Football Canada hires former Concordia head coach Brad Collinson

Photo: Kyran Thicke/Concordia Stingers

Football Canada has hired Brad Collinson as its new manager of coach and athlete development, the organization announced on Monday.

The native of St. Bruno, Que. recently resigned as the head coach at Concordia University, a role he held for eight seasons. He led the Stingers to a regular-season record of 20-36 and seven playoff appearances during that time.

Collinson played collegiately at Concordia for three seasons at centre and long snapper before a one-year stint with the Montreal Alouettes in 2003. He recorded 11 special teams tackles in 18 regular-season games, then returned to his alma mater as a part-time assistant before climbing the ladder to become assistant offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator.

Collinson left for Université Laval in 2011 and spent seven seasons as the Rouge et Or’s running backs coach and the recruiting coordinator, winning four Vanier Cups. He also served two years as the head coach of Football Canada’s U18 team, winning two International Bowls, and four gold medals at the Canada Cup as the head coach of Team Quebec.

The Stingers went 3-5 last season, losing to the eventual Vanier Cup champion Montreal Carabins in the RSEQ semifinals by a score of 51-2. The program has not won a playoff game since 2008, and last won a conference title in 1998.

Collinson’s addition has come amid a period of considerable change at Football Canada, which has included the departure of executive director Kevin McDonald and director of high performance Katie Miyazaki in the last year.