On last Friday night’s season finale of The 5th Quarter on CHML, I asked Ticats fans what they thought the football team’s top priority should be this offseason.
A few callers urged the club to start with who will be the head coach in 2018 and beyond and some fans are onside with current coach June Jones continuing in that role.
Other fans responded by saying the Ticats’ quarterbacking issue must be the first order of business.
Incumbent starter Jeremiah Masoli is headed to free agency, former starter Zach Collaros is set to be the highest paid player in the CFL next season, and the Nov. 30 deadline regarding Johnny Manziel is also hanging in the balance.
The other issue is the future of vice-president of football operations Kent Austin, who is under contract for two more seasons after signing an extension before the 2016 campaign.
After leading Hamilton to back-to-back Grey Cup appearances in 2013 and 2014, an appearance in the East Final in 2015 and the East Division Semifinal last year, Austin’s crew stumbled to a 0-8 start in 2017 before he removed himself as head coach and put Jones on the sidelines.
He and the Cats were definitely trending downward and some speculated that Austin had lost the room and that the players were tuning him out.
A handful of players who spoke on condition of anonymity to Drew Edwards of the Hamilton Spectator confirmed the speculation.
I understand why the players didn’t want to be named, they don’t want to throw away their career by throwing a front office heavyweight under the bus.
I just hope the players who did speak out against Austin are willing to shoulder some of the blame for this sour season.
Now the question is, will Ticats owner Bob Young and CEO Scott Mitchell side with Austin and keep their VP of football ops around or will they act on what happened in the locker room and change course?