Chérif Nicolas

Chérif Nicolas
Bishop's Gaiters
Career information
Position(s)Head coach
UniversityMontreal
Concordia
Carleton
Career history
As coach
2009Cégep du Vieux Montréal
(Defensive coordinator)
2010–2016Cégep du Vieux Montréal
(Head coach)
2017–presentBishop's Gaiters
(Head coach)

Chérif Nicolas is the head coach for Bishop's University's football team, the Bishop's Gaiters.[1]

University career

Nicolas first played CIAU football at linebacker for the Carleton Ravens and was a member of the program from 1996 to 1998.[2] However, after Carleton's football program was discontinued in 1999, he transferred to Concordia University to play for the Concordia Stingers.[1] He then transferred to Montreal to study law and played for two years for the Carabins.[3]

Coaching career

Cégep du Vieux Montréal

Nicolas was the defensive coordinator for the Cégep du Vieux Montréal Spartiates for one year before serving as head coach for the team from 2010 to 2016 where he recorded 56–26.[4][5] In 2014, he led the Spartiates to an RSEQ Division 1 Bol D'Or championship.[4] He submitted his resignation on October 31, 2016.[5]

Bishop's Gaiters

On December 22, 2016, Nicolas was named the head coach of the Bishop's Gaiters, the fifth in program history.[4] His hire coincided with the Gaiters' first season in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference after spending the previous 16 years in the RSEQ.[6] However, the Gaiters finished the 2017 season with a fourth consecutive 1–7 record.[6]

After a winless season in 2018, Nicolas led the Gaiters to a 4–4 record and their first playoff home game since 2013.[7][8] He won his first playoff game for the Gaiters over the Mount Allison Mounties that year, but lost to the Acadia Axemen in Bishop's first Loney Bowl appearance.[8] He did not coach in 2020 due to the cancellation of the 2020 season.

In a shortened 2021 season, Nicolas and the Gaiters finished in third place and made another appearance in the Loney Bowl, but lost to the St. Francis Xavier X-Men.[9] On January 20, 2022, it was announced that he had signed a contract extension with Bishop's.[10]

In 2022, Nicolas recorded his first winning season as a U Sports head coach as the Gaiters finished 4–3, but he lost the first semi-final playoff game of his career.[11][12] In the 2023 season, the Gaiters finished in second place with a 6–2 record, but lost in the Loney Bowl to the X-Men.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ a b "Chérif Nicolas". Bishop's Gaiters. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  2. ^ "Tossing out the pigskin". Centretown News. March 12, 1999.
  3. ^ "Bishop's Gaiters, Coach Nicolas gearing up for first season of AUS conference play". Atlantic University Sport. August 16, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "A new Chérif in town; Nicolas named head coach of Bishop's Gaiters Football Program". Bishop's Gaiters. December 22, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "L'entraîneur-chef Chérif Nicolas remet sa démission aux Spartiates du Vieux-Montréal" (in French). Le Journal de Québec. November 2, 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Les Gaiters redéfinis à la sauce Chérif Nicolas" (in French). CBC Radio. December 7, 2017.
  7. ^ "Classements depuis 1987" (in French). RSEQ. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "2019 AUS Football Playoff Schedule". Atlantic University Sport. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  9. ^ "2021 AUS Football Playoff Schedule". Atlantic University Sport. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  10. ^ "Nicolas extended as Gaiters' Football Head Coach". Bishop's Gaiters. January 20, 2022.
  11. ^ "2022 AUS Football Schedule". Atlantic University Sport. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  12. ^ "2022 AUS Football Playoff Schedule". Atlantic University Sport. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  13. ^ "2023 AUS Football Schedule". Atlantic University Sport. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  14. ^ "2023 AUS Football Playoff Schedule". Atlantic University Sport. Retrieved October 7, 2024.