Darrell Davis: Austin returns to U.S. 12 years after fulfilling Riders promise

If Kent Austin never returns to a CFL sideline, his coaching record is 48 wins, 50 losses through four-plus seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and one magical year with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Austin has reportedly taken an assistant’s job at Liberty University, working for a famous U.S. college head coach named Hugh Freeze, who is best known for recruiting violations and using a work phone to call escort agencies. Freeze was the head coach at Ole Miss, Austin’s alma mater, where the latter spent a couple seasons following his 2007 Grey Cup-winning campaign in Saskatchewan.

Austin was a Grey Cup-winning quarterback with the Roughriders in 1989. Upon rejoining the team, he vowed to bring another Grey Cup to Saskatchewan, which he did, while miraculously moulding quarterback Kerry Joseph into the CFL’s outstanding player. Austin handled the championship season perfectly, from his inspirational welcoming speech to his handling of his players to his dealings with the media. He was named the CFL’s coach-of-the-year and left immediately afterwards for his second U.S. college sojourn.

Hamilton later wooed Austin back as vice-president of football operations and head coach. Hamilton lost back-to-back Grey Cups before Austin’s coaching star faded and he stepped aside, ultimately heading back to the States, 12 long years after he kept his Grey Cup promise to Saskatchewan.