Brampton Bears hire ‘touchdown’ Tommy Denison as head coach

General Manager Craig Boyd and the Brampton Bears Football Club are extremely excited to announce the hiring of Tommy Denison as our new Head Coach.

“Over the last several weeks I have talked with Tommy many times about his vision, philosophies and how he will structure things from day one, I am very confident we got the right guy” Denison has assembled a very talented staff ensuring that all positions and coordinator spots are filled with the kind of coaches that will develop our players into winners.

Tommy has a very impressive football resume including two Hec Crighton (back to back) with the Queens Golden Gaels. (CIS most outstanding player) Also playing for three CFL teams (Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto) has given Tommy the structure and knowledge to greatly serve the Bears.

When asked what best prepared him to take over the Bears he cited work ethic and his mentors.

“Being blessed to be coached by Matt Dunnigan (Former Calgary Head Coach who drafted Denison into CFL), Kent Austin (Former CFL Great) , Pat Sheehan, one of the most decorated coaches in CIS history and Andy McEvoy (Ottawa Sooners great) very much taught me that dedication, structure and the importance of striving for excellence is the foundation of success”

Over the past several years Tommy has been very involved in coaching at various levels including CIS, OFC, BCFC and the NFC. Along with his playing history the particular stops on his coaching career were very important to Boyd as knowing how to reach and develop players of this age is critical.

Menezes asked Denison how he feels about being the Head Coach and having the keys to the car versus the more specialized roles he has filled in the past and what we can expect from the Bears offence and defense.

“I’m Very excited; this is my first head coaching opportunity after numerous roles as coordinators and positional jobs. I am confident that the education I received from my previously mentioned mentors has me extremely prepared”.

“As far as the looks you can expect, you will have to wait and see but you can be assured that on the defensive side of the ball we will be fast and play very aggressive”. “Everyone will just have to wait and see what the offence will look like, Craig and I have these ideas locked away in the vault until opening night”.

Asked to both Boyd and Denison how their individual background and styles fit the rebuild of the Bears and to move the team into a position to compete for a championship.

“I am incredibly excited to take over the youthful football program. We have built a very talented coaching staff and have begun a massive recruiting program to begin our quest for a championship”. “I am grateful to our GM Craig Boyd for providing me with this tremendous opportunity and I am excited about the vision we share in becoming the premier program in the OFC. We both are roll up our sleeves kind of guys and welcome the hard work to make this vision a reality” says Denison.

Boyd’s response was started with a bit of a chuckle, “over the past several years I have been a West Jet guy but I have to say that Air Canada these days growing in my esteem” (Boyd regularly refers to Denison as Air Canada for his passing dominance over the years) I have spent time as a player in the OFC with great success and Tommy and his background is a perfect fit”. “In our shared NFC history I spent countless amount of time trying to figure out how to stop him to no avail”. “I figured the best way to neutralize him from killing us was to hire him”. “Tommy is a good guy and a good football guy, I feel great about this move, now I can concentrate on recruiting, and building the organization which is in terrific shape moving into 2012”.

The duo will be announcing a series of team activities starting in the next few weeks including mini camps running consistently right into our full time training camp. Players are encouraged to be watching the website and more importantly working on their fitness. In his recruiting efforts Boyd and Denison are adamant that camp is not to get into shape. It is not in any player’s best interest to come to camp out of shape, with expected competition at each position we encourage all players to make the decisions difficult.