OUA coaching changes?

flaxman acadia

 

****UPDATED FEB 19th/14 @ 11:30AM EST *******

There appears to be more coaching changes on the horizon.

This time, it is in the OUA conference.

On Tuesday, Tom Flaxman resigned from his position as Offensive Coordinator of University of Toronto after just two and a half seasons.

The Varsity Blues issued the following statement on their website:

“The University of Toronto Varsity Blues announce today that Tom Flaxman has resigned his position of offensive coordinator.”

“Flaxman joined the football team’s coaching staff in 2012 and had been a part of the program’s successful rebuilding process over the last two years.”

“The University of Toronto wishes Coach Flaxman all the best in his future endeavours.  The search for a new offensive coordinator begins immediately.”

Flaxman began his CIS coaching career as the Acadia Axemen Running Backs Coach in 2008 and later assumed the role of Special Teams Coordinator. He became Co-Offensive Coordinator in 2011 and helped guide Acadia to the Atlantic conference crown that season.

Flaxman has been involved with the Ontario Varsity Football League’s (OVFL) Mississauga Warriors since 2004 as an Offensive Assistant, Co-Coordinator and Coordinator. During that time, he has been a member of four division and three OVFL championship teams.

As a player, the standout running back won the Yates Cup as a member of the McMaster Marauders in 2003 before transferring to Acadia, where he enjoyed similar success with back-to-back Atlantic conference championship titles in 2005 and 2006.

Efforts were made to contact Flaxman for this story but he was unavailable for comment by press time.

Other sources have indicated that two of the final candidates for the Queen’s Golden Gaels Defensive Coordinator are from the AUS Conference.

Shad McLachlan

Shad McLachlan is one of the candidates being considered for the position.  McLachlan  is currently in his second season as Defensive Coordinator of the Acadia Axemen. He spent six seasons as Linebackers Coach for the team.

The native of Torrance, California enjoyed a successful playing career with the Axemen as he was named a CIS First Team All-Canadian (2003) as well as AUS Defensive Player of the Year (2003).

McLaughlin went overseas to play and serve as Defensive Coordinator of the Bern Grizzlies.  He guided the team to a Swiss Championship in 2007. For his exceptional play on the field, he was named the league’s Defensive MVP.  McLaughlin also served as Defensive Coordinator of the Danube Dragons of the European Football League (EFL).

The Axeman Defensive Coordinator previously  instructed at the high school level as a Linebacker Coach and Assistant Defensive Coordinator at his alma mater, Torrance High School.

Bob Mullen

Another candidate is current ST.FX X-Men Defensive Coordinator Bob Mullen, who has ties to the both the Golden Gaels and the Kingston area.

Mullen was the Defensive Coordinator of the Kingston Grenadiers of the Ontario Varsity Football League (OVFL) for the past five years. He had the first ranked scoring defense in the OVFL varsity division in 2012, and in 2011 he was named the OVFL Coach of the Year. Mullen also had head coaching duties at the Loyalist Collegiate & Vocational Institute in Kingston, ON from 2004-08 when he helped resuscitate their program.

A native of Peterborough, ON, Mullen was in Kingston since he played as a quarterback and defensive back at Queen’s University where he was a member of their 1978 Vanier Cup championship team. He went on to coach with the Queen’s Gaels for 12 seasons from 1988-2000. As their Defensive Coordinator, Mullen was a part of four OUA titles, two national semi-final appearances, and he led a defense that recorded the only shutout victory in Vanier Cup history in 1992 with a 31-0 win over Saint Mary’s.

In 1993, Mullen won the national Gino Fracas award as the outstanding volunteer assistant coach in the CIS. He was inducted into the Queen’s University coaches hall of fame in 2003, and in 2012 was inducted Queen’s University football hall of fame as a builder.

Mullen just completed his first season with the X-Men.

(Photo credits:  Acadia Axemen & ST.FX X-Men Sports Information Websites)

 

 

 

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