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Mississauga – Toronto Argonauts Head Coach Rich Stubler is pleased to welcome veteran coach Mike Nelson as Defensive Assistant Coach. Nelson will work alongside new Defensive Coordinator Kavis Reed.
Commented
Stubler: “We are extremely fortunate to have been able to garner such
an experienced coach in Mike Nelson. He has applied his trade with
great success at US Colleges for years and I had the pleasure of
working with him in Edmonton. He will come in and help Kavis as they try and assemble the best defence that they possibly can.”
Nelson,
whose coaching resume spans three decades, spent last season with the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats as Defensive Line Coach. He also served two stints
with the Edmonton Eskimos, coaching the linebackers and defensive line,
from 1982-1983 and in 1992 alongside Stubler.
Nelson remarked: “When Rich contacted me about the prospect of joining the Argos,
I was simply ecstatic. The opportunity to join this organization and
work alongside such a great friend and intelligent CFL mind in Rich is
the perfect situation for me. Taking a look at some of the talent and
athleticism on this defence, it is a great feeling to look at what Rich
has put together and know that there is a unit that can get it done
week after week.”
Prior to joining the Tiger-Cats, Nelson coached the defensive line for 10 seasons at Iowa State University
where he helped lead the program to five bowl appearances in six
years. In 2005, Nelson’s crew allowed just 2.98 yards per carry on the
ground, breaking a school record set by the 1959 Cyclones. In 1998, the
Cyclones’ defensive line set a school record for quarterback sacks with
32.
Before
joining the Cyclones, the Chicago native worked with the defence at
Rutgers (1993-1995), Stanford (1990-1991), Kansas State (1989) and
Missouri (1985-1986). He initially began his coaching career at
Southern Illinois University before spending time as a defensive
coordinator at Norfolk State (1972), a defensive ends and linebackers
coach at University of Dayton (1973) and held a similar role at
Virginia (1975-1976). He also saw time coaching the secondary at Ball
State as well as the outside linebackers at Wisconsin for five years.