The Bison football program is excited to announce its coaching staff for the 2019 season, which calls upon decades of experience at the high school, provincial, and national levels. It represents the largest change to the staff since head coach Brian Dobie took over the program in 1996, as he enters his 24th season at the helm.
"The changes and additions to our staff are both interesting and exciting," said Dobie. "Change has so many positive variables to it. I'm looking forward to what so many of these new coaches at Bison football bring to the table. Their perspectives and insights bring tremendous value in terms of our team and our program moving forward."
Much of the changes in 2019 happen on the offensive side of the ball, starting with Vaughan Mitchell returning to the offensive coordinator role, a position he previously held on multiple occasions, including during a trip to the Vanier Cup in 2001. A part of Bison football since 1996, he's also coached the offensive line and running backs coach and was the run game/protections coordinator when Manitoba won the Vanier Cup in 2007.
Coaching the pivot position in 2019 is a new addition to the staff in Cory Waldbauer, who has extensive experience at all levels of amateur football in the province. He was the offensive coordinator for the Winnipeg Rifles of the Canadian Junior Football League from 2002-12 and was instrumental in the development of eventual Bison commits Nathan Friesen and Ryan Marsch, among others. Waldbauer has also served as the offensive coordinator for the Maples Marauders of the Winnipeg High School Football League (WHSFL) and was the quarterbacks coach for Team Manitoba in 2005 and 2006 — the last time Manitoba won the national title at the Canada Cup.
The Bison running backs will be led by Jeff Ready, a graduate of River East Collegiate who has 17 years of coaching experience under his belt at the amateur football level. Ready has previous experience as the offensive coordinator for the Winnipeg Rifles and has been the head coach of Team Manitoba's U16 program for the past three years, guiding them to back-to-back silver medals in 2017 and 2018. He was also named to Team Canada's coaching staff in 2017 as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Receivers see two new additions to the staff, as Scott Naujoks takes the lead and Bisons alum Dylan Schrot returns to the program. Naujoks enjoyed a stellar high school career with St. Paul's at the receiver position and also has experience on the Bisons and Winnipeg Rifles' rosters. He's also spent the past decade giving back to his old high school as receivers' coach and offensive coordinator. Additionally, he was the receivers' coach for Team Manitoba's U18 squad this summer — led by fellow Bisons coach Ryan Karhut.
Schrot played his high school ball at Sisler before enjoying a stellar junior football career as a receiver for both Vancouver Island and Calgary. He then spent two seasons with the Bisons and last year was an All-Canadian. Schrot also spent time as a free agent with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers this offseason, scoring a touchdown in a pre-season home game.
Karhut — a member of Manitoba's 2007 Vanier Cup team and a former head coach with the Winnipeg Rifles — continues as the Bisons special teams coordinator in 2019, a job he previously held with the York Lions. Karhut will also be the lead coach of the offensive line, with assistance coming from new coach Mark Loewen. Loewen, a graduate of Fort Richmond Collegiate, played his university ball with the Calgary Dinos and was also a member of Team Manitoba from 2004-06. He's been the offensive line coach at Vincent Massey for the last number of years.
On the other side of the ball, Stan Pierre returns for his 15th season as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. Richard Urbanovich also returns to lead to the defensive backs while both Scott Barbour and Shaquille Armstrong return as defensive line coaches.
The new addition in 2019 is Sean Oleksewycz, who will work under Urbanovich with the secondary. A local product, Oleksewycz attended River East Collegiate along with Ready and also played university football for Mount Allison. He has previous high school coaching experience with both Kildonan East and River East, the latter of which saw him win the Division 2 title in 2019 as a first-year head coach. He's also been on Ready's U16 staff for the last three years as defensive coordinator.
The Bison football program is coming off a 2018 season that saw them post a 3-5 conference record and make a Hardy Cup Semifinal appearance, losing to Canada West's top regular season team, the Calgary Dinos.
The Bisons open their 2019 training camp on Saturday, August 10. Their home and season opener takes place on August 30 against the Saskatchewan Huskies, with kickoff at IG Field set for 7 p.m.
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