Kyle Walters, head coach of the University of Guelph football Gryphons, has resigned and accepted the special teams coordinator position with the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“It certainly wasn't a no-brainer,” said Walters on Monday. “I’ve put my life and soul (into the Gryphons) and my family has invested so much time and energy. We love everything about the university. So it was a very difficult decision.”

Walters, a former Gryphon and CFL player, was visiting family in his home town of St. Thomas

during the recent reading week break when he got an e-mail fromBombers head coach Paul LaPolice, asking if Walters could give him a call.

“I wasn’t sure what it was regarding. I called him and he inquired about my interest, and went from there,” said Walters.

Walters, who had one more year in his Gryphon contract, went west for an interview on Tuesday of last week. The team wanted to know sooner rather than later if he wanted the job.

On Thursday, two days later, he both resigned from the Gryphons and accepted the position with the Bombers.

Asked if he hopes the move is a springboard to an eventual head coaching job in the CFL, Walters said: “I’m coming in with the expectation of doing the best job that I can as special teams coordinator. That’s always been my goal. Keep your mouth shut, work your tail off, treat people with respect, and let the cards fall where they may.”

Walters said the timing of the Gryphons resignation is tough because of the new recruits he had line up to play here.

“I told the kids on our team, which is the same as the incoming players, ‘You play for each other. You play for the love of the school, you play for the love of the program,’” he said.

During Walters’s four years as head coach of the Gryphons, the team’s record was 13-18-1.

In 2007, the Gryphs made it to the Yates Cup and fell 34-21 at home against Western. He was a star player for the Gryphons from 1992 to 1996 and was assistant coach for two seasons before becoming head coach. As a Hamilton Tiger Cats player, Walters played safety and halfback in the 1998 and 1999 Grey Cups.

Walters and his wife Rena, a former Gryphons basketball player, have two children, a two-year-old boy, Lawson, and a four-month-old girl, Taylor.