The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have added a new member to the team’s coaching staff, but he’ll be a familiar face to many long-time fans of the team.
The Bombers announced Darrell Patterson as their new defensive line coach on Monday.
As a player, Patterson saw action in parts of three seasons as a Bombers linebacker, including a role as a member of the 1984 Grey Cup championship squad.
After further CFL stints with the Ottawa Rough Riders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the late ’80s, Patterson, a Pennsylvania native, moved into coaching, beginning with an intern gig with the B.C. Lions.
He later moved on to a successful college coaching career in the U.S. for more than two decades, with schools like Akron, Temple, Kentucky, Arkansas State, Baylor, Southern Methodist, Stanford, Rice, and most recently, Texas Christian University — where he still holds the record from his own college days as the school’s all-time leader in tackles.
Patterson joins the Bombers as they attempt to defend their 2019 Grey Cup title after the COVID-19-cancelled 2020 season.