Quick End to A Coach

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Looking back, it's peculiar just how outraged the Argonaut owners were last January when their recruitment of Bart Andrus as head coach was met with some criticism.

They thought they'd hit a home run, made a brilliant hire.

The idea, from Toronto's point of view, was that in Andrus they had a football mind the equal of Marc Trestman in Montreal, or at least a reasonable facsimile.

Well, as it turns out, not even close. Twinning an American with little or no knowledge of the three-down game with a talent depleted Argo roster turned out to be a lethal combination. Having no quarterback in a quarterback-driven league wasn't compensated by the fact Andrus had once coached the position in the NFL, and the suggestion that Andrus would bring order and discipline to a chaotic Toronto dressing room turned out to be a laughable suggestion.

All it did, really, was cost the team the services of playmaker Arland Bruce III when he ran afoul of Andrus.

The Argos as a group have had a lot of big decisions go bad in recent seasons, including the addition of Ricky Williams, the disastrous trade for Kerry Joseph, the return of Don Matthews and the hiring of Andrus. Andrus was just the latest U.S. coach to come north preaching “football is football,” which is exactly the opposite of what Trestman did when he was hired by Montreal and immediately sought to adapt his ideas to the Canadian game.

At the same time Andrus was failing, just down the highway Canadian-born Marcel Bellefeuille was doing a nice job under Bob O'Billovich in Hamilton, suggesting the Argos, when it came to hiring a head coach, zigged when they should have zagged.

Really, from Rich Stubler to Matthews to Andrus, the Argos have made three consecutive boffo errors when it came to filling the head coaching position.

Is that Adam Rita? Or owners David Cynamon and Howard Sokolowski?

Dumping Andrus was, however, the right thing to do, and you have to give the Argo braintrust some credit for not stubbornly sticking by Andrus in the absence of convincing evidence he was going to be able to turn the football team around.

So now what? With a possible move to BMO Field in the offing, the Argos need to return in June with a decidedly more competitive operation. Perhaps Pinball Clemons might be interested in coming back, but that's doubtful. There will be the usual speculation on CFL assistants – Mike Benevides of B.C, who almost took the job last time, George Cortez in Calgary, maybe even offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice in Saskatchewan – and names with CFL connections like Matt Dunigan and Mike Riley and Tom Clements.

But they can't get it wrong for a fourth time in a row. This time, whether it's Rita or the owners, there is a desperate need to hit a home run. A real one this time.

Comments

[Vince]

This is by far, the worst run franchise in the city, and definitely in the entire league. The owners are too busy chasing their hockey dreams, I have no idea what Mr. Rita is doing and the Toronto FC fans want the CFL nowhere near their pitch, which was built for soccer.

This is a 24/7 disaster and there's no end in sight. One can only hope that they do something to bring the team back to respectability. it's amazing how this team has fallen from "turn around model franchise" to "terminal disaster" so quickly.

[2nd Guess]

I can't help thinking this whole BMO Field storyline is a big honkin' smokescreen to draw attention away from how awful the Argos' on-field product has been the last two years. Papered or not, when announced crowds regularly surpassed 30,000 from 2004-08, the Rogers Centre wasn't such a bad place to play.

I figured this issue was put to bed 5 years ago, when the team got a better deal (including preferred dates) from the Rogers Centre. Hey (light bulb going on)!!!! You don't suppose Cynamon and Sokolowski want more from Rogers?? Like an Argo on the big outdoor poster instead of Trent Edwards? (Jamal Robertson? Kevin Eiben?) Guess if threatening to leave worked once . . .

[Boko]

In order to get it right this time, don't we need a head coach with CFL experience, and Grey Cup success on his resume? Are any of Dunigan, Riley or Clements significantly better choises than Jim Barker?

[Boko]

Mike Riley or Jim Barker?

[Andrew]

I'm in total agreement with firing Andrus...as a season ticket holder I was able to call what plays the Argos were going to run while they were in the huddle, and if I'm able to do that from the stands chances are the opposition has cottoned on to a tendency or two. But it's disturbing that the Argos with their next hire will be on their fifth coach in three years. The lack of stability in the front office is a real concern. This is a team that two years ago was one win away from a home Grey Cup, but the wheels have come completely off. The Argos will never be the top team in town, but have drawn healthy crowds over the past 6 years. I'm a lifer, but I can't help but wonder how much patience fans will have if, as Damien says, the next move isn't a great one. Hopefully that includes a new GM. Rita is well past his sell-by date.

[Pete]

Here's an idea for Jim Balsillie while he pines for a NHL team in Hamilton; do a reverse Harold Ballard. He could own the Toronto Argos and, in the meantime, work on his dream of owning that NHL team in Hamilton. It's not like he can't afford it.