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Former Edmonton Eskimos general manager Eric Tillman resurfaces in HamiltonIan Jackson/The Canadian Press

Eric Tillman is back in the CFL.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced Friday that Tillman has joined the organization as a consultant. The Edmonton Eskimos fired Tillman as their general manager last November.

Tillman, 55, has an extensive CFL resume, having served as an executive or GM with the B.C. Lions (1993-'94), Toronto Argonauts (1997, '99), Ottawa Renegades (2002-'04), Saskatchewan Roughriders (2006-'09) and Edmonton (2010-'12).

"Eric brings a wealth of knowledge with respect to this league," Kent Austin, Hamilton's vice-president of football operations/GM/head coach said during a conference call. "Where I see a need to get another opinion from a person that I respect quite a bit, then I'll ask for it."

Tillman's hiring isn't a surprise as he previously hired Austin as a head coach in Saskatchewan. They won a Grey Cup together with the Riders in 2007.

"Kent has a very clear vision of what he wants and that's one of the reasons why I think we'll work so well together," Tillman said. "We've spent time together, we know one another, I understand what he wants and the direction in which he wants to go.

"My responsibility is to help in any way that I can."

Tillman, a three-time Grey Cup winner, joins a Ticats front office that includes Danny McManus (director of U.S. scouting), Drew Allemang (director of Canadian scouting) and Shawn Burke (director of football administration).

"I couldn't be more excited about this group of guys," Austin said. "We're all going to benefit together and work in concert together to bring a championship back to Hamilton."

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