Eric Tillman out as Ticats GM

Eric Tillman will not be returning to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as general manager next season, per CFL sources.

Tillman had been with the club since 2013, when he was brought on as consultant early in the tenure of then-vice-president of football operations Kent Austin. He was promoted to general manager in 2016.

He retained that title after Austin stepped down to become a consultant last April but didn’t have final decision-making authority, sharing the duties with assistant general managers Shawn Burke and Drew Allemang. Head June Jones and assistant head coach Orlondo Steinauer, who recently took over the top job, also played a role in personnel.

Burke and Allemang will remain with the club and are expected to take on expanded roles.

Hearing that Spencer Zimmerman, most recently assistant GM of the @TorontoArgos, has left the club and soon will be taking a role with the @Ticats #CFL #Argos #Ticats

— Dave Naylor (@TSNDaveNaylor) January 2, 2019

The expiration of Tillman’s contract was first reported by TSN’s Dave Naylor, who says Tillman is in the running for the top football job with the Atlantic Schooners. The Halifax franchise does not have a publicly announced stadium plan and there is no official timetable for their entry into the CFL.

Sources say the move is not related to the new football operations salary cap, which has been put into place this season and forced a number of teams across the CFL to cut back on staff.