The historically heated rivalry between the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and Carleton Ravens football teams seems destined to hit new highs when the Ravens hit the field in 2013.
“It was never the intention on this end, but obviously, I think … it’s getting to that point a little bit,” said Ravens head coach Steve Sumarah.
Less than a month after former Gee-Gees head coach J.P. Asselin joined the coaching ranks at Carleton, the Ravens dealt another blow to the University of Ottawa football team, hiring former Gee-Gees offensive co-ordinator Chris Coulson as offensive line coach.
“It’s definitely neat to be right in on the ground floor on something and being a part of building something,” Coulson said.
According to head coach Steve Sumarah, though, Coulson was simply the best man for the job.
“I think [Coulson] is one of the top offensive line coaches and offensive-minded people around,” he said. “His knowledge, his dedication and his enthusiasm for working with student athletes and trying to make them better … it’s just going to be awesome for us.”
Prior to moving to Carleton, Coulson spent ten years with the Gee-Gees, seven of which were as offensive co-ordinator. During his tenure as offensive co-ordinator, the Gee-Gees finished in first place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) division three times.
Coulson also worked closely with Asselin, who was the assistant offensive co-ordinator in 2008 and 2009 before taking the job of head coach. Sumarah expects the past working experience between the two to show from day one.
“The biggest thing with [Coulson] was that he had worked with [Asselin] for many years at Ottawa U,” he said. “The synergy between [Asselin] and [Coulson] is second to none and I think when [Asselin] made the trek up the canal . . . or I guess down the canal, I still haven’t figured that one out yet,” he added with a laugh, “it kind of was a natural fit for Chris as well.”
“J.P. and I have a pretty good working relationship,” Coulson added.
“We’re good friends, for one thing, and we’ve coached together for a while. That definitely made it an easy landing spot.”
Coulson has a history of developing successful players. His ten years at the University of Ottawa consistently saw the team’s offence being very highly ranked. He also produced players such as former OUA Most Valuable Player quarterbacks Josh Sacobie and Brad Sinopoli, the latter of whom now plays with the Calgary Stampeders in the CFL.
“I was calling some people about [Asselin] and one of the people [Asselin] asked me to call was Sinopoli,” Sumarah said.
“It was interesting because the thing [Sinopoli] mentioned the most was how well [Coulson and Asselin] work together and how well they work with the student athletes.”
Sumarah, who spent the long weekend in May scouting talent in Montreal with Asselin, expressed his enthusiasm quite clearly at having Coulson on board.
“It’s going to allow us to get ourselves ready faster to be competitive,” Sumarah said. “The fact that [Coulson] came on board, I’m going to say that’s a no-brainer.”
As for Coulson, he just hopes to help the Ravens succeed.
“When you start coaching some guys that maybe have better physical tools than I had [and] they’re able to grasp some of both the technical and tactical aspect of what we’re trying to do, you can produce some pretty good linemen,” he said.
“That’s something we’ve done in the past and I look forward to doing in the future.”
