HAMILTON — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced on Friday that the football club has hired Cyril Penn as director of player personnel, Alex Russell as director of scouting, and Dane Vandernat as director of pro scouting.
Penn spent the last four seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2021-24), most recently serving as the club’s assistant director of player personnel, working closely alongside Tiger-Cats General Manager Ted Goveia. The Sonoma, CA native originally joined the Bombers as a scouting intern for the 2021 season before spending the next two seasons as the club’s U.S. National Scout. Prior to heading north of the border, Penn worked for the University of Massachusetts Amherst football program as a recruiting assistant.
» CFL.ca’s top 30 pending free agents
» More 2025 Free Agency news and notes
» Free Agency Most Wanted: A Canadian, big-play receiver
» Free Agency Most Wanted: A game-changing defender
» Free Agency Most Wanted: A coverage master
» Subscribe to the CFL’s newsletter for exclusive offers and league updates
“We’re excited to welcome these three individuals to our football operations department,” said Goveia.
“During our time together in Winnipeg, Cyril proved himself to be an intelligent and tireless worker, with a strong background in recruiting and analytics. Alex combines a great work ethic with a wealth of knowledge in football operations, salary cap management, and scouting. I’ve known Dane for over a decade, and his impressive background in pro football with the Raiders, along with his leadership experience in organizing the NFLPA All-Star Game, will make him a valuable part of our team. We’re looking forward to seeing the impact they will all have on our organization.”
Russell returns to the Tiger-Cats after originally working with the club as coordinator of football operations from 2016 to 2018. The Ancaster, ON native spent last season with the Ottawa REDBLACKS, serving as the club’s assistant director of U.S. scouting. Before joining the REDBLACKS, Russell spent five seasons (2019-23) with the Toronto Argonauts, holding various football operations and scouting roles throughout his tenure.
Vandernat joins the Ticats after spending the previous five years with the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl as director of player personnel (2021-23) and director of college recruiting (2019-21). The Kansas City, MO native also spent 10 seasons (2009-18) with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders personnel department, including four years as the team’s director of pro personnel.