THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER — The Toronto Argonauts were stopped in their bid to reach the Grey Cup last season, but their coach still has a chance to collect a trophy.
Toronto coach Jim Barker joins Marc Trestman of the Montreal Alouettes and Ken Miller of the Saskatchewan Roughriders as a finalist for the CFL’s coach of the year award. The winner will be presented the Annis Stukus Trophy on Friday during a luncheon.
Simply being nominated is a humbling experience for Barker, who guided the Argos to the East Final last season.
“This is a difficult league to win in,” he said Thursday. “It takes a lot of people doing things the right way.
“I look at it as a validation we are on the right track, that we are doing things properly.”
Barker finds himself in good company.
Trestman was coach of the year last season. The Alouettes and Riders have met in the last two Grey Cups with Montreal being the first team since the 1996-1997 Argos to win consecutive championships.
This is the third consecutive year Trestman and Miller have been finalists for the award.
This will be Miller’s last chance to be named the league’s top coach. He has retired from coaching and is now Saskatchewan’s’s vice-president of football operations.
“It was really special the first time three years ago,” said Miller. “Last year, having been in the Grey Cup, that was special.
“Now this one is special in its own way but not any more special than the other two.”
The low-key Trestman said Montreal’s success comes from a team effort.
“I don’t think any one person is really responsible for the success, even the coach,” he said. “When you are nominated it focuses on the organization and the success of the organization.”
Barker helped transform an Argonaut team that had wallowed in mediocrity.
The Argos had a combined 7-29 record the previous two seasons. With Barker on the sidelines, and led by a CFL rookie quarterback in Cleo Lemon, Toronto managed a 9-9 record to finish third in the East Division.
The Argonauts upset Hamilton 16-13 in the East semifinal before losing 48-17 to Montreal.
“We’re still far away from where we want to be,” said Barker. “We made it to the final but we didn’t play well there.
“The whole goal is to win Grey Cups like Montreal is doing. That’s where we need to be.”
Barker said the Argos really began to believe in themselves this year when they beat Montreal 37-22 in Toronto on Aug. 14.
“They had all their people and we were still able to beat them,” he said. “If there was one game I thought we were on our way, that would have been the one.”
Barker has spent more than 30 years coaching football, including U.S. college and the XFL.
He had head-coaching jobs in the CFL with Calgary in 2003 and Toronto in 1999. He was an assistant coach with the Argos when they won the 1997 Grey Cup and Montreal’s offensive co-ordinator when the Al’s won the championships in 2002.
Trestman led Montreal to a 12-6 record and first place in the East Division. In his three seasons in Montreal, Trestman’s teams have a record of 38-16 and three East Division championships.
Trestman spent time in NCAA and NFL coaching jobs before joining the Als. He has tutored quarterbacks like Bernie Kosar and Steve Young. He also has been credited with improving the play of Alouette quarterback Anthony Calvillo.
“I think that just being part of the league and being nominated is a great honour,” he said. “Whatever happens, happens.”
Miller joined the Saskatchewan coaching staff in 2007 as offensive co-ordinator. He played a key role in shaping a Rider offence that led the CFL in touchdowns and went on to win the Grey Cup.
Prior to joining the CFL as an assistant coach with Toronto in 2002, Miller spent nearly four decades coaching at universities and high schools in southern California.