Toronto Argonauts’ search for head coach reaches critical point
The Toronto Argonauts will be looking to fill their head coaching vacancy with three viable candidates at the top of the list.
The Toronto Argonauts search for a new head coach is in full gear as they look to replace Marc Trestman who was let go at the end of the season.
Many names have been linked to the Argos recently like Corey Chamblin, DeVone Claybrooks, Jaime Elizondo, Tommy Condell and Noel Thorpe. All four of these candidates have CFL coaching experience but two names stand out because of their experience with the Argos and that’s Chamblin, and Condell.
With the Hamilton Tiger-Cats naming Orlondo Steinauer their new head coach and a recent report from TSN’s Dave Naylor saying that Paul LaPolice is withdrawing his name from the race, the list is getting narrower. It is unclear whether Toronto will add more coaches to their search list but at this point, it seems unlikely that another candidate is considered.
The obvious hurdle general manager Jim Popp has to navigate through is the cap teams are allowed to spend on coaching which takes away an advantage the Argos had with the financial backing of MLSE.
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As Frank Ziccarelli of the Toronto Sun wrote, the league is expected to set the limit on coaching to $2.738 million but there’s no record of what the team has already spent on their current staff.
When asked about the impact of the coaching salary cap on the head coaching search Popp mentioned that the new coach would have to retain staff which is not always easy to sell. Anytime a coach is brought in he generally wants people close to him or those who he knows to be a part of his staff so this is why certain candidates probably won’t work out.
There are two ways the Argos can go about their decision, bring in Chamblin because of his familiarity with the organization, the players and the systems or promote Condell and bring in a defensive minded coach to help out on the defensive side.
Once that decision is made then the Argos will need to figure out how to get the roster in shape and back in a competitive situation otherwise Popp will have another problem to deal with and that’s his own job.
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What do you think the Argos should do with their head coaching search? Who is the best candidate for the job? Let us know in the comments below.