Transcript: Tiger-Cats 2017 Season Preview Conference Call

Date: Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Participants: Chief Executive Officer, Scott Mitchell; Vice President of Football Operations & Head Coach, Kent Austin; Quarterback, Zach Collaros
 
Opening Statement:
Scott Mitchell:
“Thank you to everybody for joining the call today. We’re very excited and lucky to be involved in our great league, the CFL, and we’re very excited about the 2017 season. We’re very fortunate in Hamilton to begin a period of great stability with the Tiger-Cats. As I have said, everything begins and ends with Bob Young who is a tremendous owner who only gets better and better as an owner. We are very fortunate to have Bob’s continued excitement and passion for not only the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but the Canadian Football League as well.
We are very fortunate to have stability both on and off the field with Coach Austin, entering his fifth season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Matt Afinec, who does a tremendous job for us running the business operations for the organization for eight years now. The 2017 season is very exciting as it will be our third full season at Tim Hortons Field. Tim Hortons Field has obviously been a tremendous success for the Tiger-Cats, the City of Hamilton, and everybody in the Hamilton surrounding area. 2017 will see much of the same as the previous two seasons in terms of our expectations on the business side. We expect to have another completely sold out season in 2017. We are very excited about the trends we are seeing in our season seat holders, and the renewals of our first and second season seat holders, who clearly had a great experience at Tim Hortons Field. That has been exciting for us as it has allowed us to change the demographics a little bit within the organization and our fan base, defining that younger demographic and the hard-core fans who produce a tremendous experience at Tim Hortons Field.
From a corporate perspective, we expect this to be our fourth straight season having our corporate partnerships sold out at Tim Hortons Field. I am very thrilled this year, in particular, to bring on the First Ontario Credit Union as our financial partner, and in fact, we are kicking off today our FirstOn the Field event/partnership where we will see hundreds of kids participating in flag football. These kids will be getting the value of the Canadian football game and football in general as they get the experience at Tim Hortons Field.
We pride ourselves on both the fan experience and the innovation within our organization. This year you will see us continue to invest substantially in Tim Hortons Field. We have a different mentality that relates to the experience of our fans. Everybody has to buy a ticket to get into Tim Hortons Field, but once they are inside there is a plethora of unbelievable amenities that they can experience and enjoy for that three-four hour experience with their friends and family. We very much encourage the social atmosphere at Tim Hortons Field. We have seven or eight phenomenal social engagement opportunities for fans to interact with themselves and experience the live game. Last year we launched the Coors Banquet Bar which was a tremendous success and if you ever got a chance to go down there you saw three-to-four hundred people who were enjoying their game experience and time with their friends and family. We are going to have three-or-four new properties this year at Tim Hortons Field which encourage the social atmosphere at Tim Hortons Field.
We are clearly moving towards a 365-day engagement with our fans using, as always, a lot of innovation. To do that and encourage that, we have seen a 50% increase in our memberships for our All Access platform which gives unique opportunities and content to our fans. It allows fans opportunities to accumulate their Tiger-Cats experiences. This year we launched the Negotiation List as a new opportunity for our fans on all-access to consume the negotiation list for the first time in modern CFL history. In the coming week, we will also announce an innovative program for our season seat holders, one of the first in North American professional sports, with a discount on food and beverages inside Tim Hortons Field with their All Access membership.
On the football side, we have very similar expectations as the business side. We have been very fortunate in the past eight-or-nine years as we have had the most playoff games participated in the CFL. We have accomplished everything we could have wanted to accomplish with the sole exception of winning a Grey Cup. Obviously when it comes to the expectations of a particular season, we want to get in the playoffs, we want to host home playoff games, and we want to host and win Grey Cups. As you could expect, our expectations and standards are to win a Grey Cup. We are tremendously fortunate to be led by what we consider to be the best duo in the CFL by our head coach and our quarterback. We are very thrilled to have Kent make Hamilton home and make a commitment to our organization. We are extremely excited to have Zach as the face of our franchise. He is a tremendous young man, and we think he is the most dynamic quarterback in the CFL. Zach is obviously surrounded by a great group of players. We have terrific Canadian depth and a lot of outstanding football players that we believe will produce an exciting season.
We are very fortunate in Hamilton to have an unbelievably passionate fan base. Hamilton is a tremendous football city, and we are extremely grateful for our fan base. We are very fortunate to be living in a great year of Tiger-Cats football.
With that, we are very much looking forward to a tremendous 2017 season. We know it is going to be a tremendous Grey Cup in Ottawa. Our focus is to be up there with our fans and our players come November 2017.”
 
Q & A:
Drew Edwards, Hamilton Spectator – Question for Scott Mitchell:
Can you give a more definitive update on where things are at with season tickets, and also if there is an update as to where the settlement talks are in terms of a buildout around the stadium? I ask that question in relation to where things are at in terms of a Grey Cup?
Scott Mitchell:
“We don’t talk about season tickets in terms of numbers but I appreciate the annual question, but as I said our expectations are to have another sold out season in 2017. We will meet or exceed our season tickets from 2016, so that is where we are at in terms of our season seats. In terms of talks, Tim Hortons Field is a tremendous asset for the city of Hamilton and the Tiger-Cats. It has come with some challenges of course in terms of a buildout. We are still engaged in litigation with the city, and it is a continued ongoing discussion that needs to see some more progress. But once that is resolved the other piece that we have been missing besides winning a Grey Cup is hosting a Grey Cup. That is certainly a very large priority for our organization once we can get some of this litigation put behind us.”
 
Kristina Costabile, CFL.ca – Question for Coach Austin:
Just wanted to get your thoughts on the draft class with the draft coming up on Sunday, and what you guys are going to be looking for in the draft?
Coach Austin:
“We believe that the draft, certainly on the front end, has a lot of talent. I think overall depth as you get into subsequent later rounds gets a little thinner, but there are certainly a lot of talented players, and players who are going to play up here for a long time. We are looking forward to picking several guys that will benefit our football team and be long term Hamilton Tiger-Cats. What we are going to do though, we will leave till Sunday night.”
 
Darrin Bauming, TSN 1290 – Question for Zach Collaros:
Just wanted to get your perspective your mind set coming into a new season here and running the offence in Hamilton?
Zach Collaros:
“My mindset is the same that it is every year; the goal is to win a Grey Cup. I think for myself I had a good off-season, it was nice being at mini-camp this year and getting back into the swing of things. There were definitely some talented guys there so I am looking forward to getting to training camp. It is the same goal every year as Scott touched on earlier and that is to win the Grey Cup, and that is all that matters. I’m looking forward to getting back to training camp and getting back into the meeting rooms with the coaches, and just getting back onto the field with my teammates and playing football. Again, the goal is the Grey Cup and we’re not going to settle for less.”
 
Darrin Bauming, TSN 1290 – Question for Coach Austin:
Could you speak to the departure of your Defensive Coordinator in Orlondo Steinauer, and the process that you have implemented this offseason and how you plan to work moving forward in this new season?
Coach Austin:
“Across the board as an organization, everybody that got to know Orlondo as a person would say that he was an unbelievable coach, quality human being, was an unbelievable contributor, and that he was an asset to organization in all aspects both on and off the football field. Orlondo had a great opportunity for his career and development, and it’s an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up. We will always support him as an organization in everything that he does and everything that he pursues. The process for me was real simple, that was trying to find the best man to fix what we needed to do and correct what we needed to do defensively. Also to get our players developed to play at a very high level, understand our personnel, and to understand schematically what needs to be changed, and to give us the best chance to put our players in a position to be successful. Through that process, and the individuals that were vetted, Jeff Reinebold was the best fit for us.”
 
Scott Mitchell, Toronto Sun – Question for Zach Collaros:
How different is your mindset and the mental situation at this point in 2017 compared to last year? What did you learn going through that process coming back from your knee and getting back on the field last year?
Zach Collaros:
“I think the mindset is different because last year at this time I was really just concerned with trying to get back to 100% and feeling good enough to play. I wasn’t as focused on really becoming better at my craft. I was really just focused on my rehab. From that standpoint, I think that this offseason has been much more productive for the position I play. It has just all been about getting ready for the season. It has been a great offseason once again and we’re looking forward to this upcoming season.”
Follow up question:
You guys scored over 500 points last year, where do you see this offence being able to take the next step this year?
Collaros:
“We need to be more efficient. Coach Austin talked about it at mini-camp and as well throughout the season. We need to be able to start faster and not let defences dictate what we are doing. For me, it all starts at the quarterback so I need to do a better job at getting the ball into guy’s hands on first downs so they can make plays. It’s what we always talk about, those little things add up, and if we want to get to where we’re going we have to improve in a lot of cases, but specifically starting faster, moving the chains, and being efficient on the field.”
Second follow up question:
With the knee last year and you being a mobile guy, how much did that affect what you did in the pocket, and is that something you want to re-implement back into your game? Is that something you feel much more confident with a year later with the knee?
Collaros:
“It remains to be seen. I think obviously a lot of those times you get out of the pocket it’s more instinctive, so maybe subconsciously I wasn’t trusting my knee as much as I would have. But again, there have been no issues. I’ve had a great offseason. If a play breaks down and I am able to make a play outside of the pocket, I need to be able to get the ball out of my hands accurately to our receivers. That’s the goal, like I’ve said, is to get the ball into the hands of our playmakers because they can do a lot more with the football in their hands than me.”
 
Clint O’Neil, CHCH – Question for Coach Austin:
Based on the amount of signings you have had in the offseason, is the secondary the number one area to rebuild as you approach the season?
Coach Austin:
“The secondary was certainly a focus of ours for obvious reasons, but I can tell you across the board we look and evaluate every position, both on the guys who are penciled in as starters, all the way through the second and third level depth to make sure that we can field the most competitive roster possible. We definitely feel as a staff that we have improved in the secondary. We also felt that at our mini-camp that it was probably our strongest position with the level of talent that was in camp. We really want to focus on improving the talent there and being more aggressive if we can match the talent to that schematically.”
 
Drew Edwards, Hamilton Spectator – Question for Coach Austin:
You have a lot of options for an approach to your ratio this season. Do you have to make a decision on what seven guys you want to start going into the draft? Do you have to maintain that or do you have some sort of flexibility heading into training camp?
Coach Austin:
“Well there is always a balance between need and taking the best player that’s on the board. Some years you might be a little more deficient in terms of talent on the national side, and so you have to find starters. The ultimate goal is to always find guys who can be projected as starters in first, second, and third year. We’re trying to find ratio changers that can start especially, as you know, that have flexibility and versatility and be able to play more than one position. You need to construct your team in a way that has more than seven guys that can start because there are inevitably going to be injuries and we want to make sure that one injury doesn’t topple two or three dominoes as far as changes in our roster. That’s why we like versatility in our ratio and finding guys that can start and have some percentage of those guys be able to play more than one position.”
 
Kristina Costabile, CFL.ca – Question for Zach Collaros:
“What are your thoughts on the competitiveness in the East Division this year with all the changes and shake ups after the free agency period?”
Zach Collaros:
“Montreal has always had what I feel is one of the best defences in the CFL. Ottawa obviously winning the Grey Cup last season and adding some pieces as well. In Toronto, with Coach Trestman there and the direction they’re moving in, they seem to be trending upwards as well. It’s going to be a great season an exciting one, but again we can’t worry too much about that and all we can control is what we do. If we put our best foot forward every day we expect to win every game. I try not to deter myself with what is going on around the league. I try to just focus on my job and what’s going on in our building.”
 
Drew Edwards, Hamilton Spectator – Question for Scott Mitchell:
We have been doing these calls for several years now, and there were some concerns around the new stadium and the economics around the franchise. Have you gotten to a point now that you can say safely that those goals of economic stability are there? If that’s the case, what are the strategic priorities going forward for the team?
Scott Mitchell:
“We achieved that several years ago. The discussion around financial stability stopped when Bob Young purchased the team. Obviously Bob had some challenges in his first few years, but if you look at the last eight-or-nine years of the franchise we have seen great growth and trajectory, especially since we got into Tim Hortons Field. Those questions are behind us now, and for us we have achieved a lot of great things and we are proud of that, and everybody understands that our strategies are to win championships. I think that until we start bringing home championships for this fan base and this franchise we won’t be satisfied. We would like to put the final issues relating to Tim Hortons Field behind us and we would like to bring hosting a Grey Cup to our tremendous fan base in Hamilton who certainly deserve a Grey Cup.”
 
Scott Mitchell, Toronto Sun – Question for Coach Austin:
When you look back on the past four seasons, there is obviously a lot of success, obviously a couple of Grey Cup appearances and close calls. What is the missing ingredient for you guys that you are searching for this year?
Coach Austin:
“We certainly identified many areas. Everything gets evaluated. We believe if we had the perfect formula, please tell me if you have it, really all it comes down to is to make perfect plays every time. But to win the games that need to be won to hoist the Cup, it starts with a top down look on evaluation on which areas we can improve as coaches first and foremost. What we did and didn’t do well, we are very critical on how we prepare our players, and are we actually getting our players better or not? Are the players on an incline as professional athletes and football players and their ability to contribute to the goals that have clearly been stated today? That is what gets evaluated first which puts the pieces of the puzzle together. We look at where we have holes and defencies, especially as it relates to depth. We make sure that as we go through the course of a regular season, and there is always ups and downs and unexpected things, we make sure that we are flexible enough and have quality players and coaching to weather the storm through those times and stay competitive on the field. This game still comes down to players making plays and it’s the coaches job to put those players in a position to be successful, and when they are in that environment to be well prepared because of the coaches and players dedication to wanting to be a pro.”
 
Drew Edwards, Hamilton Spectator – Question for Coach Austin:
We have heard that the organization has achieved many of its objectives, but the one objective to win a Grey Cup. Does that put additional pressure onto you and the team, or do you feel that pressure every year regardless?
Coach Austin:
“That pressure is always there, 18-0 or 1-18. Previous years don’t matter. The only things that matter are, what are you taking from those experiences to get better as a football team? Are you self aware enough to critically analyze what you have done well and what you have done wrong, and improve, to make the organization and football team more competitive? You have been around us and our guys for a long time now and you know we only have one goal, the only reason we play is to be the best. If you aren’t playing to be the best it isn’t really worth the effort, quite frankly. There is no other goal that is worthy of the effort, time, and commitment that everybody in the organization on both sides have to make to this organization to be successful.”