Queen’s Gaels football coach Pat Sheahan steps down after 19-year run

KINGSTON, Ont. — One of the most successful coaches in Canadian university football history is stepping down.

The Queen’s Gaels announced Tuesday that Pat Sheahan will turn over the reins for the 2019 season after 19 years at the helm of the squad.

The native of Brockville, Ont., has been a U Sports coach for 30 seasons — 11 with the Concordia Stingers before taking over at Queen’s in 2000.

Sheahan’s highlight was a Vanier Cup in 2009. A three-time Ontario coach of the year and the national coach of the year in 2008, Sheahan is fifth in U Sports with 165 career regular season wins.

Sheahan will serve as a special adviser to the Queen’s athletics department until June 2019. The school says a search for a new coach will begin immediately.

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“It has been an honour to lead this team, and hundreds of talented student-athletes, for the past 19 years,” Sheahan said in a statement. “I am incredibly proud of all we accomplished during my time at Queen’s, highlighted by our 2009 Vanier Cup win and the 2016 opening of the new Richardson Stadium. I have also had the privilege of working with dozens of dedicated coaches over the years, and know we could not have achieved the successes we did without each and every one of them.”

The Canadian Press