Milton: GM Ted Goveia back home with Tiger-Cats

12/07/2024 10:00 AM

HAMILTON — His football journey has taken him to both coasts, and points in between, but Ted Goveia has finally circled back home.

The Burlington native, who played his high school ball at Assumption Secondary School and eventually coached there, is the Tiger-Cats' new general manager. After much speculation amongst the national football media, Goveia was officially appointed on Thursday after a search led by President of Football Operations Orlondo Steinauer chose him over about a dozen other candidates.

"As I prepared for the interviews, I started looking at the stuff I've done locally, from high school coaching, starting summer camps here, coaching in the OVFL, the Burlington Braves," Goveia said. "I'm so happy to be back and having the chance to contribute more. Not just with the Cats but trying to help grow the sport in our area. It can be life-changing stuff.

"This is such a forward-moving business, you don't really stop and look in the rearview mirror too much."

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Since it became public that he was the new Cats GM, Goveia has heard from numerous colleagues and players, including former Ticats and McMaster head coach Greg Marshall, McMaster legend Jesse Lumsden and fellow Mac coaching alumni Jason Riley and Joe Sardo. One teammate from the gone-but-not-forgotten Burlington Braves even posted a photo of him in his Braves' regalia.

Goveia returns to his childhood stomping grounds from Winnipeg where he was the Blue Bombers' senior assistant general manager and player personnel director, helping the Bombers reach five straight Grey Cups, including two victories in 2019 and 2021. Always maintaining a home in Burlington, he has been a regular fixture in the Tim Hortons Field press box, scouting games for the Bombers and Argos.

And he's as local as they come: he coached and played at both Assumption and the Braves, working on the line at Ford to save money for college while leading them to three straight conference finals.

He later went to Mount Allison to play offensive line from 1991-93 then joined the coaching staff for four years––winning the league title in 1997 as head coach––and also acted as recruiting director.

He was with the McMaster Marauders from 2001 to 2004, coaching receivers, running backs and special teams and was the recruitment coordinator, signing some of the deepest classes in Mac history and helping the Marauders win three straight Yates Cups.

"He's passionate about Hamilton," said Orlondo Steinauer, the Ticats president of football operations. "He shared a story with us about walking through tailgates to the stadium and he remembers watching Ozzie's field goal going through the uprights in '98. He does have a passion for the community and understands the pride and tradition of Tiger-Cat football.

"Ted has a coaching background and pedigree, and he's also been immersed in personnel. I think that's unique."

Goveia has woven a thick tapestry of experience through all levels of Canadian football, including the junior leagues and three university programs; Mount Allison, Mac and UBC, where he started as offensive coordinator and graduated to head coach and general manager in 2006 through 2009. He then joined the Argos, and went to Winnipeg in 2013. In addition to his scouting and coaching history, he's well-versed in the business requirements of the CFL, an important part of the portfolio.

He comes into Hamilton with the head coach already in place, a situation which not every prospective GM would find comfortable. But there is history, and a building block, there.

Two years after landing his first pro football job with Toronto as running backs coach and Canadian scouting director, Goveia was promoted to player personnel director in 2012, the year the Argonauts won the 100th Grey Cup, which was current Tiger-Cats head coach Scott Milanovich's first season as head coach of the Argos.

"I'd say that's part of the attraction. I've watched Scott Milanovich work, I've worked alongside him. I had a background role with him in Toronto, and we won together.

"He was the driving force. He's a high-level thinker and he's one of the hardest guys to prepare against, strategically. The guy knows how to win, and he's got presence. I can help Scott be successful. That's a motivator in this."

Goveia arrives in Hamilton after the Ticats narrowly missed the playoffs with a 7-11 record in 2024. When Goveia moved from the Argos to the Bombers, Winnipeg had endured some down seasons before going 11-7 in 2016. They haven't missed the post-season since and were in the past five Grey Cup games.

"People didn't see all the pain and the learning before those five Grey Cups," he said. "When you don't make the playoffs there's going to be change. But I'm not one for threats and striking fear. I don't think it brings out the best in people.

'I'm going to do a deep dive into the roster, figure out who the glue guys are and make any changes based on that. I want to help build up the locker room with the right people, and I want to protect the locker room. You bring really good people in, and I don't just mean really good athletes. It's people that get how to win, that enjoy working hard and practising, that like each other and want to hang out together. Once you establish that, it's my job to make sure that anyone we add to that fits into it. That's protecting the right people in the locker room. That's part of the secret sauce.

"The first thing, always, is to win. I don't think this is a blow-it-up job. I believe in continuity but at the same time I like winning. It's about taking time to get to know people and bringing in the right people, at all levels.

"There are a lot of good things that are going on here, at all levels. I'm not going to go in make a power-point speech about everyone in the building and how it's going to be, because they are already doing a lot of really good things. I can feel it. I can see it.

"That was one of the motivating factors taking the job. They're doing a lot of good things, and I think I can complement those things, maybe add some value and some fresh ideas. You want to build connections.

"I think the first priority is building out the department, adding some pieces, guys that love working, and make sure we bring in the right players."

That was one of concepts which stood out to Steinauer during the interviewing process.

"It's not just the vision for our organization, it's the vision of how he wanted to build our staff, which is his staff now."