running back and tight end. He excelled on special teams with 13 tackles and has been a career student of the game, so moving into coaching was a logical progression.
Milanovich: “When you’re coaching guys that you played with, there’s a certain level of buddy-buddy where you have to really draw the line and that can be hard. That being said, James is somebody that can do it. Orlando (Steinauer) did it at one point in his career. Michael O’Shea did it in Toronto. It takes the right guy and I think James is that guy.
“James will help with the running backs, but really his role is going to be as Dennis’s right hand with the special teams. Special teams coaches, it’s such a critical role. When Dennis came in last year and we had that transition, Tuck was one of the big glue guys that kept that thing together while Dennis was implementing the new changes and the new mindset. I think he’s a natural. He reminds me of—and this is high praise—O’Shea. Same type of mindset. Loves the game. He wasn’t sure he wanted to stop playing, but I think he just felt like this opportunity was too good to pass up.”
Next, we’ll look at the coaching staff on defence.
Brent Monson, is a Hamilton native who played at St. Thomas More and for the Burlington Braves. He got into coaching the Hamilton Ironmen and Bishop Tonnos High School when he was barely out of his teens. He caught on with the Calgary Stampeders in an entry-level job and worked his way up until he oversaw some pretty good defensive teams in Cowtown. There were numerous candidates for the position but Monson outdistanced them all and has been hard at work for several weeks now.
Milanovich: “He came highly recommended from a number of people I respect. I was looking for a certain style of defence, which fits with what he wants to do. He’s a young guy that has a lot of experience for someone who’s still only 39. So, he’s only going to get better. We’re bringing him back home. I think it’s a good fit with our personnel, with the coaches that we’ve hired and we’re fired up to have Brent. He was sought after in the offseason, and not just by us.”
Defensive line coach Casey Creehan, who is from a coaching family, has spent two previous terms with the Ticats; as defensive coordinator back at old Ivor Wynne Stadium in 2012, then 10 years later as an offensive and special teams assistant coach.
Milanovich: “I’ve known Casey for 15 years. He’s been a defensive coordinator; he’s been a head coach at the Division 2 level in the NCAA. His specialty is D-line. It’s his passion. He’s a technician. He grew up under some of the most highly recognized defensive coaches like Monte Kiffin and that whole crew. That’s where he learned his craft and it’s what we’re looking for. It’s what Brent’s looking for from our defensive line; guys who are going to get up the field; who are going to use technique; who are going to be disciplined. Casey is going to coach them hard. He brings a lot of intensity on the practice field. He’s a winner and we’re really fortunate to be able to get him. He left a head coaching job to come back and join us.”
Brandon Isaac, the defensive backs coach is the only returnee from the 2024 defensive coaching staff. He played for the Ticats in 2013, “The Guelph Year,” and the season before that won a Grey Cup playing for Milanovich in Toronto.
Milanovich: “High energy, very succinct, good teacher. Brandon is another guy who’s fairly young into his coaching career, but he has all the tools to be a great DB coach. I know one day he wants to be a defensive coordinator. Obviously, he’s got a certain skill level with the back end and the defensive backs, but he’s working hard in the off-season rounding out his knowledge of the front six as well so that when that opportunity comes, he’ll be ready to jump on it. He’s an all-around up-and-comer and is well-spoken. Players are going to play hard for him. We’re excited to have him back too.”
Elijah Sandweiss joins the Ticats as linebackers coach and special teams assistant coach, which involves working with a lot of linebacker ‘types.’ He was a defensive analyst at Mississippi State last season and before that was at Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Michigan, all big-name programs. It’s his first foray into the three-down game.
Milanovich: “This is another fairly young coach. He has been around some really elite NCAA defensive staffs. And that’s part of what we were looking for. What Brent was looking at defensively was trying to find some guys with different opinions. When we study in the off-season, sure we study the NFL, but we also study college football. It’s much more creative, really. So these guys haves seen it all. They see spread offences, they see no-huddle offences, they see triple-option teams. We tried to kind of fill in the blanks with some guys that would have a little bit different opinions, skill sets and knowledge behind what they’re doing. This is another guy that we’re lucky to have. He left a Division I SEC program to come up here and be our linebackers coach. He’s really going to be critical in helping Brent.”
And finally, Special Teams, where Dennis McKnight returns after taking over the unit last July and vastly improving the group. A big man, with a big personality, he was a longtime starter in the NFL and he continues his third stint as Ticats Special Teams coordinator. He’ll also have some depth on his staff with Sandweiss and Tuck. There’s very little McKnight hasn’t done in football, on both sides of the border.
Milanovich: “His experiences are critical, but there’s a magnetism to his personality that you need to have in that special teams room. You know, these are guys who, unless you’re a kicker or a punter, guys don’t grow up saying, ‘I want to be the L-4 on the kickoff team.’ It has to be done, especially in our league. It’s such a critical part of it and how many big plays and opportunities come from the special teams? There’s got to be a dynamic guy in there to be able to motivate those guys and Dennis is special with that. His meetings are a blast. He’s funny, he gets them thinking and gets on them. Ultimately, his guys really want to play hard.”
