Photo courtesy: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats met at 6:30 a.m. on Monday to go over the team’s pending free agent list, but head coach Scott Milanovich would rather be packing his bags for Winnipeg.
The Ticats lost 19-16 in the East Final when Montreal Alouettes’ kicker Jose Maltos-Díaz split the uprights from 45 yards out as time expired. The loss has left Hamilton looking forward to 2026 rather than preparing to play in the 112th Grey Cup on Sunday.
Hamilton produced an 11-7 record when the 2025 regular-season was all said and done, giving the team the right to host the East Final and a chance to end the three-down league’s longest championship drought.
As Milanovich and his football operations staff prepare for the future, the 52-year-old was asked if he would ever consider adding general manager duties alongside being a head coach. Ryan Dinwiddie has done exactly that in his new role with the Ottawa Reblacks, although it doesn’t mean Hamilton’s bench boss wants a dual role, yet.
“I don’t know what Ryan’s situation is there. I think it’s difficult to do both jobs. There may be a day that I want to get into personnel, but that day’s not now,” Milanovich said.
The Tiger-Cats have used non-traditional flow charts within their football operations department in the past, including a stretch where there was no GM and instead three assistant general managers. Hamilton appears to have an opening for the GM role after Ted Goveia tragically passed away in September following a battle with cancer.
“The things (the players) said, the way they reacted to Teddy really helped cement his legacy, a huge part of rebuilding this team, and what we were able to do on the field,” Milanovich said.
The longtime coach stated his Ticats have 29 pending free agents, which he believes has become standard around the CFL year in and year out. You can bet he will be involved in decisions about which players are prioritized and re-signed, whether there’s a GM title or not added to his resume.
“You’re rebuilding a team almost every year. I know most of the guys, if not all the guys really like the culture here, they like the organization, the way they’re treated. I think that gives us an edge in free agency being able to retain our guys,” Milanovich said.
“Let’s retain the guys we have that are good players, that are good people, that fit into our vision. Then you move on, ‘Is there a guy like a Kenny Lawler out there that can help us get over the last hurdle?’ The first priority will be prioritizing our own guys.”
That seems like a GM-type thought process.
The Tiger-Cats finished first in the East Division standings in 2025 with an 11-7 record, though the team lost the East Final to the Montreal Alouettes. Bo Levi Mitchell led the CFL with 5,296 passing yards, 36 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions after starting all 18 regular-season games, earning the East Division’s nomination for Most Outstanding Player.
Hamilton ranked third in net offence, eighth in net defence, and first with a turnover differential of plus-ten. The team’s leading rusher was Greg Bell with 1,038 yards, leading receiver was Kenny Lawler with 1,443 yards, and leading tackler was Stavros Katsantonis with 69 tackles. The Ticats ranked fourth in attendance with average crowds of 22,858, which was a 3.9 percent increase from the previous year.