****UPDATED FEB 26th/15 @ 11:30AM EST***
Simon Fraser Clan have found their new man.
TSN’s Farhan Lalji has confirmed via Twitter that Kelly Bates will be the NCAA Division 2 team’s new Head Coach.
@KellyBates59 is the new @SFUFootball head coach. A long process comes to an end. He’ll work his tail off & make the program better. #CFL
— Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) February 25, 2015
Bates is expected to be formally introduced as the Clan’s new Head Coach at a press conference on Thursday. The Clan’s twitter account confirmed on Wednesday that Bates was their new chief:
THRILLED to announce @KellyBates59 as the new Head Coach for the @SFU Clan Football Team!! pic.twitter.com/pacu57JYVh
— SFU Football (@SFUFootball) February 25, 2015
The native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan most recently served as the Running Backs Coach and College Draft Coordinator of the CFL’s BC Lions. He has been with the Lions in various coaching capacities since 2011.
He enjoyed a successful playing career as an offensive lineman. Drafted in the in fourth round of the 2001 CFL Draft by the BC Lions (32nd overall), he guided the team to a Grey Cup victory in 2006 and 2011. After a long stint with the Lions (2002-2008), he also played for Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2009), Saskatchewan Roughriders (2010), Edmonton Eskimos (2010) before retuning back to the Lions in 2011 where he retired as a player. Bates was named a CFL All-Star in 2007.
Additionally, Bates won a Vanier Cup Championship in in 1998 with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
Bates has inked a three year deal with the Clan.
One of the first orders of business for Bates will be to assemble a new staff. Joe Paopao will be the team’s new Offensive Coordinator after serving as an Assistant Coach with the BC Lions. Previous to the Lions, Paopao served as Head Coach of the Waterloo Warriors in 2013. He was the Warriors interim Head Coach in 2012. In total he spent seven seasons with the Warriors in different coaching capacities including Offensive Coordinator and signal caller.
Paopao began his playing career as quarterback for the BC Lions in 1978, where he led the Lions in passing for three seasons and set a CFL record in 1979 for most pass completions in a single game. Paopao enjoyed a 12-year career in the CFL before becoming acoach in the league. He is a member of the BC Lions Wall of Fame and was inducted into the Long Beach State Hall of Fame in 2007.
CanadaFootballChat.com will have more information as it becomes available.
Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.
