Greg Knox (born June 12, 1969) is a Canadian football coach who is the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

for the York Lions of U Sports football. He played professionally as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

with the Calgary Stampeders for seven years where he won two

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

championships (in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

). He is also a two-time Vanier Cup champion after winning as a player with the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

and then as a

with the

McMaster Marauders The McMaster Marauders are the athletic teams that represent McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Athletics at McMaster is currently managed by the university's student affairs, under their athletics & recreation department. The unive ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. He was formerly the head coach of the Marauders from 2016 to 2018.

University career

Knox attended Wilfrid Laurier University where he played

for the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks. He finished his

CIAU football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport). Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic confer ...

career with a Vanier Cup championship after winning in

Professional career

Knox was drafted in the sixth round, 47th overall, in the

1992 CFL Draft The 1992 CFL Draft composed of eight rounds where 64 Canadian football players were chosen from eligible Canadian universities and Canadian players playing in the NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organi ...

by the Calgary Stampeders. He played in 98 regular season games where he recorded 210 tackles, 22 interceptions, four sacks, and eight fumble recoveries. He won a

championship in his rookie year in

and won again in his final year in

. He was also named a 1994 CFL All-Star at safety after recording 10 interceptions, 57 defensive tackles, two sacks, and two fumble recoveries that year.

Coaching career

McMaster Marauders

On March 22, 2006, it was announced that Knox had been hired as the

for the

. The Marauders qualified for the playoffs in every season he was with the team, until 2012. The Marauders won the program's first Vanier Cup title in

with Knox guiding the defense, leading to him winning his first championship as a coach.

Toronto Varsity Blues

In 2013, Knox joined the Toronto Varsity Blues football program as their defensive coordinator.

McMaster Marauders (II)

Knox returned to McMaster in 2014 where the team appeared in the

50th Vanier Cup The 2014 Vanier Cup, the 50th edition of the Canadian university football championship, took place on Saturday, November 29, 2014 at Molson Stadium in Montreal, Quebec. It featured the OUA champion McMaster Marauders and the RSEQ champion Montr ...

, but lost to the Montreal Carabins.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

It was announced on February 19, 2015, that Knox had joined the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as the team's linebackers coach. He was named the defensive backs coach for the 2016 season, but he resigned in May just prior to the start of the Blue Bombers' season to take the Head Coaching position at McMaster.

McMaster Marauders (III)

After

Stefan Ptaszek Stefan Ptaszek (born April 15, 1971) is the head coach for the McMaster Marauders. He is a former Canadian football wide receiver and former offensive coordinator for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, and UBC Thunderbirds. ...

left the Marauders to join the CFL's

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

, Knox was named the Marauders' interim head coach. After a 6–2 record in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, the interim tag was removed and Knox was named the full-time head coach. In his third year, in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Knox was suspended following an interaction with a game official. After a review by the university's human resources department, Knox was fired on October 22, 2018, having coached only five games that year.

Alberta Golden Bears

On February 13, 2019, Knox was named the defensive coordinator for the Alberta Golden Bears. That year, the Golden Bears finished with a non-losing record for the first time since

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and qualified for the playoffs.

Ottawa Redblacks

On January 17, 2020, Knox was announced as the defensive backs coach for the Ottawa Redblacks. With the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the s ...

cancelled, he spent one season with the Redblacks in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

. It was announced on April 1, 2022, that Knox had resigned from the Redblacks to take a position outside of football.

York Lions

On March 28, 2024, it was announced that Knox had been hired as the

for the York Lions.

References

External links

Ottawa Redblacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Greg 1969 births Living people Alberta Golden Bears football coaches Canadian football defensive backs McMaster Marauders football coaches Ottawa Redblacks coaches Players of Canadian football from Ontario Canadian football people from Toronto Toronto Varsity Blues football coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches York Lions football coaches