MONTREAL – Sonny Wolfe, a Montreal native who returns for his fifth season as head coach of the McGill University Redmen, has announced a revamped 13-man coaching staff for the 2011 season, the 131st year of football at McGill. It is a group that features six new faces on offence.
“We now have three-and-a-half full-time coaches, which puts us on an equal footing with many of the top teams in the country and will help us significantly in developing a competitive football program,” said Wolfe. “We struggled on offence last season and I expect that our offence will benefit greatly with the addition of some outstanding coaches this year.”
Heading the list of newcomers are Danny Laramee and recently retired Montreal Alouettes lineman Paul Lambert.
Laramee, a native of Ottawa, has been appointed full-time for the upcoming campaign as the team’s offensive coordinator. He brings an extensive coaching background from numerous CIS institutions, including Saint Mary’s, Ottawa, Mount Allison and Acadia, in addition to a year with the Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Eskimos in 1996. Over the past decade, Laramee has had much success as both an offensive coordinator and a defensive coordinator, in addition to a similar role on special teams.
Lambert, who played 10 seasons in the CFL, will be one of two offensive line coaches. The 35-year-old Montrealer won back-to-back Grey Cups with the Montreal Alouettes in 2009 and 2010. He will share the offensive line duties with Matthieu Quiviger, another former Alouettes lineman who previously was an all-Canadian with the Redmen and returns for his third season on the McGill coaching staff
Sonny Joshi, a Montreal native, will be a “full-time” coach during the season and is the new special teams coordinator and will also handle running backs. A former star receiver with the Bishop’s Gaiters, he has had coaching stints at Vanier College, Concordia and the UniversitĆ© de MontrĆ©al.
Charles-Antoine Sinotte of Trois-Rivieres, Que., who recently graduated from McGill as the all-time receptions leader in CIS history, will be responsible for receivers.
Igor Bojanic and Mike Bird have been appointed as offensive assistants. Bojanic, from Dollard des Ormeaux, Que., coached at John Abbott College and spent a decade coaching the North Shore Mustangs. Bird, originally from Vancouver, B.C., has served with the team in various capacities since 2007, including stints as equipment manager and video coordinator, a role he will handle again this year.
On defence, associate head coach Clint Uttley, originally from Hamilton, Ont., returns for a fourth season as a full-time defensive coordinator and his staff remains relatively intact.
Pat Donovan (linebackers) of Laconia, N.H., and Anthony Lukca (defensive backs) of St. Laurent, Que., both return for their second campaign, while Hugo Girard (defensive line) of Laval, Que., and FranƧois Chagnon (linebackers), a native of Waterville, Que., are back for their third season.
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