The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have made a significant change to their defence.
Hamilton fired defensive coordinator Mark Washington and hired former Edmonton Elks head coach and general manager Chris Jones as his replacement on Sunday, per TSN’s Farhan Lalji.
Jones was reportedly spotted in Hamilton during the Tiger-Cats’ 47-22 drubbing at the hands of the Elks on Saturday, leading some to speculate a change may be coming. The 56-year-old Jones was fired by the Elks in mid-July after starting the season with five straight losses.
Jones first joined Edmonton’s CFL franchise as head coach in 2014, winning the 103rd Grey Cup a year later. Jones coached the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 2016 to 2018 before rejoining Edmonton in 2022.
The native of South Pittsburgh, Tenn., posted an 8-33 record during his second stint with the Elks.
Tiger-Cats head coach Scott Milanovich had previously worked with Jones while they were assistants with the Montreal Alouettes and with the Toronto Argonauts when Jones was the defensive coordinator under Milanovich.
Hamilton sits last in the East Division with a 2-8 record. They’ve dropped three straight games and their defence is allowing 33.4 points per game, the worst mark in the league by a wide margin.
