The 2019 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season was the 62nd season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 70th overall. It was the 150th year overall in the combined history of the Tiger-Cats and its predecessors the Wildcats and Tigers; the team held sesquicentennial celebrations throughout the season.

The Tiger-Cats improved upon their 8–10 record from 2018 and finished the 2019 regular season with a franchise best 15–3 record. They finished in first place for the first time since 2014 and attempted unsuccessfully to win their ninth Grey Cup championship. This is the first season under co-general managers Drew Allemang and Shawn Burke, and the first full season under head coach Orlondo Steinauer. It was announced on December 3, 2018, that Steinauer would take the reins as the Tiger-Cats' head coach, replacing June Jones in that capacity. The plan was for Jones to remain with the team as an associate head coach and offensive coordinator, but he resigned with the club and joined the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL as head coach.

On October 19, 2019, the Tiger-Cats defeated the Ottawa Redblacks and recorded a franchise-record 13th win in a season. The team finished the season with 15 wins and with a perfect home record for the first time since the CFL went to an 18-game schedule, winning all nine home games. Despite their success during the regular season, they lost to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a team that had a dominant performance during the 107th Grey Cup game. With the Blue Bombers ending a 29-year Grey Cup drought, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats now hold the longest active Grey Cup drought dating back to the 1999 season, having won the 87th Grey Cup that season.

Offseason Foreign drafts For the first time in its history, the CFL held drafts for foreign players from Mexico and Europe. Like all other CFL teams, the Tiger-Cats held three non-tradeable selections in the 2019 CFL–LFA draft, which took place on January 14, 2019. The 2019 European CFL draft took place on April 11, 2019, where all teams held one non-tradeable pick.

Draft Round Pick Player Position School/Club team LFA 1 5 José Noriega WR Artilleros de Puebla 2 14 Omar Cojolum RB Mayas CDMX 3 23 Luis López RB Condors CDMX Euro 1 1 Valentin Gnahoua DL Berlin Rebels

CFL draft The 2019 CFL draft took place on May 2, 2019. The Tiger-Cats held eight selections in the eight-round draft, including three picks within the first 11 overall selections after trading Ryan Bomben and Jamal Robinson to the Montreal Alouettes.Ticats acquire first overall pick in major trade with Als

Round Pick Player Position School Hometown 1 2 Jesse Gibbon OL Waterloo Hamilton, ON 2 10 Nikola Kalinic WR York Toronto, ON 2 11 David Ungerer WR Idaho Pullman, WA 3 22 Maleek Irons RB Ohio Calgary, AB 3 24 Sheridan Lawley DL British Columbia Abbotsford, BC 7 58 Derek Dufault DL Manitoba Winnipeg, MB 8 65 Malcolm Campbell DL Toronto Mississauga, ON 8 67 Gordon Whyte LB St. Francis Xavier Toronto, ON

Preseason Schedule Week Game Date Kickoff Opponent Results TV Venue Attendance Summary Score Record A Bye B 1 Sat, June 1 7:00 p.m. EDT @ Ottawa Redblacks W 25–21 1–0 TSN TD Place Stadium 22,318 Recap C 2 Thu, June 6 7:30 p.m. EDT Toronto Argonauts L 30–23 1–1 Ticats.ca Tim Hortons Field NA Recap 2019 ScheduleCFL on TSN broadcast schedule

Regular season Season standings

Season schedule To accommodate for the viewership of the Toronto Raptors' 9pm EDT NBA Finals Game 6 start time on June 13, the CFL moved up the start time of the league opener that same day from 7:30pm to 7:00pm.

Week Game Date Kickoff Opponent Results TV Venue Attendance Summary Score Record 1 1 Thu, June 13 7:00 p.m. EDT Saskatchewan Roughriders W 23–17 1–0 TSN/RDS Tim Hortons Field 22,287 Recap 2 2 Sat, June 22 4:00 p.m. EDT @ Toronto Argonauts W 64–14 2–0 TSN/RDS BMO Field 16,374 Recap 3 3 Fri, June 28 7:30 p.m. EDT Montreal Alouettes W 41–10 3–0 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 Tim Hortons Field 22,407 Recap 4 4 Thu, July 4 7:30 p.m. EDT @ Montreal Alouettes L 29–36 3–1 TSN/RDS Molson Stadium 18,673 Recap 5 5 Sat, July 13 7:00 p.m. EDT Calgary Stampeders W 30–23 4–1 TSN/ESPN2 Tim Hortons Field 22,921 Recap 6 Bye 7 6 Fri, July 26 7:00 p.m. EDT Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 23–15 5–1 TSN/RDS Tim Hortons Field 23,512 Recap 8 7 Thu, Aug 1 9:30 p.m. EDT @ Saskatchewan Roughriders L 19–24 5–2 TSN Mosaic Stadium 29,516 Recap 9 8 Sat, Aug 10 7:00 p.m. EDT BC Lions W 35–34 6–2 TSN/RDS Tim Hortons Field 23,308 Recap 10 9 Sat, Aug 17 4:00 p.m. EDT @ Ottawa Redblacks W 21–7 7–2 TSN/RDS2 TD Place Stadium 23,214 Recap 11 10 Sat, Aug 24 10:00 p.m. EDT @ BC Lions W 13–10 8–2 TSN BC Place 16,751 Recap 12 11 Mon, Sept 2 1:00 p.m. EDT Toronto Argonauts W 38–27 9–2 TSN Tim Hortons Field 25,093 Recap 13 Bye 14 12 Sat, Sept 14 4:00 p.m. EDT @ Calgary Stampeders L 18–19 9–3 TSN McMahon Stadium 27,962 Recap 15 13 Fri, Sept 20 9:30 p.m. EDT @ Edmonton Eskimos W 30–27 10–3 TSN Commonwealth Stadium 25,694 Recap 16 14 Fri, Sept 27 8:30 p.m. EDT @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 33–13 11–3 TSN/RDS2 IG Field 25,086 Recap 17 15 Fri, Oct 4 7:00 p.m. EDT Edmonton Eskimos W 42–12 12–3 TSN/ESPN2 Tim Hortons Field 23,411 Recap 18 Bye 19 16 Sat, Oct 19 4:00 p.m. EDT Ottawa Redblacks W 33–12 13–3 TSN/RDS2 Tim Hortons Field 23,692 Recap 20 17 Sat, Oct 26 1:00 p.m. EDT @ Montreal Alouettes W 38–26 14–3 TSN/RDS Molson Stadium 17,264 Recap 21 18 Sat, Nov 2 7:00 p.m. EDT Toronto Argonauts W 21–18 15–3 TSN Tim Hortons Field 22,804 Recap CFL schedule through October 2019

Post-season Schedule Game Date Kickoff Opponent Results TV Venue Attendance Summary Score RecordEast Semi-FinalBye East Final Sun, Nov 17 1:00 p.m. EST Edmonton Eskimos W 36–16 1–0 TSN/RDS/ESPNews Tim Hortons Field 25,177 Recap Sun, Nov 24 6:00 p.m. EST Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 12–33 1–1 TSN/RDS/ESPN2 McMahon Stadium 35,439 Recap

Roster Hamilton Tiger-Cats 2019 final roster Quarterbacks

Running backs

Receivers

Offensive linemen G C G T G/T G T

Defensive linemen DE DT DE DE DT DE DE DT DT Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams LS K/P

Practice roster K DB LB WR C LB DT DB SB DE Injured list LB C RB WR QB DB LB LB T RB DE WR DE

Italics indicate American player Bold indicates global player

Coaching staff Hamilton Tiger-Cats Staff Front office Caretaker – Bob Young Chief executive officer – Scott Mitchell President and chief operating officer – Matt Afinec Sr. Director of Personnel & Co-Manager of Football Operations – Drew Allemang Sr. Director of Personnel & Co-Manager of Football Operations – Shawn Burke Director of U.S. Scouting – Spencer Zimmerman Football operations consultant – Jim Barker Coordinator, U.S. Scouting – Rich Massaro Coordinator, Canadian Scouting – Spencer Boehm Video co-ordinator – Matt Allemang

Head coach Head coach – Orlondo Steinauer

Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator & Wide Receivers – Tommy Condell Offensive line – Dennis McKnight Running backs – D. J. Harper Assistant Wide Receivers & Offensive Quality Control – Jarryd Baines Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator & Defensive Backs – Mark Washington Defensive line – Randy Melvin Linebackers – Robin Ross Defensive backs assistant – Craig Butler

Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Jeff Reinebold Special teams assistant – Craig Butler

→ Coaching staff

References