Toronto Argonauts: 5 takeaways from 2019 coaching staff unveiling

We take a closer look at the Toronto Argonauts’ coaching staff, which was finalized and unveiled on Thursday.

The countdown to the 2019 CFL season continued in earnest on Thursday for the Toronto Argonauts. As reported by The Canadian Press via the Toronto Star, the team finalized and unveiled their coaching staff for the upcoming campaign.

This is an important season for the Argos, as they attempt to bounce back from a terrible 2018 where they finished at the bottom of the CFL standings. While it is the players who execute everything on the field, the coaching staff are just as important, hence why there was so much interest in Thursday’s announcement.

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Corey Chamblin gets most of the headlines as the Argonauts’ new head coach — as well as the defensive coordinator — and rightly so. He played a prominent role in the team winning the 105th Grey Cup, as the defensive coordinator, defensive backs coach and assistant head coach.

However, Chamblin can’t do it all alone. As per Argonauts.ca, the rest of his staff is as follows:

• Jacques Chapdelaine – Offensive Coordinator, QB’s
• Cory McDiarmid – Special Teams Coordinator
• Wendell Avery – Wide Receivers
• Justin Poindexter – Running Backs
• Dan Dorazio – Offensive Line
• Tyron Brackenridge – Defensive Backs
• Kevin Eiben – Linebackers
• Kerry Locklin – Defensive Line
• Carey Bailey – Defensive Line
• Dave Jackson – Special Teams Asst.

In truth, it’s quite an impressive array of coaching talent. Let’s break down the staff with our five takeaways.

1) Jacques Chapdelaine:

After Chambin, Chapdealine is the most intriguing addition to the coaching staff (although Dorazio gives him a run for his money). He has extensive experience of the CFL, including eight years as a player and 17 as a coach.

2) Return to Toronto:

Of those 17 years in the coaching ranks, Chapdealine spent two of them as head coach of the Montreal Alouettes. This is his second spell in Toronto, after being their special teams coordinator and receivers coach during the 1992 season.

3) Double duty:

Chamblin and Chapdealine are the only two members of the staff with two roles. Chamblin is head coach and defensive coordinator, while Chapdealine is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

4) Championship experience:

The coaching staff know what it takes to win the Grey Cup, with 16 championship rings between them. These include; Chamblin (three), Chapdealine (three), McDiarmid (two), Dorazio (four), Poindexter (one), Brackenridge (one), Eiben (one as a player for the Argos) and Locklin (one).

5) A revamped staff:

Of the 11 people on the Argonauts’ coaching staff, only two are holdovers from last season. Brackenridge returns as defensive backs coach for a second season (he was the Argo’s assistant DB coach on 2017) and Eiben becomes linebacker’s coach, after being the Double Blue’s special team’s coordinator for the last two years.

What do you make of the Toronto Argonauts’ coaching staff for 2019? Is there anyone in particular who stands out, and if so, why? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.