Calgary Stampeders head coach and general manager John Hufnagel is the 2014 recipient of the Annis Stukus Trophy as the Canadian Football League’s coach of the year. The announcement was made Wednesday in Winnipeg at the Coach of the Year Luncheon as part of the CFL’s annual meetings.

“I’m honoured and proud to receive this award and I accept it on behalf of everyone in our organization who made it possible,” said Hufnagel. “The award also belongs to our owners, coaches, support staff, players and fans. They all played a major role in our success in 2014 and I thank them all.”

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 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.

Hufnagel, who previously won the Annis Stukus Trophy in 2008, joins Wally Buono (the winner in 1992 and 1993) as the only Stampeders bosses to be voted as coach of the year on multiple occasions.

Tom Higgins of the Montreal Alouettes and Chris Jones of the Edmonton Eskimos were the other finalists for the award, which was determined in a vote conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada.

Besides Hufnagel and Buono, the other Stamps coaches to win the Annis Stukus Trophy are Jerry Williams (1967), Jack Gotta (1978) and Higgins (2005).