"Who will succeed Buono in B.C.?" -- DeVone Claybrooks is the man.

[JohnnyMusso]

Maas signed an extension in the offseason. Both Dave Naylor and Farhan L both think he will be back in Edmonton even if they miss the playoffs for they think Edmonton will not want to pay off that salary. Does anyone know how many years his extension is for?

Unless Kavis Reed is fired, I think Sherman will be back for another season with Manziel next year in Montreal.

[Hambone]

Maas signed an extension in the offseason. Both Dave Naylor and Farhan L both think he will be back in Edmonton even if they miss the playoffs for they think Edmonton will not want to pay off that salary. Does anyone know how many years his extension is for?

Unless Kavis Reed is fired, I think Sherman will be back for another season with Manziel next year in Montreal.

Both Sunderland and Maas were extended through the 2020 season.

https://globalnews.ca/news/4195496/edmo ... xtensions/

[KnowItAll]

Maas signed an extension in the offseason. Both Dave Naylor and Farhan L both think he will be back in Edmonton even if they miss the playoffs for they think Edmonton will not want to pay off that salary. Does anyone know how many years his extension is for?

Unless Kavis Reed is fired, I think Sherman will be back for another season with Manziel next year in Montreal.

Both Sunderland and Maas were extended through the 2020 season.

https://globalnews.ca/news/4195496/edmo ... xtensions/

sure do hope Reilly signs elsewhere.

[MacNews]

Lions need a HC who is willing to adapt his schemes to suit the strengths of his players rather than have a rigid system that seems to too often try to fit round pegs in square holes.

Bingo. We also need a HC who will hire Coordinators that will adapt their system to their personnel. Not the other way around.

[B.C.FAN]

Marc Trestman has been fired by the Argos after a disappointing 4-14 season. He lost his starting QB early in the year but the team underperformed badly and played uninspired football all season. Does he still have what it takes to be a successful head coach? And would he be willing to work for a typical head coach’s salary of $300,000 to $400,000 a year? He was reportedly making about $600,000 in Toronto, and still has one more year on his contract.

[WestCoastJoe]

Marc Trestman has been fired by the Argos after a disappointing 4-14 season. He lost his starting QB early in the year but the team underperformed badly and played uninspired football all season. Does he still have what it takes to be a successful head coach? And would he be willing to work for a typical head coach’s salary of $300,000 to $400,000 a year? He was reportedly making about $600,000 in Toronto, and still has one more year on his contract.

Wow. The results merit the firing. The team showed little fight or spirit.

He seems like a very nice person. Maybe too nice at this stage of his life? More concerned about broader isses in his and his players lives than football? One can kind of understand how he did not succeed as an NFL head coach.

He seemed to exert no drive on his players during games. Maybe his ''style'' of coaching needed a Calvillo or Ray at the helm. Dunno ...

It's a puzzler. If he lost his zest for coaching football, I could understand it. He hardly fits the profile of a ''dominant type football coach.'' He has been coaching for about 36 years.

The results on the field this year are a big surprise.

Would we want him here? Previous to this year, I would say yes. Now, not so sure. He might need time to regenerate his energy. Some coaching burnout? Could be.

[DanoT]

2 years ago I would have wanted Trestman as a Lion HC but not now. He, like our departing HC coach, is too old school conservative and too much about discipline. He has only had success in the CFL when he has had a future unanimous first round HoFer as QB.

I also found Bethal-Thompson as an odd choice as QB over Franklin. I know Trestman prefers a pocket passer and that is not Franklin's strength but still Trestman stuck with BT way, way, way too long.

[JohnnyMusso]

I am quite surprised he got fired. Yes the his record this year was bad, but last year he won the Grey Cup, so I thought they would have given him a mulligan for this year. I still think he will be a candidate for our job. He has to be. Whether he gets it who know. No idea who Hervey has in mind.

As for Popp, given his track record for finding coaches, other than Trestman, I would think he may be next to be fired. I have no faith in this guy finding a good replacement for Trestman.

[JohnnyMusso]

I still think losing Ray was a big blow to the Argos. Trestman has won 3 Grey Cups. When he left Montreal never won another. He won a Grey Cup last year and this year without Ray, they could not get it done, for both Franklin and BT struggled.

I would not be disappointed if Trestman is hired by Hervey. I think he is a very good coach, but lacked the talent and a decent QB in Toronto. Popp should have been fired too. The guy is not that good of a GM. As for our next coach, given the choice between Trestman, Maas and Washington, I would hire Trestman. He will coach again in the CFL and probably next year, if not in BC, maybe in Edmonton or Montreal again, if Reid and Sherman get the boot.

[Toppy Vann]

Observations on Trestman Firing

I watched most Toronto games including last night and something wasn't right. Post game Trestman sounded gone and maybe the family (wife cancer/dad passing and him in Canada wasn't working). Thus, I'd not suggest him top of the Lions list and secondly he prefers the east I think as he's close to home then.

I'm beginning to think that Trestman's success is often just short term, situational like last year's miracle Grey Cup win. However, this time back in the CFL was unlike his Montreal days where he seemed to have an offense suited to his QB - AC. Watching Argos offense this year and seeing AC on the sideline coaching reminded me of how ineffective MTL was with him coaching.

He now appears to be the guru who was in synch with Anthony Cavillo at the top of his game for all those runs.

3Down article on 7 Reasons for Trestman Firing is very good - a must read.

http://3downnation.com/2018/11/03/seven ... -trestman/

I watched Argos players' reaction (Bear Woods, Marcus Ball, James Franklin) and while they all love the man Ball and Franklin seem to confirm some of the points that Dave Naylor makes as to why.

Marcus Ball turns to a reporter in the TSN clip and makes the DEF win championships and thanks the guy for asking. He then references the DC and basically makes the point nicely that Archer is no Chamblin. Woods says only 2 starters on DEF from the GC team and that team had issues. He notes injuries and talent level higher.

Watched the TSN video (near the end) where James Franklin basically says he didn't click with Trestman (not his words) and he left these things get to him and he needs to work on it. He said arriving in Toronto and his relationship with the coach wasn't what he expected.

Would things have been different with Ricky Ray healthy and Bear Woods not injured til game 14? Likely yes - 9 and 9 thereabouts.

Naylor cited how Carter wasn't used (intimating it was Popp's choice not his) as well as how Franklin was treated as something not right.

[Coast Mountain Lion]

In 1971, the Argos were one Leon McQuay slip away from winning the Grey Cup. In 1972, Joe Theismann broke his leg, the team sank like a rock, and coach Leo Cahill was fired. The team was a gong show for several years following that.

History doesn't quite repeat, as this time the team has stable ownership.

[Toppy Vann]

Let's hope the GM has a model of a HC and a Process

A HC has to have the right view of the job and the ability to put together a team of coaches and instill a culture and philosophy that fits the needs of winning first and the abilities of the coaches and players to get it done. Mismatches (see Trestman 2018) in any of that lead to poor results.

As Jeff Reinebold Lions ST coach said some years ago when he noted there were some 240 HCs job in football and if you get a job as HC you'd best have a QB or know where to get one - OR you're fired.

Jason Maas

Maas looks and sounds this week on TSN like he's done as HC there .

If he's not gone somehow someone else has to go if things are to change.

Maas needed better guidance in his first year under Ed Hervey. He didn't get it as Hervey had yet to learn the humble pie lesson - something he had to swallow with his untimely firing.

It would not surprise me if Hervey hired Maas here and that he came in with lessons learned.

The question is if Hervey feels that Maas has been the author of the recent demise - remember they were at one point this year 7 and 5 or something like that.

OC/DC Coaches as HC Candidates

All the OC and DC Coordinators named as potential future HCs are like the backup QB on the losing teams.

Claybrook - is he being brought along as was Dickenson to be a HC? I don't know but he's been intriguing - except for this bad run he's on now. Is he great as he has great players or is he the genius.

US Coaches

Mike Sherman and June Jones are recent hires from the USA. Jones has had some decent success as he's proven adept at understanding the CFL game and he has a QB. All the prior failures of these former NFL greats have been lessons learned by CFL GMs I think.

[Hambone]

The night prior to the game against the Eskimos I along with a couple of long-time Esk fan buddies had the pleasure of spending a couple hours over some sociables with a long-time member of the Eskimos football ops staff one of my buddies has become friends of. That staff member through his role over the years is well connected with his peers not only across the CFL but other leagues and sports. Needless to say he has a lot of inside info on what goes on inside other locker rooms across the league. Our conversations meandered through a whole bunch of things including the situation vis a vis Trestman, Popp and the Argos. I don't recall the exact details but the gist of his take was that there was a disconnect between the players and Trestman and the players were tired of a lot of the ways Trestman dealt with the players and treated them. Sounded like there were some rather weird expectations and methodologies Trestman used that likely would not sit well with grown men and professionals. A couple things mentioned left me scratching my head. Maybe that explains why outside of Montreal and a couple other stops he's never stayed anywhere more than 2 years in his 35 year career. Perhaps his longevity in Montreal was a case of players tolerating him and his ways because they were enjoying so much success. My gut feel is that he will only be back in the CFL next year if Wetenhall Jr pulls rank and forces Reed to hire him in Montreal. Based on his resume I expect wherever he winds up he'll likely be there for 2 years before moving on again.

[CardiacKid]

Regardless who replaces Trestmann, I hope they prove to have some longevity and stability.
As funny as it sounds, the Argos may have been hobbled to some degree by their success last year. Brady and Chamblin leave, Butler leaves, expectations for this year may have been askew because of their ridiculously surprising season in 2017. If they went 4-14 last year, no one would have batted an eye.
I hope Trestmann stays involved with the league in some capacity.

[Belize City Lion]

I doubt we will see Trestman coaching anywhere next year. After reading the Toronto Sun interview, I would expect Trestman would be quite happy to collect his last year of salary from MLSE and just spend time with his family. There will no doubt be an opening for him somewhere in 2020 if he wants or needs to earn a paycheque.

If he wants to keep a presence in the CFL for 2019 he would be an excellent addition to TSN either as a panelist or a "coaches playbook" type of feature that LaPolice used to do.