John Hufnagel of the Calgary Stampeders has been named a finalist for the Annis Stukus Trophy as the Canadian Football League’s coach of the year in 2014.

In his seventh year as head coach and general manager of the Stampeders, Hufnagel guided the Red and White to a league-best 15-3 record during the regular season and then led the Stamps to the seventh championship in franchise history with wins over the Edmonton Eskimos in the Western Final and over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Grey Cup game.

The regular-season victory total matched the franchise record and the 17 total victories was surpassed in CFL history only by the 18 wins posted by the 1995 Baltimore Stallions, who had the benefit of playing three post-season contests to Calgary’s two.

With the Stamps’ 20-16 victory over the Ticats at Vancouver’s BC Place on Nov. 30, Hufnagel joined Wally Buono as the only coaches to lead the Stamps to multiple Grey Cup titles. Hufnagel’s first championship as Calgary head coach came in 2008.

During the 2014 season, Hufnagel moved past Jim Trimble, George Brancato and Jack Gotta and into 11th place on the CFL’s all-time list for coaching victories. His 88-37-1 mark gives him a career winning percentage of .702, which is best among coaches with at least 100 games on the sidelines.

This is the fourth time in seven years that Hufnagel has been a finalist for the Annis Stukus Trophy. He won the award in 2008 and was also a finalist in 2012 and 2013.

In addition to Hufnagel, this year’s finalists are Tom Higgins of the Montreal Alouettes and Chris Jones of the Edmonton Eskimos. Higgins is a former player, assistant coach and head coach with the Stamps while Jones was Calgary’s defensive coordinator under Hufnagel from 2008-10.

“I thank the players, coaches and staff of the Stampeders for their contributions to our successful season,” said Hufnagel. “The Grey Cup championship was a team effort and my nomination for the Annis Stukus Trophy is a reflection of the great people we have throughout our organization on and off the field.

“I also congratulate Tom and Chris for their excellent coaching work and their team’s success during the 2014 season.”

The coach of the year award is voted on by members of the Football Reporters of Canada and the winner will be announced on Jan. 21.