The Toronto Argonauts are including Kent Austin among the team's targets to become their next head coach, with the former CFL defenseman emerging as a top candidate after Mike O'Shea opted out of the Double Blue, according to sources.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) President and CEO Keith Pelley, who is leading the effort, has known Austin since they spent time together in Toronto two decades ago.
Pelley was the team's general manager in 2004 when the Argonauts won the 92nd Gray Cup 27-19 over the BC Lions in Ottawa. Austin was Toronto's offensive coordinator and helped Damon Allen be named the game's MVP.
Pelley and Austin spent more than two seasons together in Toronto, although the last one was fired by Michael “Pinball” Clemons in 2006.Around this time, the former left for the position of executive vice president of CTV.
In December 2006, Austin was named the 26th head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He coached Kerry Joseph as the dual-threat QB won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player award and the Green and White won the Gray Cup in his only season as a bench coach.
The Natick, Massachusetts native has been with the NCAA since 2018. He helped lead quarterback Malik Willis to a third-round NFL draft pick as co-offensive coordinator and QBs coach at Liberty University before moving to Auburn University in 2023, where he currently serves as the quarterbacks coach.
Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze was fired on November 2 after starting the 2025 NCAA season with a 4-5 record. Austin is under contract through the 2026 season, but his future employment status will be determined by the school's next head coaching appointment, which could make a return to the CFL possible.
Austin shares an alma mater with current Argos quarterback Chad Kelly, as both played at the University of Mississippi. He had a ten-year CFL career with the Roughriders, BC Lions, Argonauts and Blue Bombers, completing 57.6% of his passes for 36,030 yards, 198 touchdowns, 191 interceptions and winning two Gray Cups.
He got his first coaching job with the Ottawa Renegades as defensive backs coach in 2003. After a stop in Toronto and a Gray Cup win in Saskatchewan, he moved up to the collegiate ranks and became the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss. He stayed with the team for two years before becoming the head coach at Cornell University, a position he held for three seasons.
Austin was hired by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as head coach in 2013 and spent five years in Steeltown before resigning to focus on his duties as vice president of football operations. He helped the Ticats to two Gray Cup appearances (2013 and 2014) but ended his tenure with a losing record.
The 62-year-old has a 48-50 win-loss record as a CFL head coach, including a 7-4 mark in the playoffs. As an NCAA head coach, he went 11-19.
The Argos are searching for a new head coach after two-time Gray Cup champion Ryan Dinwiddie left to become head coach and general manager of the Ottawa Redblacks in early November. Double Blue sent O'Shea to Toronto for an interview, but he decided to sign a three-year extension and stay in Winnipeg.
The Argonauts finished third in the East Division standings in 2025 with a 5-13 record, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Kelly was unable to play the entire season due to a broken leg he suffered in the 2024 Eastern Division finals. Nick Arbuckle threw for 4,370 yards, 26 touchdowns and 15 interceptions to be named the team's Most Outstanding Player.
Toronto ranked seventh in net offense, sixth in net defense and seventh in turnover differential of minus-eight. The team's leading rusher was Spencer Brown with 314 yards, the leading receiver was Dejon Brissett with 907 yards, and the leading tackler was Cameron Judge with 79 tackles. The Argos ranked ninth in attendance with an average of 15,109 fans at BMO Field, down 0.1 percent from the previous year.
