Flashback, March 15th, 2013: Snyder, Gorrell and Covington hired

I originally tried to do these key events chronologically but, perhaps due to eagerness to get to the player personnel part of things, I skipped over some front office appointments from this past spring. Here they are:

March 15, 2013 (Ottawa ON.): Ottawa’s new CFL team today announced the appointment of two football veterans to the organization. Jeremy Snyder joins the team from the Montreal Alouettes as Pro/College Scout, and Miles Gorrell has been hired as Scouting Consultant.

“Both of these individuals will be key members of our football operations staff as we prepare to draft and sign players,” said Ottawa’s General Manager, Marcel Desjardins. “Jeremy has the ability to identify talent at the pro and college levels, both in Canada and the United States, and his administrative background will be invaluable to our Football Operations structure. Miles will focus primarily on the CFL and the upcoming CFL Draft. His hands-on approach to scouting and his ability to get to know prospects on a personal level will be of tremendous benefit to our organization.”

Miles Gorrell, an Ottawa U Gee Gee’s alumnus, is best known for his stellar 18-season career as an offensive lineman with five CFL teams, including the 1982 Ottawa Rough Riders. Since 2005, he served as a player personnel assistant with the Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts. Gorrell, a perennial CFL Eastern All-Star and two-time winner of the Leo Dandurand Trophy, will be inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame this September.

For the last three seasons, Jeremy Snyder scouted for the Montreal Alouettes. He prepared strategic advance scouting reports on opposing teams and assessed talent on US college and NFL rosters. Prior to joining the Al’s, Snyder was Pro Scout for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, and prior to joining the Eagles he spent four seasons as Football Operations Assistant with the Chicago Bears.

The Ottawa franchise also announced the appointment of Chantal Covington as Executive Assistant, Football Operations.

Not much to add, except to point out that these guys have been busy. Here's a paragraph from an Ottawa Citizen article fom August 3rd.

(Seattle) Seahawks camp was the second of Desjardins’ eight NFL stops, mostly in the Pacific time zone; he began with the Denver Broncos. Sunderland (RR edit: more on him later) and Snyder will each visit nine camps, but Gorrell just six because he’s returning earlier than the others to oversee Canadian Interuniversity Sport teams, whose season kicks off in August.

Oh, just six for that slacker Gorrell.  :-)

Sounds like no stone is being left unturned.