The Start of A New Chapter for Concordia Football
Stingers Introduce Mickey Donovan as New Head Coach
After longtime Stingers football head coach Gerry McGrath announced his retirement last October following a disappointing 0-8 season, the responsibility of finding his replacement fell in the hands of Concordia’s director of Recreation and Athletics, Patrick Boivin.
Today, Boivin and his staff believe they have found their man for the challenge: former Stingers linebacker Mickey Donovan.
“He is definitely our guy for the job, [we are] very excited to have him,” said Boivin. “He understands the mentality and this generation of student-athletes and young adults—that it needs to be a partnership if you want them to buy into you or believe in you.”
As for Donovan, 33, who played three seasons as linebacker for the Stingers from 2002 to 2004, coming to Concordia was an obvious choice for him.
“I’m really just excited that I’m back home, home is Concordia,” said the New Hampshire-born Donovan. “This is where my life for Canadian football began, and it’s be nothing but good to me here. I owe a lot to Coach McGrath who brought me up here.”
While at Concordia, Donovan was a two-time Quebec all-star as well as a two-time All-Canadian in Canadian Interuniversity Sport. In 2004, his final year wearing the Maroon and Gold, he also won the President’s Trophy for top defensive football player in the country. He then played in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before a knee injury forced him to retire.
Prior to his newly-appointed position this morning, Donovan was also part of the coaching staff for the Western Mustangs, coaching the linebackers from 2007 to 2011, and most recently was an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for Concordia’s cross-town rivals, the McGill Redmen.
“When I played here, our rivalry was always McGill,” said Donovan. “And now that I’ll coach here, it’ll still always be McGill. It’s also where my wife went to school, so you know that it’ll always continue.”
At the press conference Tuesday morning at the PERFORM Centre at the Loyola Campus, Donovan appeared to not be able to contain his excitement, getting greeted by fellow coaches of Stinger teams, as well as a few of his future players he’ll be coaching.
As for his predecessor, McGrath, whose 59 wins as coach will always leave a lasting mark, is quietly enjoying his retirement, while having nothing but praise for his successor. “[Donovan] is [a] person who truly believes in Concordia, and cares about the program. He’s a great person and great coach,” said McGrath. “I really think [Concordia] is on the right track with Mickey as the [head] coach.”
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