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![\"Taylor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/4640931_web1_PXL_20261015_170946691.jpg\")
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Taylor Allen photo<\/p>\n
Former University of Manitoba quarterback Des Catellier was brought to Edmonton by Elks head coach after their time together on Calgary\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could go in and rep just about any play on offence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catellier, a Calgary native, finished his university career in 2022 as the Bisons\u2019 all-time leader in passing yards (7,721) and touchdowns (51). After graduating, his hometown Calgary Stampeders initially expressed interest in signing him as a player before head coach Dave Dickenson suggested he join his staff as a quality control coach.<\/p>\n
Catellier spent two years with the Stampeders, building a strong relationship with Mark Kilam, who coached Calgary\u2019s special teams at the time.<\/p>\n
When Edmonton hired Kilam as its head coach in 2025, he brought Catellier along with him.<\/p>\n
After a year as a special teams assistant, Catellier is now the Elks\u2019 special teams coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got hired here, I wanted to make sure that he came with me so that should tell you all you need to know,\u201d said Kilam.<\/p>\n
\u201cDes is a real one\u2026 He\u2019s a guy that\u2019s intrinsically motivated. You can give him a little bit of a task and he\u2019ll go above and beyond. When you have guys like that, they gain more responsibility and he\u2019s done a nice job with the responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catellier, 28, always had an interest in coaching, but didn\u2019t expect to reach this level so soon. On Thursday, he was on the field instructing players \u2014 some older than him \u2014 during the Elks\u2019 walkthrough at Commonwealth Stadium as Edmonton (12-4) made its final preparations for Friday\u2019s game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-8).<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter how old you are, but if you\u2019re helping them get better at their craft, they\u2019ll listen to you,\u201d said Catellier.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took some years, especially coaching special teams because I was a quarterback so it wasn\u2019t something I was super comfortable with when I first got in. I wasn\u2019t trying to coach guys hard at first because you\u2019ve got to earn that respect a little bit. Once you earn that respect and they know you know what you\u2019re talking about, then you can coach them hard and they\u2019ll listen to what you have to say.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bombers head coach Mike O\u2019Shea has taken notice of Catellier\u2019s rapid rise through the coaching ranks.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou leave university and a lot of these guys can step into, not all, but a lot of these guys can step into decent jobs, decent careers and so grinding away coaching, probably not getting paid a lot to start, could be a tough decision for guys,\u201d said O\u2019Shea.<\/p>\n
\u201cDes has managed to turn this into a career so far and you know, I like talking to him. He\u2019s a good kid and obviously, to me, his approach of working hard, getting in there and grinding has paid off for him and I respect that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kilam developed a special-teams concept in Calgary called the \u2018Triangle of Death.\u2019 The idea is to make opposing returners feel like they\u2019re caught in a vice by setting the edges and applying pressure through the middle.<\/p>\n
Catellier has fully embraced it. Players who stand out on special teams are rewarded with \u2018TOD\u2019 T-shirts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe special teams coach has a lot to do with hyping up your team and getting them ready for the battle. When Des comes in and talks, he gets the guys fired up,\u201d said Fajardo.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome guys are like \u2018I want to be on special teams because I want a shirt!\u2019 It\u2019s hard for guys like me because I\u2019ll never get a shirt.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Catellier would love to work his way up to becoming a head coach one day, but he isn\u2019t getting ahead of himself. He has a strong mentor in Kilam, as well as retired Bisons head coach Brian Dobie, whom he speaks with frequently.<\/p>\n
While he\u2019s back in his home province, Catellier credits his time in the Keystone Province with helping prepare him for life in the pros.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the guys there at Manitoba, I love those guys, they\u2019re all my brothers. I wouldn\u2019t change anything about my time there, I loved it,\u201d said Catellier.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically after my first year, I lived there for six, seven years. I love everything about it there.\u201d<\/p>\n
winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n
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Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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