Part way through the 2006 CFL season, Tillman was hired as the Roughriders general manager after they fired long time GM Roy Shivers. He took over a team that had a tarnished reputation in the community after several players had run-ins with the law, including former linebacker Trevis Smith, who had been charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault after he knowingly exposed two women to HIV without telling them. Tillman promised to clean up the team's image and the Roughriders adopted a code of conduct which required players to obey the law, act with honesty and integrity, respect others, and take responsibility for their actions.