The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are another step closer to being ready for a big turnaround during the 2025 CFL season. In 2024, first-year Tiger-Cats head coach Scott Milanovich struggled to build a championship team culture, and that resulted in several coaching staff moves mid-season. Needing to replace a defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator during the season does not reflect continuity and stability among the members of a coaching staff or a franchise.
Coming into the 2025 season, it is easy to see that Milanovich and the Tiger-Cats are looking to build off the success on the offensive side of the ball while trying to shore up the defensive side of the ball. One major weakness for the Tiger-Cats during the first several games of the 2024 season was a general lack of management with their special teams, units, and the result was Dennis McKnight earning his opportunity to lead the special teams units, those units improved dramatically after that coaching change. Success after the coaching changes made during the 2024 season show that Milanovich and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats front office can find the right mix to develop success, but they might not do it on their first attempt.
So knowing that the Tiger-Cats retained certain coaches to maintain continuity, and brought in new coaches to give other groups a shot in the arm, it makes sense that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats coaching staff is a mix of returning and new coaches.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 2025 Offensive Coaching Staff
For a second year under the leadership of Scott Milanovich, Milanovich will serve a dual-role as the head coach and offensive coordinator. During the 2024 season, the Tiger-Cats performed at a high level on the offensive side of the ball resulting in a huge year by quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, and one of the top offensive outputs in the CFL. Similar to the Tiger-Cats roster, Hamilton has made continuity on the offensive side of the ball a priority.
Returning the Tiger-Cats offensive coaching staff, Quarterback Coach Jarryd Baines, Wide Receiver Coach Naaman Roosevelt, and Offensive Quality Control Coach Myer Spitulnik all return to keep the Tiger-Cats offensive success rolling. The new additions to the staff include Offensive Line Coach Brendan Walsh which is the only truly “new” coach on the offensive side or the ball. The other coaching addition is Running Backs Coach James Tuck which was a fullback for the Tiger-Cats in 2024, and he has now transitioned to a coaching role. Tuck will bring instant chemistry with the players, and should help that position group reach new heights in 2025.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 2025 Defensive Coaching Staff
During the 2024 season, the Tiger-Cats defensive performance was nothing short of disastrous outside of the performance of the Tiger-Cats defensive backfield. The Tiger-Cats could not make the playoffs because of Hamilton’s lack of defensive success. A genuinely disappointing performance undoubtedly comes with consequences, and one consequence was a change in defensive coordinator. Hamilton’s new defensive coordinator is Brent Monson, and he came to Hamilton after spending 15 years with the Calgary Stampeders, serving as their defensive coordinator for his last several seasons in Calgary.
Due to the success of the Tiger-Cats defensive backfield, it is not surprising that Brandon Isaac returns as the Defensive Backs Coach for Hamilton. One area that the Tiger-Cats need to improve exponentially is on their defensive line, and Casey Creehan joins the Tiger-Cats staff as their new Defensive Line Coach. Another area of needed growth for the Tiger-Cats is the play of their linebackers. Elijah Sandweiss comes to Hamilton to improve the play of the Tiger-Cats linebackers while serving as Hamilton’s Linebackers Coach.
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