CFL-er Mike Filer reunites with Mount Allison
Filer has been coaching, studying, and training at Mount Allison and will rejoin the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in July for his 10th season.
It has been 10 years since Mike Filer played on what was then a grass MacAulay Field. Filer, who came to Mount Allison from Brantford, ON, was a standout with the football team from 2008-2011 and is regarded as one of the best offensive linemen in school history. He was drafted into the CFL in 2012, playing the past nine seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, with two Grey Cup appearances. After a cancelled 2020 season due to the pandemic, Filer and his family decided to return to New Brunswick.
“We always wanted to move back,” says Filer. “My wife (Jen Robinson ’13) is from Sackville and we had a new baby (Dax). It just felt like the right time and it has been the best decision we ever made.”
Filer quickly returned to his roots at Mount Allison, working with the team and working towards finishing his degree.
“I left Mount A before I finished my degree and it has always been my goal to return and graduate,” he says. “It was a big part of our decision to move back. Football has been my life, so I also wanted to give back to the team in any way I could because I think it’s important to give back to where I came from.”
Filer recently completed three courses toward his degree, studying both online and on campus.
“I am seeing this from a whole new view now in a different stage of my life. I’m older, married, and I have a son, so this has a new meaning to me and it has been awesome to get back into school and challenge myself.”
Filer credits an intensive spring geography and environment course with professor Ben Phillips (’10) as changing his view on life and helping him see the true beauty in this province.
Filer’s plans to join the Mount Allison coaching staff this fall quickly changed when he re-signed for a 10th season with the Ti-cats in May. Filer is a fan favourite and the longest-serving player on the Hamilton team.
“I wanted one last crack at a Grey Cup,” he says.
He is currently intensively training on Alumni Field and in the weight room at Mount Allison four days a week before heading back to Ontario in July for the season.
“It’s so awesome to be back on this new field and in the weight room,” he says. “It’s really humbling to return to a place where I learned so much.”
Filer’s time with Mount Allison was with head coach Kelly Jeffrey and working closely with assistant coach Gaetan Richard (’08), along with (then new) Director of Athletics & Recreation Pierre Arsenault.
“KJ was an unbelievable coach and Gaets was a big part of my development as a player. Pierre was a great mentor. Everyone helped point me in the right direction and it’s awesome to reconnect and see what changes have happened since I left,” says Filer.
In a year with so many changes due to the pandemic, Filer and his family are grateful for their return to New Brunswick and Mount Allison.
“In a time of so much negativity, my family has found a lot of positivity,” he says. “It’s awesome to be back on the East Coast and smelling the Fundy air. I smile just thinking about it. For an Ontario kid, this is all new to me again. I love this province.”
After his CFL career, Filer hopes to get involved in coaching both football and strength and conditioning, while continuing to work on finishing his degree at Mount Allison.