Former CFL player, coach Craig Butler joins Western Mustangs

Photo: Western Mustangs

Craig Butler has joined the coaching staff at Western University where he’ll serve as the defensive backs coach and a defensive and special teams assistant.

The 37-year-old spent six season on the coaching staff with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, eventually working his way up to the role of special teams coordinator in 2022. His unit ranked first in the CFL in opponent punt return average that year and did not to allow a return touchdown. It also ranked third in punt return average, kickoff return average, and opponent kickoff return average.

The native of London, Ont. resigned from his position with the Tiger-Cats in the spring of 2023, citing the desire to spend more time with family.

Butler was a second-round pick in the 2011 CFL Draft by the Saskatchewan Roughriders and spent three seasons with the team, earning an All-West Division selection in 2011 and winning a Grey Cup in 2013. He signed with the Tiger-Cats as a free agent in 2014 and earned two All-East Division selections and one All-CFL nod over four seasons.

The six-foot-two, 200-pound defender recorded 218 defensive tackles, 42 special teams tackles, 13 interceptions, eight sacks, six fumble recoveries, and one pass knockdown. He retired early due to injury concerns.

The Mustangs hired Michael Faulds as their new head coach in January following the retirement of Greg Marshall. The two-time reigning U Sports Coach of the Year spent the past 13 years in the same role at Wilfrid Laurier University, going 8-0 in 2025.

Western is a perennial powerhouse in Ontario University Athletics (OUA), having won eight Vanier Cups (most recently in 2021) and 35 Yates Cups (most recently in 2023). Butler played collegiately for the Mustangs, earning the Dr. Claude Brown Memorial Trophy as the school’s top male student athlete.