The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have added three members to their front office staff ahead of the 2025 season, including Cyril Penn as director of player personnel, Alex Russell as director of scouting, and Dane Vandernat as director of pro scouting.
Penn spent the last four seasons working alongside general manager Ted Goveia with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Sonoma, Calif. native most recently served as Winnipeg’s assistant director of player personnel after originally joining the club as a scouting intern in 2021. He spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons as Winnipeg’s U.S. national scout. Before heading north of the border, Penn worked for the University of Massachusetts Amherst football program as a recruiting assistant.
Russell returns to Hamilton after working as the team’s coordinator of football operations from 2016 to 2018. The Ancaster, Ont. native had stints with the Ottawa Redblacks and Toronto Argonauts over the last six seasons, including serving as Ottawa’s assistant director of U.S. scouting in 2024. Before joining the Redblacks, Russell spent five seasons with the Toronto Argonauts, beginning as the team’s coordinator of football operations before being promoted in 2021 to manager of football operations, then in 2022 to director of football operations and national scout.
Vandernat spent the past 15 years working in various positions in the NFL. Most recently, the Kansas City, Mi. native served as the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl director of player personnel and director of college recruiting. Vandernat also spent 10 seasons in the Las Vegas Raiders’ personnel department, including four years as their director of pro personnel.
“We’re excited to welcome these three individuals to our football operations department,” said general manager Ted Goveia in a press release.
“During our time together in Winnipeg, Cyril proved himself to be an intelligent and tireless worker, with a strong background in recruiting and analytics. Alex combines a great work ethic with a wealth of knowledge in football operations, salary cap management, and scouting. I’ve known Dane for over a decade, and his impressive background in pro football with the Raiders, along with his leadership experience in organizing the NFLPA All-Star Game, will make him a valuable part of our team. We’re looking forward to seeing the impact they will all have on our organization.”
The announcement came one day after it was revealed that Drew Allemang, who spent 17 years in personnel with the Tiger-Cats, is not back for 2025.
