Ticats offensive coordinator Tommy Condell has resigned.
The 43-year-old has been with the club for the last three seasons, coming on board when Kent Austin took over as general manager and head coach in 2013. The two men also coached together for three seasons at Cornell University before joining the Ticats.
Condell posted the news on his twitter account, citing family reasons.
I have resigned as OC Hamilton TiCats. This move was done with great care and contemplation, but was made in the best interests of my family
— Tommy Condell (@TommyCondell) April 11, 2016
The move comes on the heels of the departure of offensive line coach Allen Rudolph, who left to take similar position at Arkansas State. With training camp just six weeks away, the Ticats have just one offensive assistant on staff in running backs coach Corey Grant, though according to CEO Scott Mitchell, the club has hired four assistants but have yet to announce them. One of those is reportedly offensive line coach Mike Markuson, who worked with Austin at Ole Miss from 2008 to 2010.
Last season, the Tiger-Cats had the CFL’s top ranked passing offence and were second in points scored, despite starting four different quarterbacks –Zach Collaros, Jeff Mathews, Jacory Harris, and Jeremiah Masoli– due to injury.
The timing of Condell’s departure isn’t good as most CFL teams had their staffs in place months ago. One possible replacement could be Austin, who also coaches quarterbacks and has been actively involved in game planning the last three seasons.
“Tommy has expressed his need to take this action as serving the best interests of his family,” head coach Kent Austin said in a statement. “When I joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2012, Tommy was my first hire following our three seasons together on the staff at Cornell University. He did an outstanding job with us and was an important part of the winning culture we have put in place here.
“I cherish my relationship with Tommy and that goes beyond coaching. He will always be my friend. My trust and respect for him is and will always be extremely high. We coached together for six years, but our relationship goes deeper than that.”
