Since being hired as the Toronto Argonauts new head coach on December 2, Mike Miller’s priority has been assembling a new coaching staff. Though some have been hired in the interim, the last contract was signed on Wednesday, and the team announced the new group as a whole today.
For Miller, compiling the staff was an interesting process. It’s one he’s been through often as a coach, but always as the interviewee, never the interviewer. He said one of the things he was looking for in the conversations was if the prospective coach showed they possessed the same traits he mentioned in his introductory news conference.
“Accountability, discipline, respect, trust, and passion,” was the laundry list Miller gave to Argonauts.ca during a lengthy conversation. “I try to use those things to really guide how we run the program, especially looking for guys that could be a fit for us.”
The toughest part was making calls to the men who were previously on staff to give them the bad news that they wouldn’t be a part of the 2026 staff. Miller explained that some of those coaches are close friends and it was an “incredibly hard” part of the process.
But it was also important to him to perform due diligence and look for some new voices from outside the organization.
From last year’s staff only Mickey Donovan and Dom Picard are back; Donovan again as special teams coordinator, while Picard moves from running backs coach to take over the offensive line, a natural move for the former all-star center.
“I was looking for guys who are great teachers with great character,” said Miller. “I was always impressed with Dom. He’s very detailed and goes above and beyond. He’s an incredible worker with great character. He has great experience with Canadian defences, the fronts, and the protection rules.
“With Mickey, I just have a great deal of respect for what he does in the kicking game and for his character as well.”
Two others on the new staff have been here before as coaches. Greg Quick has twice been the linebackers coach in Toronto, most recently holding that same role in Montreal, while Demetrious Maxie did two tours of duty with the Argos as a player, another as a coach.
Maxie pinballed between Edmonton and Toronto over the last four years, interrupting a long run in Edmonton with a Grey Cup winning season with the Argos in 2024. He returned to Northern Alberta last season and will again be in Double Blue this year as not only the defensive line coach, but as the assistant head coach.
“He’s very deserving,” Miller said of Maxie. “He has an outstanding reputation, and our players respond to him. Again, outstanding character and a team-oriented guy. I enjoyed working with Maxie and was excited to be able to have him join us.”
Quick and Miller have never been on the same staff, but the head coach has respected Quick’s work from afar.
“There were a few people I talked to for that position (defensive coordinator). He just became a really strong candidate who came highly referenced. Montreal’s defence is tough schematically. They were always tough and hard to prepare for. He’s a hard worker with tons of experience with outstanding character and great passion.”
Another pair have been with the organization before but were in uniform. The higher profile of the two is Ka’Deem Carey, who starred with the Argos in their Grey Cup run in 2024. He suffered a major leg injury last year with Saskatchewan and will coach the running backs this year.
“I believe at some point someone has to have a starting point (in coaching),” said Miller. “When Kadeem came to us (as a player) he was very professional. He was a leader of that room, a great communicator, incredibly hard worker, and great character. I wanted a guy with experience with the running back position, and I just felt that when Ka’Deem was here he was already kind of in that role. I enjoyed him as a person, but also as a player.”
Kierrie (rhymes with Pierre) Johnson will return to the Argos as receiver coach. He was here playing that position for the first half of the 2015 season.
“Kierrie was recommended,” explained Miller. “I talked to him, looked at his career, and talked to people that worked with him. His interview was outstanding, and I’m really excited about him.”
Another new coach with the same last name played often in Toronto, but only as a visiting player. Jovon Johnson terrorized opposing quarterbacks for a dozen seasons, mainly with Winnipeg. He ended his career with 35 interceptions, and in 2011 was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player, the first time a cornerback won that award. He’ll bring his expertise to the defensive backs room.
“The first thing he said (in the interview) was ‘You’ve got to hold guys accountable; we’ve got to be disciplined.” Admittedly, Argonauts.ca was curious about Johnson’s personality, after all, he was nicknamed ‘The Mayor of Swaggerville’ as one of the leaders of a very good, very cocky Blue Bombers defence. Miller laughed when he heard that handle and was quick to say “He’s very respectful and very confident. He’s goal oriented and team oriented.”
The highest profile addition to the staff is quarterbacks coach Chris Miller, no relation to his new boss. The QB was a first round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons, going on to a career that included a spot on the 1991 Pro Bowl team.
After his career ended, he eventually coached quarterbacks for the Arizona Cardinals, where he worked closely with Mike Miller for three seasons when he was the passing game coordinator, then offensive coordinator with the Cardinals.
“We had a great talk. Chris and I have stayed in touch ever since we worked together in Arizona. He’s a guy that played at a high level who loves coaching and loves to develop players. I think he’s someone that our quarterback room will respond to.”
And then there’s Plug and Bubba, two people with no pro experience as either a coach or player. Colyn Haugh (pronounced “how”) and Richard “Bubba” Walker have extensive and successful careers at both the high school and Division II level in the NCAA, and both share their new boss’s hometown of Pittsburgh.
“Plug and I have stayed in touch, when I was working at Westminster College he was there. I coached him at Robert Morris when he was on the defensive line, so I’ve known him for 20 years. Plug has always been a guy that just works incredibly hard with great passion. He just want to coach and he loves to compete.
“Bubba played football with my brother Ryan in my hometown of Plum Borough, just outside Pittsburgh. Our families were close and as life goes, everybody goes their own direction, but we stayed in loose contact. He went to the University of Buffalo then found his way down to Georgia. Valdosta State won national championships, then he was coaching high school for 10 years.”
Giving guys from lower levels an opportunity is something Miller is happy about. It goes back to something he was told by former NFL coach and player Joe Walton, who was the head coach at Robert Morris University when Miller was on his staff.
“Joe said to us, listen, their minds are the same. Players’ bodies are bigger, stronger, and faster at higher levels, but football is football and coaching is coaching. It’s all about fundamentals and techniques and holding guys accountable. Our players have to be able to answer three questions; does my coach trust me or can I trust my coach? Does he care about me? And will he make me better? That’s how you earn a player’s respect.”
The group will first gather in Toronto next month, while Miller said a recent Zoom meeting with the entire staff participating was an outstanding feeling. He’s confident about the group, and the next step is to fill out the roster to give those coaches plenty of talent to work with.