There have been plenty of notable coaching moves already this offseason, but a particularly interesting one still to come could be within the same city. Scott Mitchell of The Calgary Sun reports that Stampeders' special teams coordinator Mark Kilam has had discussions with the University of Calgary about their head-coaching job following Blake Nill's departure for UBC. As Mitchell writes, Kilam has a substantial background in CIS football and strong ties to junior and high school football programs in Alberta:



Kilam has strong ties to CIS football, having played for the University of Alberta Golden Bears from 1997-2001 and was a team captain. He was also in the mix for the head coaching job at U of A two years ago, as well, but turned it down.



With a bachelor of physical education from U of A in hand, Kilam spent a number of years working in strength and conditioning, including supervising a program which included the Dinos and the Calgary Colts junior football team.



In addition to the impressive resume Kilam has built up during his 10 years with the Stampeders, his strong ties to the province could be seen a recruiting advantage in the area.



The energetic personality he brings to the field would also likely resonate with young student/athletes.













Kilam might well be a good fit for the Dinos. As discussed in the wake of Nill's departure, Calgary has been one of the top CIS schools in terms of producing CFL talent. While some of that was certainly thanks to Nill's ability as both a recruiter and coach, it's notable that their roster is stacked with players from the city and to a lesser extent, from the province. Alberta in general and Calgary in particular is turning into a talent-rich football environment, and Kilam could be someone who might be able to keep a lot of that talent flowing to the Dinos. He has connections in Calgary from his decade with the Stampeders (and the strength work he did), and connections in Edmonton from his time playing for the U of A. Those could be important to keeping the Dinos' machine clicking along post-Nill. It's also notable that many CFL guys have found CIS success recently, including Danny Maciocia with the 2014 Vanier Cup champion Montreal Carabins and Jamie Barresi with the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

It's going to be interesting to see if anything comes of this, and if so, when it does. The Dinos don't need to make a quick hire, as interim head coach Steve Buratto is quite qualified to steer the ship given his over three decades of work in the CFL. Buratto is in his 70s, though, and it looks like the team wants to have a full head coach in place before this next year. Kilam could well be their guy, and if they make him a good enough offer, he might be tempted to leave. Being a CIS head coach isn't always better than being a CFL coordinator, but there doesn't appear to be a lot of opportunity for advancement in Calgary; head coach John Hufnagel plans to keep that role for another year, offensive coordinator Dave Dickenson is his already-named successor, and defensive coordinator Rich Stubler is a long-time CFL veteran who's found a lot of success. If Kilam's looking for something different, the Dinos' job could be a good fit.