An avid Argos supporter and season ticket holder, Don Landry has covered almost every type of news from sports to music to talk radio in his 25 years of broadcasting and has conducted over 10,000 interviews with the likes of Prime Ministers, Premiers, sports legends, showbiz stars, power brokers and many more. Follow Don on Twitter @argoslandry or visit his website at donlandry.com.
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DON LANDRY
Argonauts.ca Columnist
TORONTO — What an amazing whirlwind of personnel change and intrigue in the CFL the last couple of days. It’s like someone gave a good shake to a giant coaching snow globe. A few of those snowflakes have landed. Still, others – some with Argonauts logos on them – continue to be suspended, looking for a place to settle. Could it be right where they’ve been all along?
Scott Milanovich’s time as head coach of the Toronto Argonauts has begun.
It begins with him setting the tone early, on the day he was appointed.
“We’re gonna be demanding,” he said. “And we’re gonna go get it.”
Argonauts.ca has extensive coverage of Milanovich’s hiring including an exclusive 1-on-1 interview with the new sideline boss.
» Scott Milanovich named Head Coach
» Video: Milanovich 1-on-1
» Video: Argos Introduce Milanovich
» Photos: Milanovich Meets Media
» Video: Barker on Milanovich
» Video: Van Zeyl on Milanovich
There is general agreement among football observers; Milanovich is a great hire. He’s young, bright, with plenty of CFL experience under his belt and oh so ready to become a head coach. Although the elephant in the room at his introductory media conference was observed, there was no confirmation. Not yet. Another very bright football mind, this time one of the defensive variety, is reportedly ready climb aboard the good ship Argo. Media reports speculate that former Calgary defensive coordinator Chris Jones has been rumoured to join the staff in the near future.
This means that the team will be in the capable architectural hands of Milanovich, General Manager Jim Barker and, potentially, Jones. You may recall that it was Barker who brought Cory Boyd and Chad Owens to the Argonauts. Milanovich certainly does, pointing that out in his opening address.
There will be more changes. But there will also be room for some familiar faces under the new regime. While the hiring of Milanovich answers a few questions, it obviously poses a few more.
Where will assistant coaches Mike O’Shea and Orlondo Steinauer be in 2012?
Does the new head coach admire quarterback Steven Jyles as much as the outgoing one does?
Can Milanovich run his offence with Jyles at the helm?
Will the new coach look to overhaul the team’s roster?
“The cupboard is not bare,” began Milanovich, shortly after donning an Argos cap and being introduced as the team’s 42nd head coach. “Certainly, there’s gonna be some pieces to the puzzle that we’re gonna need to add, but I can say this: It’s a lot further along now than it would have been had I taken this job 2 years ago.”
Ah, yes, two years ago. The team made a run at hiring him away from the Montreal Alouettes in the winter of 2010. Milanovich, uncertain of just how solid the ownership situation might be, decided to pass. He has no qualms about that now. He understands the importance of committed ownership, having spent time working for Alouettes’ owner Bob Wetenhall.
He sees the same thing in current Argos owner David Braley.
“Mr. Braley’s involvement has certainly made this a much more impressive opportunity for me.” he said.
In Montreal, Milanovich had the great luxury of knowing one of the CFL’s all time great quarterbacks, Anthony Calvillo, was receiving snaps. The offence was built around his abilities. Made certain to dove tail with them, in fact. In Steven Jyles, the Argos may or may not have a great quarterback in the budding process. You can tell that Milanovich is cautious about the number one man on the Argos’ depth chart.
“There are things I really like about Steven,” began Milanovich. “We’ll see how it goes as the weeks progress.”
“The cupboard is not bare [here]. Certainly, there’s gonna be some pieces to the puzzle that we’re gonna need to add, but I can say this: It’s a lot further along now than it would have been had I taken this job 2 years ago.”
– Scott Milanovich
Sounds an awful lot like a coach who’d like to keep his options open as the off-season unfolds. It also sounds like Milanovich knows he may not be able to trot out some of his trusty Montreal philosophies when the 2012 season dawns.
“There’s more than one way to skin a cat,” is how he described the process of fixing the Argos offence. “It may not look like an Anthony Calvillo offence. Depending on the personnel we have, we’re gonna do whatever it takes to get the job done.”
If you want an answer for an Argos offence that had trouble locating a forward gear most of last season, hiring the former offensive coordinator of one of the league’s more prolific offences as head coach seems to fit the bill.
“I would say that’s a large reason why I’m standing here right now,” offered Milanovich, when asked about improving the Toronto offence.
He may be bringing Marcus Brady with him from the Alouettes, and elevating him to the status of coordinator, or it may be someone else, but there will be little doubt as to who has his hands on the offensive tiller during games. Milanovich’s plan is to do the play calling.
It’s clear that there are places on Milanovich’s staff for rising coaching prospects Mike O’Shea and Orlondo Steinauer, if they want them. The new head coach praised Argos special teams as the template by which he’d like to make over the defence and offence in 2012, mentioning O’Shea as well as Chad Owens and Noel Prefontaine by name when he did it. Milanovich has admired the dynamism of Argos special teams, as well as what he described as their aggressive and exciting nature. For O’Shea, it means he’ll be invited to stay aboard as Special Teams Coach, maybe even add another role to his portfolio. That could all change, however, if he is offered a head coaching job somewhere else – he’s already interviewed in Saskatchewan.
For Steinauer, it’s a little more complicated. Milanovich, who says he has carte blanche to hire whatever assistants he wants, has already talked with him about staying, presumably as Defensive Backs Coach. That’s the position Steinauer held at the beginning of the season before being elevated to Defensive Coordinator after six games. The choice for Steinauer will be a simple one: Look for a job as a defensive coordinator somewhere else, or return to the Argos and continue his apprenticeship and learn more from the new defensive master.
It may seem a bit unfair to Steinauer to expect him to step back into his former role after doing a decent job of restructuring the Argos’ D into a more aggressive, ball hawking unit.
While there was great improvement in the team’s interception totals, some of the other numbers did not noticeably change, such as yardage given up against the run. Still, having said that, it was thought Steinauer could accomplish more with an off-season of planning and a full training camp in which to employ his defensive vision.
However, in adding a more experienced defensive coordinator to the staff, the Argos don’t gamble on the continued improvement of a somewhat green coordinator.
Another key question to ponder: Does the new look Argonauts coaching staff make Toronto a more desirable destination for their pending free agents as well as free agents of other teams? You’d assume so. This is an attractive brain trust, with experience and proven track records. That could be key as the Argos attempt to lure the best free agents, especially receivers, into the fold. It will also ease the concerns of, say, all-star cornerback Byron Parker, who’s expressed a desire to be where he has a good shot at winning a ring or two as his career winds down.
It’s a big day in Argoland. A few answers. A few more questions to be answered. Expect there will be many more before the team gathers, again, for training camp.
THE EXTRA POINT
When all is said and done and barring something completely unforeseen in the expected hiring of defensive coordinator Chris Jones, we will see a triangle of men in place who all know each other well and consider each other good friends. For Jim Barker, stepping off the sideline and concentrating solely on the duties of general manager, the choice was clear, albeit difficult, in some respect.
“I’ll miss a lot about coaching,” he said, moments after Milanovich was announced as his replacement. “But I wasn’t hired to make Jim Barker happy. I was hired to turn this franchise into a year-in, year-out winner. What’s in the best interests of this organization is to have Scott Milanovich in it.”