Tom Higgins nominated for CFL Coach of the Year award
January 7, 2015 - Canadian Football League (CFL)
Montreal Alouettes News Release
Montreal, January 7, 2015 - The Canadian Football League announced on Wednesday the three nominees for the Annis Stukus Trophy handed out each year to the CFL's coach of the year, and Alouettes head coach Tom Higgins has been selected as one of the three finalists.
In his first season as the Alouettes head coach, Higgins guided his team to a historical comeback, as the team won eight of its last ten games to finish in second place of the East Division after starting the season with a 1-7 record. No other team in the League's rich history has ever finished the season with a record of,500 after dropping six games below that bar. The Alouettes completed the season with a 9-9 record.
"Anytime you receive this type of nomination, it is a reflection of all the work the team and the organization has put in," said Higgins. "I am flattered to be nominated and I accept it on behalf of the entire Alouettes organization."
After qualifying for the playoffs, the Alouettes routed the BC Lions by a score of 50-17 in the Eastern Semi-Final before suffering a tough loss in a hard fought battle to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats the following week in the Eastern Final.
This marks Higgins' fourth Annis Stukus Trophy nomination, as he won the award in 2005 with the Calgary Stampeders and in 2003 after guiding the Edmonton Eskimos to a Grey Cup championship. He was also a finalist for the award in 2002. Higgins would become the fifth Alouettes head coach to win the Trophy, joining Marv Levy (1974), Charlie Taffe (1999 and 2000), Don Matthews (2002) and Marc Trestman (2009).
Chris Jones of the Edmonton Eskimos and John Hufnagel of the Calgary Stampeders are the other nominees for this award. The winner will be announced during a luncheon at the CFL Congress at the Winnipeg Delta on Wednesday, January 21.
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Canadian Football League Stories from January 7, 2015
- Blue Bombers Add National Fullback/Long Snapper Tim Cronk - Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- Chris Jones Named CFL Coach of the Year Finalist - Edmonton Elks
- Tom Higgins nominated for CFL Coach of the Year award - Montreal Alouettes
- 2014 Coach of the Year Finalists Unveiled - CFL
- Hufnagel a Finalist for Coach of the Year - Calgary Stampeders
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