After 10 seasons in the CFL, David Menard has found a new job in football.
On Thursday, the Université de Montréal Carabins announced that they had hired Menard as their defensive line coach for the 2025 season. The 35-year-old is currently a CFL free agent and has not officially announced his retirement as a player, but appears to have shifted focus to help the next generation.
Menard last suited up in 17 games for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2024, registering 14 defensive tackles and three sacks. His most memorable season came in 2021 during a one-year foray with the Montreal Alouettes, where he was named the East Division finalist for Most Outstanding Canadian.
Originally selected in the fourth round of the 2014 CFL Draft by the B.C. Lions, Menard spent eight of his 10 seasons on the West Coast. He went on to appear in 162 professional games, racking up 119 defensive tackles, 41 sacks, and six forced fumbles.
The native of Chicoutimi, Que., played university football for the Carabins from 2010 until 2013, earning first-team All-Canadian honours in his first season. He has been assisting as an offseason strength and conditioning coach for the program since 2021 and will now split positional duties with his former teammate Jean-Samuel Blanc.
The Carabins finished the 2024 regular season with a 7-1 record before losing the Dunsmore Cup to the Laval Rouge et Or by a score of 22-17. The school has won two Vanier Cups, three Uteck Bowls, one Mitchell Bowl, and five Dunsmore Cups since the program was reinstated in 2002.
