Hamilton Tiger-Cats coach Casey Creehan credits Julian Howsare for standout CFL season

Photo: Bob Butrym/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Casey Creehan has helped several defensive players reach new heights over 15 seasons as a CFL coach, the most recent being Julian Howsare. When asked what he did to help the veteran defensive end earn his first All-CFL selection in 2025, Creehan turned all of the credit back onto the player.

“Off the field, (Howsare)’s a high character person. He studies, he works. Nobody takes care of their body harder and more than he does. He puts the time in, he wants to be great, and that’s a lot of the battle,” Creehan told 3DownNation at the recent CFL Combine.

“When it comes to the things on the field, he’s got great twitch, he’s got the ability to absorb information and apply it. He’s got great change of direction skills, he’s got power. He has all these tools and maybe I was just in the right place and the right time for him to excel, but he’s also had other great years under other coaches. He’s just a great talent, a true professional, and he works his tail off.”

Howsare recorded 13 sacks in 2025, almost doubling his previous career-high. He also made 43 defensive tackles, two forced fumbles, one interception, and one touchdown to earn the East Division’s nomination for Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

It’s rare for players to have career-years at the age of 33 but the native of Altoona, Pa. did exactly that, earning a significant raise on a one-year contract extension.

Creehan’s first four seasons in the CFL were spent as the defensive line coach of the Calgary Stampeders, where he worked with Demetrious Maxie. Now the defensive line coach and assistant head coach of the Toronto Argonauts, Maxie is widely considered one of the CFL’s best assistant coaches.

The list of other impact CFL defensive linemen Creehan has coached is exhaustive, including Tearrius George, Keron Williams, Brandon Boudreaux, Cleyon Laing, Tristan Okpalaugo, Odell Willis, Phillip Hunt, Almondo Sewell, Marcus Howard, and Kwaku Boateng.

“They’re all great players. I mean, a coach can only do so much, and when you have talents like the guys you’ve mentioned, it’s fun because you can help them,” said Creehan. “They’re already great players, but you can help them enhance their game and maybe take it to another level. Without great talent, it’s hard to do much and those guys are all that.”

Creehan coached consistently in the CFL for well over a decade before recent collegiate stops at Lyon College, Peru State College, Concord University, and Missouri Valley College. After returning to the league for his first defensive coaching stop since 2017, he noticed the tempo of league offences has increased.

“The biggest thing I noticed coming back last year was the ball was out quicker. I mean, since Marc Trestman and (John Hufnagel) and some of those guys came into this league and were more timing (oriented) with the passing game than had been previous to that. The ball was coming out quick at that point, but it is really coming out quick now because the offensive guys are a lot of descendants of them — they’re in (Trestman and Hufnagel’s coaching) tree,” said Creehan.

“I noticed right away how quick the ball was coming out. That affects how you have to rush a little bit. You’ve gotta take a tighter path to the quarterback, you’ve gotta enter what I call the move phase — you gotta get to that even faster than you did before, so those would be the biggest things. At the end of the day, pass rush is still pass rush. It’s been the same then, and it was now.”

Almost 30 years into his coaching career, Creehan is thrilled to be back working in the CFL, citing the quality of play and the amount of time he spends with his family in Florida during the offseason. He’s had stints as a defensive coordinator in the past but seems pleased to be along for the ride in Steeltown.

“I don’t try to look too far ahead and the reason I say that there’s been times in my career where I have, but right now, I’m with a great head coach, I’m with a great organization, a great defensive coordinator, and I’m just happy doing what I’m doing,” said Creehan.

“I hope that I can continue to prove to the people I work with every day that I’m doing my job and doing it at a high level. Whatever happens in the future happens, but every day I wake up thankful and grateful for where I’m at right now.”

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats added several talented players in free agency, including quarterback Tre Ford, receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr., linebacker Wynton McManis, and returner Mario Alford. The team’s key departures included running back Greg Bell (Ottawa Redblacks), receiver Tim White (Winnipeg Blue Bombers), offensive lineman Coulter Woodmansey (Edmonton Elks), and defensive back DaShaun Amos (Toronto Argonauts).

The Tiger-Cats hold the fifth overall pick in the 2026 CFL Draft, which is scheduled for Tuesday, April 28 at 7:00 p.m. EDT. All CFL training camps are scheduled to open on May 10. Hamilton will play its first preseason game against the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday, May 23 and its first regular-season game against the Montreal Alouettes on Thursday, June 4.

In 2025, Hamilton finished first in the East Division standings with an 11-7 record, though the team lost the East Final to the Montreal Alouettes.