Brock Sunderland unveiled as new GM and VP of Football Operations for Edmonton Eskimos

The Edmonton Eskimos officially unveiled Brock Sunderland as their new General Manager and Vice President of Football Operations at a press conference on Tuesday.

The new hiring comes shortly after former GM Ed Hervey was dismissed by the club on Friday, April 7, as well as just under two weeks before the commencement of the 2017 CFL Draft.

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READ MORE: Edmonton Eskimos fire GM Ed Hervey over philosophical differences, contract negotiation issues

At 37 years old, Sunderland — a native of Great Falls, Montana — becomes the youngest GM in the league. His knowledge of the professional game both North and South of the border is extensive.

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He grew up learning the game at a young age, as his father Marv spent 41 years as a professional football scout. Sunderland would frequently watch scouting film with his father and first accompanied him on a trip to New York Jets training camp when he was just nine years old.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Sunderland began his professional football journey as regional/advanced scout for the Montreal Alouettes in 2004. He then worked his way up to director of scouting for three seasons with the Als, starting in 2005.

In 2007, he made the move to the NFL, where he served as a pro scout for the NFL’s New York Jets for six years. Then, in May 2013, he was appointed as the assistant general manager of the current Grey Cup champion Ottawa Redblacks.

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Despite his prior experiences, Sunderland says he’s going into his new position with an open mind.

“I’m not going to try and invoke anything unique in here or different, simply to do it,” he said.

“If there’s a need I’ll go back to my experiences… you become better when you’re around different people and you become a sponge and try and take all those different ideas of where you’ve been.”

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The Eskimos have a rich history of winning, and expectations are high considering the team’s results over the past few seasons, however Sunderland is focused on managing only what he can control.