Mark Nelson (born July 25, 1956) is a

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

coach and a former professional Canadian football linebacker. He is the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach for the Carleton Ravens of U Sports. He played for seven seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders. He is a three-time

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 ...

champion having won as a coach in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

and

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 ...

Playing career

Nelson played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the East Central Oklahoma State Tigers. Nelson was drafted in the

1980 CFL Draft The 1980 CFL Draft composed of seven rounds where 80 Canadian football players were chosen from eligible Canadian universities and Canadian players playing in the NCAA. A total of 18 players were selected as territorial exemptions, with all nine ...

by the Calgary Stampeders where he played for 7 years before retiring with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1987. Nelson played linebacker and fullback during his CFL run.

Coaching career

Nelson has coached for 16 different teams. More recently, on December 20, 2013, he was named the Ottawa Redblacks'

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 ...

. In 2018, he was demoted from defensive coordinator for the Redblacks to their linebackers coach. On February 6, 2020, it was announced that Nelson had joined the Toronto Argonauts as the team's special teams coordinator. The league did not play in 2020, so he coached for one season with the Argonauts 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 ...

. He was not retained by the team for the 2022 season. On June 23, 2022, it was announced that Nelson had joined the Carleton Ravens to serve as the team's special teams coordinator and linebackers coach.

Personal life

Nelson's father, Roger is on the Edmonton Eskimo's Wall of Honour and was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...

. His son,

Kyle Kyle or Kyles may refer to: Places Canada * Kyle, Saskatchewan, Canada Ireland * Kyle, County Laois * Kyle, County Wexford Scotland * Kyle, Ayrshire, area of Scotland which stretched across parts of modern-day East Ayrshire and South Ayrshir ...

was a long snapper for the San Francisco 49ers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Mark 1956 births Living people American football linebackers Canadian football linebackers Canadian players of American football Players of Canadian football from Alberta Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys football coaches Baylor Bears football coaches Calgary Stampeders players East Central Tigers football players Edmonton Elks coaches Kentucky Wildcats football coaches Louisville Cardinals football coaches Montreal Alouettes coaches Ottawa Redblacks coaches San Antonio Texans coaches Saskatchewan Roughriders players Toronto Argonauts coaches Tulsa Golden Hurricane football coaches Valdosta State Blazers football coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches High school football coaches in Oklahoma Junior college football coaches in the United States Canadian football people from Edmonton