One thing has been made clear by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ decisions since the start of 2025: the Tiger-Cats respect the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ decision-making process when it comes to personnel. During the off-season last year, the Tiger-Cats hired former Winnipeg Blue Bombers front office executive Ted Goveia to be their general manager. From that point, the Tiger-Cats began picking up new prospects with experience working with the Blue Bombers organization.
That line of thinking helped Goveia flip the Tiger-Cats roster, enabling Hamilton to finish the 2025 season atop the East Division. Unfortunately for Hamilton, Goveia passed away during the 2025 season, leaving a hole at the general manager position. What is the next step for the Tiger-Cats? Well, it is to continue following a process that is working for them. The Tiger-Cats have made their next personnel acquisition from Winnipeg by selecting Brock Sunderland as their new Director of Player Personnel.
The 46-year-old Brock Sunderland started his career in the CFL as a regional scout for the Montreal Alouettes in 2004. In 2005, Sunderland was promoted to the Alouettes’ Director of Scouting. Sunderland remained with the Alouettes until 2007, when he moved to the NFL to serve as a pro scout for the New York Jets. Moving to the Jets was a success for Sunderland, and he remained with the NFL franchise until 2012.
In 2013, Sunderland returned to the CFL to become the Assistant General Manager for the Ottawa Redblacks. Sunderland spent three seasons with the Ottawa Redblacks front office, including the 2016 season when the Redblacks won the Grey Cup. The Redblacks’ success while Sunderland was in their front office helped catapult him up the ladder, as he accepted the General Manager position with the Edmonton Elks in 2017.
While Sunderland was the GM of the Elks, Edmonton posted a 32-36 record and went 2-2 in the playoffs. However, during Sunderland’s tenure as GM, Edmonton’s franchise exhibited a downward trend. During Sunderland’s first season with Edmonton, they went 12-6, and by the end of his fourth season in 2021, the Elk’s had posted a 3-11 record. Sunderland did hire Scott Milanovich to be the next head coach of the Elks before the 2020 season, but the season was canceled, and Milanovich accepted an offer to be the Quarterbacks coach for the Indianapolis Colts.
After being out of the CFL for several years, Sunderland resurfaced with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in January of 2025. While Sunderland is not necessarily the next GM the Tiger-Cats have been looking for, he does have a proven track record for evaluating potentially successful pro football prospects. In addition, he already has a connection with Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich, which should help maintain the continuity developed between Milanovich and the Tiger-Cats front office during the 2025 season.
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