The University of Alberta Golden Bears have finalized their football coaching staff ahead of the 2025 season, featuring five former CFL players.
Stevenson Bone, who was hired as the team’s head coach in January following a three-year run as the offensive coordinator at UBC, opted for a balance of old and new, featuring three returning assistant coaches and five new additions.
“The theme is getting coaches here who are proven winners,” he said in a statement. “Whether it’s Vanier Cups, Grey Cups, Orange Bowls, Mitchell Bowls, Hardy Cups or high school. I wanted to retain and have people who have won championships to be around our players. It’s that culture and mindset we want to set with our student-athletes.”
The returnees to the Golden Bears include assistant head coach and director of football operations Smith Wright, special teams coordinator A.J. Gass, and defensive backs coach Jordan Liberman.
Wright has been with the Golden Bears since joining them as a player in 2009. He served 10 years as their running backs coach and strength and conditioning coach before transitioning to his current role in 2024.
Gass played 10 seasons at linebacker for the Elks, recording 440 tackles, 92 special teams tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 13 pass knockdowns, 12 quarterback sacks, eight forced fumbles, 10 fumble returns and three interceptions. He had two separate coaching stints in Edmonton as a defensive assistant in 2008 and special teams coordinator in 2019.
Liberman has 35 years of coaching experience since playing four seasons at UBC during the early 1990s. He won a Vanier Cup with the Thunderbirds as a coach in 2015.
The additions to Alberta’s coaching staff include defensive coordinator Jean-Gabriel Poulin, run game coordinator Josh Martin, receivers coach Marcus Henry, offensive line coach Jordan Filippelli, and defensive line coach Almondo Sewell. The hiring of Henry and Sewell was previously reported by 3DownNation.
Poulin played four seasons in the CFL at linebacker as a member of the Montreal Alouettes after being selected in the third round of the 2018 CFL Draft. The 30-year-old, who was a two-time U Sports All-Canadian and and one-time Vanier Cup champion at Western University, spent the past four years as the head coach and defensive coordinator at Collège Bourget Voltigeurs.
Martin spent the past three seasons as a running backs coach and graduate assistant at UBC, helping the team reach the Vanier Cup in 2023. The native of Livermore, Calif. was a receiver with the Thunderbirds in 2019 and 2021.
Henry made 165 receptions for 2,164 yards and six touchdowns over a six-year CFL career with Edmonton, Ottawa, and Montreal. The former University of Kansas standout, who was selected in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, spent the past five seasons as the offensive coordinator and receivers coach of the CJFL’s Edmonton Huskies.
Filippelli spent the past four seasons as the head coach at Bev Facey High School. The native of Sherwood Park, Alta. won four Hardy Cups with the Calgary Dinos before being selected in the seventh round of the 2017 CFL Draft by the Ottawa Redblacks. He also spent two seasons coaching the offensive line at UBC.
Sewell joined the Elks as their defensive line coach midway through the 2024 season after previously being a guest coach in training camp. The 38-year-old played 12 seasons in the CFL, including nine in Edmonton, earning seven All-West Division selections, six All-CFL selections, and winning two Grey Cups.
In total, Alberta’s coaching staff has won four Grey Cups, three Vanier Cups, nine conference titles, and seven U Sports semifinals.
