CFL ROUND-UP
HAMILTON – Michael Fletcher is returning to the CFL.
The former B.C. Lions and Toronto Argonauts linebacker will serve as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats linebackers coach in 2024 on head coach Scott Milanovich’s staff.
Fletcher was a two-time Grey Cup champion as a player and spent the last three seasons as a defensive analyst at Arizona State University.
Milanovich begins his first full season as Hamilton’s head coach in place of Orlondo Steinauer, who stepped away from the sidelines to concentrate on his duties as president of football operations.
Milanovich joined the Ticats in 2023 as a senior assistant coach before taking over offensive play-calling duties in August.
Mark Washington (defensive co-ordinator), Mike Gibson (offensive line) and Jarryd Baines (quarterbacks) all return from last year’s staff although Baines does so in a new capacity.
The new faces include Fletcher, Paul Boudreau (special teams), Glen Young (defensive line), Brandon Isaac (defensive backs), Naaman Roosevelt (receivers) and Myer Spitulnik (offensive quality control).
Alex Penz also has a new role (special-teams assistant) after serving last season as the club’s assistant video co-ordinator.
Boudreau joins the Ticats after eight seasons in Winnipeg, where he served as special-teams co-ordinator since 2017. Young, a Toronto native and former CFL player, has previous coaching experience with both the Bombers (2016-19) and Argos (’21).
Isaac, another former CFL player, spent the previous two seasons as a defensive backs coach with the Edmonton Elks. Roosevelt, who played 12 seasons as a receiver in both the NFL and Canada, spent 2023 as an offensive assistant with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
WINNIPEG – Jake Thomas is continuing his CFL run with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The veteran Canadian defensive lineman agreed to terms on a one-year extension with Winnipeg on Friday. Thomas was scheduled to become a free agent Feb. 13.
The six-foot-two, 274-pound native of Douglas, N.B., returns for a 12th CFL season, all with Winnipeg. Thomas is the club’s longest-serving player, having appeared in 186 regular-season games and registering 123 tackles and 25 sacks.
Thomas, a two-time Grey Cup champion, dressed for all of the club’s 18 regular-season games in 2023 _ the sixth straight year he’s done so. Thomas recorded five sacks, matching a career high, and 17 tackles.
(Canadian Press)
