On Dec. 16, Athletics and Recreation (A&R) announced that Steve Snyder will take over as head coach of Queen’s football in the 2019-20 season. The decision officially concluded a month-long national search initiated after 19-year Head Coach Pat Sheahan was asked to resign in November. 

“Steve has a profound interest in and respect for our football history as well as a strong, compelling vision for the future of our team; we look forward to seeing him bring that vision to life in the coming months,” Leslie Dal Cin, Executive Director of A&R, said in a press release.

Snyder arrives at Queen’s riding a wave of success with the Western Mustangs, where he served as their offensive coordinator for two years. During his time in London, the Mustangs won two OUA Yates Cups, played in the Vanier Cup twice, and were the first-ranked offense in the country this past season. 

Prior to his stint at Western, Snyder spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator for the St. Francis Xavier X-Men. In 2015 and 2016, he helped the X-Men to consecutive Atlantic University Sport titles, and in 2016, the team averaged 37.4 points and 484.5 total yards per game.

Snyder holds a career 43-12 record in U Sports play.

“This football program has an incredible tradition of excellence—when we think of football in this country, we think of programs like Queen’s. The passion and commitment to football here at Queen’s is second to none,” Synder said in A&R’s press release.

Snyder’s offensive expertise will be a welcome addition to the Gaels’ coaching staff as they try to keep pace with the high-scoring OUA. This season, Queen’s ranked fourth in the league in yards per game (437.0), well behind the league-leading Mustangs (556.9). They also missed the playoffs this past season after finishing with a 3-5 record.

Following Snyder’s appointment to the position, Ryan Bechmanis has been promoted to the role of assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. 

Queen’s has yet to release their full coaching staff. In their press release, A&R said they’ll be adding a new offensive coordinator to the team, a position held by Marcel Bellefeuille in the 2018 season.