Pat Gregory becomes 6th head coach in John Abbott history

JOHN ABBOTT HIRES NEW FOOTBALL COACH

Steve Shaw, Head of Athletics at John Abbott College, is very pleased and excited to announce that Patrick Gregory will be the new Islander Head Football Coach. Pat becomes the sixth Head Coach in Islander history. He brings with him a wealth of coaching and playing experience at all levels of football in Quebec.

“Pat has a lot of coaching experience in the RSEQ and the selection committee was very pleased with him after his interview. The reaction has already been extremely positive and I know the alumni and our department are looking forward to working with him to rebuild the Islander football program,” commented Steve Shaw.

He has coached at the Quebec university level for the last 16 years including the past seven years as the full time Offensive Coordinator at Université de Montréal. He came to the Carabins as they returned to CIS football in 2002 being part of the 2004 team that went 8-0 in the third year of existence and have been a perennial top-10 team since.

He joined Concordia University’s staff in 1995 as the receiver coach and became the offensive coordinator in 2000. During his time with the Stingers, he made one Vanier Cup appearance in 1998 and saw many of the receivers that he tutored go on to pro careers in the CFL. Before joining the University coaching rank, he was an offensive assistant at College St-Jean, Champlain College (Lennoxville) and Selwyn House High School. In 1992 he was the Head Coach of the Black Panthers Thonon-les-Bains in France.

For the past 10 years he has also worked as the Offensive Coordinator with various summer teams including Team Quebec, Team Canada and EMS, part of the Challenge Wilson. He has also been a guest coach at CFL training camps for the BC Lions, Edmonton Eskimos and the Montreal Alouettes and twice was a visiting coach at a mini camp with the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL.

“I am very excited about joining John Abbott and leading the football program. I look forward to working with the staff in providing an outstanding experience for our student-athletes. I will work very hard to establish a level of excellence that everyone at John Abbott can be proud of, and continue to grow the program for the future,” said Pat.

A two-time All-Canadian as a receiver at Bishop’s University, Pat, his wife Christine and daughter Zoé live in Pointe-Claire.

Previous head coaches at John Abbott:

George Wall – 1974 – 1985
Bob Bindon – 1986 – 1996
Dennis Waide – 1997 – 2004
Lou Chapman – 2005 – 2008
Justin McHugh – 2009 – 2011