Greg Knox as a members of the Calgary Stampeders in 1994 (Photo by Scott Grant)
Greg Knox has logged a lot of miles during his football career but there are two places in particular he’s called home.
At the university level, it’s been Hamilton, where Knox returns in 2016 to serve as head coach of the McMaster Marauders. The Peterborough, Ont., native previously spent a total of eight seasons as the Marauders’ defensive coordinator, with future Stamp Ben D’Aguilar being one of his stars.
In the pros, Calgary was where Knox hung his helmet as his entire seven-year career was spent with the Stampeders.
The safety’s career in Red and White was nicely book-ended as he won the Grey Cup as a rookie in 1992 — a year after winning the Vanier Cup with Wilfrid Laurier — and was a CFL champion again in his final season in 1998.
Knox’s best season came in 1994 when he led the team with 10 interceptions and earned West Division and CFL all-star honours. He also had 57 defensive tackles, nine special-teams tackles, two sacks and two fumble recoveries.
His career totals included 22 interceptions — including a pick-six in 1994 — 210 tackles, eight fumble recoveries and four sacks. He earned Calgary’s nomination for the Tom Pate award for outstanding sportsmanship, dedication and contribution to the league.
After playing all 18 regular-season games in each of his first five seasons, injuries limited Knox to four games in each of his final two years with the Stamps although he was in uniform for Calgary’s thrilling win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 1998 Grey Cup.
Following his retirement as an active player, he was involved in the Stamps’ alumni association as well as the CFL Players Association.
He was at McMaster from 2006-12 and returned to the Marauders in 2014 after a one-year stint at the University of Toronto as defensive coordinator. Knox added two Vanier Cup titles during his time at McMaster as the Marauders won national titles in 2011 and 2014.
He joined the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as linebackers coach in 2015 and was set to serve as defensive backs coach in 2016 before being lured back to McMaster.