Greg Marshall (born April 19, 1959) is a former

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and current head coach for the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

's football team, the

Western Mustangs The Western Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent University of Western Ontario, Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. The school's athletic program supports 46 Varsity team, varsity teams. Their mascot is a Mustang named J.W. a ...

. Marshall was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

with the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) from to . Prior to his time with the Tiger-Cats, Marshall was the head coach of

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

's football team. He is the brother of Blake Marshall.

Playing career

Marshall had a successful collegiate career at the

, and as a running back won the 1980

Hec Crighton Trophy The Hec Crighton Trophy (sometimes referred to as the Hec Crighton Award) is awarded annually to the most outstanding Canadian football player in U Sports. The trophy is named after Hec Crighton who was a former teacher, coach, referee, and the ...

as Canada's best collegiate player. Following his time in university, Marshall moved to the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

. Marshall played three years, from to , in the CFL with the Eskimos, winning a

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

in the 70th incarnation of the Canadian football championship game. Marshall's Eskimos defeated the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

32–16, the last of Edmonton's legendary five Grey Cups in a row. After his playing career, Marshall moved back to Western Ontario in 1984 to join the coaching staff.

Coaching career

First university stint

Marshall coached at Western from 1984 to 1996, becoming the school's

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

in 1992 and helping the team win two

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup () is the trophy awarded annually to the champion Canadian football team in U Sports, the governing body for university sports in Canada. The U Sports football champion is determined in a one-game playoff (the Vanier Cup game), pl ...

s. In 1997, Marshall was lured to McMaster University and became the school's head coach. In his first experience as a head coach, Marshall was an immediate success. McMaster went winless the season before Marshall's arrival, and he improved the team to a less disgraceful 2–5–1. The next year, McMaster made its first playoff appearance in twelve seasons, and in 1999 McMaster made the conference finals, where they were defeated by

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a Public university, public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and Milton, Ontario, Milton. The ...

. This was good enough to make Marshall OUA Coach of the Year. In 2000, McMaster won their first

Yates Cup The Yates Cup () is a Canadian sports trophy, presented annually to the winner of the Ontario University Athletics football conference of U Sports. It is the oldest still-existing football trophy in North America, dating back to 1898 and surpassi ...

but were defeated by the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

in the chase for the Vanier Cup. Marshall was named the CIS Coach of the Year, becoming only the second person ever to be named both the top player and the top coach in Canadian university football. From 2000 to 2003, Marshall led McMaster to a record-tying four consecutive Yates Cup championships, but never once captured the Vanier Cup as Canadian university football's top team.

Professional coach

Marshall joined the

to start the

2004 CFL season The 2004 CFL season is considered to be the 51st season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 47th Canadian Football League season. CFL News in 2004 Neil Payne retired from his position as Director of Officiating in F ...

, replacing the legendary

Ron Lancaster Ronald Lancaster (October 14, 1938 – September 18, 2008) was an American-Canadian professional football player and coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL). As the starting quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders for 16 seasons, h ...

as head coach. The Tiger-Cats had finished with only a single win in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, and expectations on Marshall were not high. He was both the Tiger-Cats' first Canadian-born head coach and the first CIS coach to be named directly to a head coaching position in the CFL. Under Marshall, the Tiger-Cats exceeded all expectations. The team won its first three games and finished at 9–8–1, good enough to make the playoffs in the East Division and make Marshall the first rookie head coach to be named

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

since Edmonton's

Ray Jauch Ray Jauch ( ; born February 11, 1938) is an American former gridiron football player and coach. He was head coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL), the United States Football League (USFL), and the Arena Football League (AFL). He won 127 r ...

in . The Tiger-Cats lost the East Semi-Final to Toronto 24–6. was a regression for the Tiger-Cats, as they finished last in the league at 5–13. Thanks to mediocre performances from a succession of quarterbacks that included

Danny McManus Danny McManus (born June 17, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He passed for over 53,000 yards in 17 seasons. He currently serves as the assistant general manag ...

, Khari Jones, Marcus Brady, and Kevin Eakin, the Tiger-Cats were forced to trade for Edmonton quarterback

Jason Maas Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek mythology, mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was m ...

in the off-season. However, with the arrival of Maas and the emergence of young running back Jesse Lumsden as a legitimate threat late in the season, expectations were higher on Marshall and the Tiger-Cats for the season. started off very rocky for Marshall, going into the current campaign with four straight losses, putting his very short coaching career in jeopardy. The situation was finally put on ice as general manager Rob Katz and owner Bob Young made the tough decision to end his tenure with the club, making Lancaster interim head coach once more.

CFL coaching record

Second university stint

In August 2006, Marshall returned to Western Ontario as offensive co-ordinator, which generated a large amount of coverage due to his prominence as a CFL coach. After the retirement of longtime Western coach Larry Haylor, Marshall became head coach of the program in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. He has since led the Mustangs to six

conference championships in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2018. He made his first appearance as a head coach in the

game in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, but lost to the perennial power house

Laval Rouge et Or The Laval Rouge et Or (; , ''Red and Gold'') are the athletic teams that represent Université Laval, located in Quebec City, Quebec. Home games are all held in the PEPS indoor and outdoor sports facilities. Varsity teams Laval Rouge et Or team ...

. Marshall would go on to win the Vanier Cup against Laval in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, his first national championship as a head coach. In 2018 and 2019, Marshall was named U Sports Coach of the Year for the second and third time in his coaching career, tying him with Tuffy Knight for most all-time. In

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, Marshall led the Mustangs to the eighth

championship in program history and his second as head coach.

References

External links

Western Mustangs profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Greg 1959 births Canadian football running backs Edmonton Elks players Hamilton Tiger-Cats coaches Living people Academic staff of McMaster University Players of Canadian football from Ontario Sportspeople from Guelph University of Western Ontario alumni Academic staff of the University of Western Ontario Western Mustangs football players Western Mustangs football coaches McMaster Marauders football coaches