February 11, 2013

Esks announce 2013 coaching staff

Dale MacMillan

Edmonton Eskimos
ESKS.com Staff

(Edmonton) –  Eskimo Head Coach Kavis Reed announces his coaching staff for the 2013 season.  The following coaches join the previously announced Greg Marshall and Doug Sams who assume the roles of defensive and offensive coordinator, respectively.

Leroy Blugh, Defensive Line
A familiar face to Eskimo fans, Blugh was a defensive lineman in the CFL for 15 seasons, including 11 with the Eskimos (1989-99). He won the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian Award in 1996, was a two-time CFL West Division All-Star and won a Grey Cup with the Esks in 1993.. Blugh spent the 2011 season as a defensive line coach at Queen’s after spending six seasons as head coach at Bishop’s University, his alma mater.
                
Brad Miller, Defensive Backs
Miller returns to the Eskimo coaching staff where he spent five seasons on the defensive staff from 1996-2000. Miller’s pro coaching career includes extensive experience as a defensive coordinator with stops in Hamilton, Toronto, Montreal, Green Bay and Birmingham.

Kris Sweet, Offensive Line
Prior to joining the green and gold, Sweet spent the 2012 season as the offensive line and run game coordinator for the Saskatchewan Roughriders  and  five seasons as the offensive line coach for the Calgary Stampeders (2007-2011). Under his leadership, the Stampeders offensive line was consistently among the top CFL teams for rushing yards and total offence.

Travis Moore, Receivers
After a stellar 11-year career as a receiver in the CFL with Calgary and Saskatchewan, Moore joined the coaching ranks as a guest coach with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints and, later, as wide receivers coach for the AFL’s New Orleans VooDoo. He spent the past three seasons as the receivers coach with the BC Lions.

David Kelly, Running Backs
After serving as offensive advisor last season, Kelly joins the Eskimo coaching staff full-time. Prior to joining the green and gold, he was the wide receivers coach at the University of Central Florida where he was regarded as the top recruiter on the football coaching staff.  With over 30 years of coaching experience, he has helped develop prominent players such as Terrell Owens and Hines Ward. Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Kelly played wide receiver, running back and cornerback at Furman.

Terry Eisler, Special Teams Coordinator
Eisler enters his fifth season with the Esks. He spent last season as the special teams coach and defensive assistant. He is credited with the development of Eskimo running back Calvin McCarty, one of the league’s Canadian stars.

Jordan Maksymic, Offensive Assistant
Jordan was promoted to full-time offensive assistant after spending two seasons in the Eskimo video department. He also spent two seasons (2007-08) in the video department of the Calgary Stampeders before heading south to be a graduate assistant (2009-10) at Northern Arizona University.

Kit Lathrop, Mark Nelson, Marcus Crandell, Marcello Simmons and Derrell Mitchell will not return to the Eskimo coaching staff.

In addition to today’s coaching announcements, the Eskimos announce the following changes  to Football Operations.

Paul Jones assumes the new title of executive director of player personnel. Now entering his 15th season with the Eskimos, Jones has a reputation as one of pro football’s best talent scouts with a keen eye for players who are uniquely suited to the CFL. He is directly responsible for recruiting Esks’ All-Stars Fred Stamps, Chris Thompson and Marcus Howard.

Ryan Wagner returns to the Eskimos as the director of football operations. Wagner spent three seasons as the football operations assistant before being promoted to football operations manager in 2012. Born and raised in Edmonton, he attended the University of Alberta where he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Physical Education with a specialization in Sport Management.

Rob Ralph assumes operations duties in addition to his role as Canadian scout as he heads into his 14th season with the Eskimos. Before his promotion to Canadian scout in 2012, Ralph was the club’s long-time video coordinator and an offensive assistant.