After a disappointing 7-11 season during the first year of head coach Scott Milanovich leading the Tiger-Cats, Hamilton is making several changes to get the Tiger-Cats up to a championship level. The first changes saw former Winnipeg Blue Bombers executive Ted Goveia return to Hamilton as the Tiger-Cats’ new general manager. Similar to Goveia coming home, it appears that the Tiger-Cats are bringing another Hamilton native back closer to home after several media sources announced that Hamilton has hired former Calgary Stampeders defensive coordinator Brent Monson as its new defensive coordinator.
While the Tiger-Cats have not officially announced their acquisition of Monson, TSN reporter Farhan Lalji announced his addition on his Twitter account.
In addition to Lalji’s unofficial announcement, the CFL insider website 3Down Nation has confirmed that Monson will indeed be leading the Tiger-Cats defence in 2025. For the Tiger-Cats, hiring Monson settles the debate over who will be managing the defensive side of the ball for Hamilton. During the 2024 season, the Tiger-Cats decided mid-season to fire long-time defensive coordinator Mark Washington. Former Edmonton Elks head coach Chris Jones was the Tiger-Cats pick to replace Washington after the Elks fired Jones during the 2024 season.
It needed to be clarified if Jones would return as Hamilton’s defensive coordinator. Still, the addition of Monson demonstrates the Tiger-Cat’s willingness to make changes after a disappointing season. During the 2024 season, Hamilton’s defence allowed the most points in the league. Monson is a proven coach in the CFL. He spent his entire coaching career with the Calgary Stampeders from 2010 until he was relieved of his defensive coordinator duties after the 2024 season.
Coming to the Tiger-Cats is an opportunity for Monson to return to his hometown and re-establish himself as a defensive coordinator in the CFL. Monson played high school football for the Saint Thomas More Knights in Hamilton and CJFL football for the Burlington Braves. He started his CFL coaching career with the Stampeders as their strength and conditioning coach in 2010.
While in Calgary, Monson held several positions, including coaching the Stampeders linebackers (2010, 2015 – 2018, 2021), defensive line (2011), and running backs (2012 – 2014). Monson was the Stampeders defensive coordinator from 2019 until 2024. While coaching for Calgary, the Stampeders won Grey Cup championships in 2014 and 2018.
Excluding Monson’s 2024 season with Calgary, the Stampeders had built a reputation for having one of the top defensive units in the CFL under Monson’s leadership. In 2021, the Stampeders only allowed 19 points, the second-lowest point total in the league. In 2022, the Stampeders led the league in quarterback sacks and once again allowed the second-lowest point total in the CFL.
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