Calgary Stampeders head coach/general manager John Hufnagel announces today that Craig Dickenson is leaving his position as special teams coordinator after seven years with the club, including the past five seasons in charge of special teams.
 
Mark Kilam will become the special teams coordinator, after working the past five years mainly as a defensive assistant coach. The Stamps also have promoted Brent Monson to defensive quality control/strength and conditioning coach after he spent last season as an assistant in the club’s video department.
 
“It’s disappointing to lose Craig because he’s a very good, very experienced coach,” said Hufnagel. “But I respect his decision to take a year off from football and he’ll continue to help us as we move forward.
 
“I’m extremely happy to be able to fill Craig’s position and the subsequent vacancy by promoting from within. Mark has been with the club for five years. He and Brent are young, Canadian coaches who are eager and capable.”
 
Dickenson will remain with the Stamps through the winter in a consulting role. He joined the Stamps in 2002 as the receivers coach. After spending 2003 with the Montreal Alouettes, he returned to Calgary in 2004 and handled the receivers and running backs before taking over special teams.
 
“I want to thank the Calgary Stampeders organization and specifically John Hufnagel and Ted Hellard,” said Dickenson. “Coaching with Huff these past two years has been a productive and rewarding experience. Ted believed in me and gave me the opportunity to coordinate the special teams for five years and I’m very appreciative for that.
 

“I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family and embarking on some new adventures.”
 
Kilam joined the Stamps in 2005 as the strength and conditioning coach. In 2006, he became a defensive quality control coach and he was promoted to linebackers coach in 2007.
 
“I’m really excited to be able to progress within this organization,” said Kilam. “I’m just looking forward to 2010.”
 
This will be Monson’s first pro coaching opportunity and he will assist with the linebackers, an area that will now chiefly be the responsibility of defensive coordinator Chris Jones. Monson worked with Stamps coaches as an understudy in 2009.