Mickey Donovan is a professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

coach who is currently the

special teams coordinator In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL).

College career

Donovan 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 two years for the

Maine Black Bears The Maine Black Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of Maine. A member of the America East Conference, the University of Maine sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The men's and women's ice ...

where he had 27 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 10 games played. He then transferred to

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

to play for the Stingers from 2002 to 2004. He was named a First Team All-Canadian in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and also won the

Presidents' Trophy The Presidents' Trophy (french: Trophée des présidents) is an award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL) to the team that finishes with the most points (i.e. best record) during the NHL regular season. If two teams are tied for the mo ...

in 2004 as the top defensive player in

CIS 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 ...

Professional career

After attending a free agent tryout, Donovan signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

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 ...

on May 18, 2005, to a two-year plus an option contract. He played in the

Touchdown Atlantic Touchdown Atlantic ( French: ''Touché Atlantique'') is a series of neutral site Canadian Football League games played in the maritime provinces of Canada. In 2003, the league had struck a committee to examine the feasibility of adding a tenth ...

preseason game, but was released on June 13, 2005. It was announced on February 22, 2006, that he had re-signed with the Tiger-Cats, but he was again released after the second pre-season game on June 3, 2006. Donovan had suffered a knee injury in 2006 which had ended his playing career.

Coaching career

Donovan began his coaching career as an intern with the

New Hampshire Wildcats The New Hampshire Wildcats, or 'Cats, are the American intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of New Hampshire (UNH), located in Durham. The wildcat is the school's official mascot, the colors are UNH Blue and white. The Uni ...

in 2006. He was then hired by former Tiger-Cats head coach, Greg Marshall, to become the

linebackers coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators. Common ...

for the

Western Mustangs The Western Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. The school's athletic program supports 46 varsity teams. Their mascot is a Mustang named J.W. and the school colours are purple and white. ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. Over his four years with the Mustangs, he also coached the special teams units and was the team's recruiting coordinator. On November 18, 2011, it was announced that Donovan had been hired as the assistant head coach and

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

McGill Redmen The McGill Redbirds (formerly the McGill Redmen) and McGill Martlets are the varsity athletic teams that represent McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Team name According to Suzanne Morton, a professor of history at McGill, the name ...

. He spent two years with McGill, but the team was unable to qualify for the playoffs during that time. He returned to his alma mater on February 11, 2014 as he was announced as the new head coach for the

Concordia Stingers The Concordia Stingers are the athletic teams that represent Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They compete with other schools in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, and more specifically in Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSE ...

and was the fifth in the program's history. In his first season, the Stingers finished with a 5–3 record and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Donovan was subsequently named the RSEQ Coach of the Year. The Stingers qualified for the playoffs in each of the next three seasons, but were defeated in the semi-finals in all four years. After four seasons and a 16–15 regular season record, Donovan resigned as head coach of the Stingers after the 2017 season. On January 3, 2018, it was announced that Donovan had been hired as the

for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

. He added the title of linebackers coach for the 2021 season. However, Donovan was not retained following the 2021 season. It was announced on January 19, 2022, that Donovan had joined the

as their special teams coordinator.

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan, Mickey 1980 births Living people American football linebackers Canadian football linebackers Concordia Stingers football coaches Concordia Stingers football players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Maine Black Bears football players McGill Redbirds football coaches Montreal Alouettes coaches People from Laconia, New Hampshire Players of American football from New Hampshire Toronto Argonauts coaches