GUELPH, Ont. – One of the biggest names in the coaching ranks of Canadian university football has joined the Guelph Gryphons. On Thursday, March 10, 2022, the University of Guelph football program announced the addition of Pat Sheahan as the team's new offensive line coach. Sheahan, the father of current Gryphons head coach,
Ryan Sheahan, arrives at U of G as the owner of one of the most decorated coach resumés in U SPORTS football history. Pat Sheahan's U SPORTS football coaching career dates back to 1984 and includes 30 years of head coaching experience, having served as head coach of the Queen's Gaels (2000-2018) as well as the Concordia Stingers (1989-1999). Since 2019, Pat Sheahan has served as the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach at the University of Calgary, where he helped lead the Dinos to their fifth Vanier Cup title in program history during the 2019 season.
Pat Sheahan now re-unites with his son, Ryan, with the two having previously worked together for six seasons at Queen's University, including the 2009 season in which the father-son duo helped lead the Gaels to their fourth Vanier Cup title in program history. Current Gryphons offensive coordinator, Mark Surya, was a receiver on that 2009 Queen's squad. At Guelph, Pat Sheahan replaces Mike MacDonald as the offensive line coach for the Gryphons, with MacDonald having recently announced his retirement after 11 seasons at U of G, including a memorable 2021 campaign in which MacDonald was named the recipient of the U SPORTS Gino Fracas Award for his outstanding career service as a volunteer coach.
"I have a great amount of respect for the job that Mike (MacDonald) did with the Gryphons offensive line over the years, and I hope to uphold that standard going forward," says Pat Sheahan, a three-time OUA Coach of the Year and U SPORTS Coach of the Year in 2008. "It is great to be closer to home and closer to family, and it is exciting to be joining such a talented coaching staff in this next, new chapter of my career. I am excited to get started."
In his two seasons with the Calgary Dinos (2019 & 2021), Pat Sheahan helped lead a Dinos offence that averaged just under 500 yards and 31 points per game.
"It is an exciting time for our Gryphon football program, as we are adding an outstanding coach with an impeccable resumé to our staff," says
Ryan Sheahan, head coach of the Gryphons football program since 2019. "Not only will our student-athletes benefit from this addition, but members of our coaching staff will as well."
