Why was Leo Cahill fired?

[Will]

I mean he took a team that had been in the doldrums for much of the 1950's and 1960's and led them back to respectability. Yes, he never could win the big one, but wasn't the poor season in 1972 influenced by Joe Theismann getting hurt than anything else? It seems that after he left the team went into free-fall that they didn't recover from until 1982 (yes I know he'd been brought back).

Also, as a GM he seemed pretty adept at bringing in talent. Players such as Gil Fenerty, Reggie Pleasant, Selwyn Drain, Willie Pless, Ed Berry, Jerald Baylis, Glen Kulka and I think Darrell Smith were brought in under his watch.

[R.J]

Going 12-27 in his last 2 and half seasons probably did it.

[Will]

Going 12-27 in his last 2 and half seasons probably did it.

He had two separate stints though. I'm more referring to the end of his first (1967-1972) stint.

[AngeloV]

He had two separate stints though. I'm more referring to the end of his first (1967-1972) stint.

Different times. The Argos were basically the NY Yankees of the CFL at that time. When you spend that much money and don't win the big one, ownership often doesn't look to kindly towards that.

[ArgoGabe22]

Curious what the fan buzz was like at the time prior to his firing. Same with Obie.

[R.J]

He had two separate stints though. I'm more referring to the end of his first (1967-1972) stint.

Going from 10-4 and a Grey Cup appearance to 3-11 when the fanbase and Owner had very high expectations is what did it - similar to the Argos in 91-92 when you think about it (difference that the Argos won in 91, but you get the idea).

[timlb01]

Those were the days were it was the Argos and Leafs in town. The Argos were the centre of the universe and so was the CFL. Love the stories about Leo going down to the states with a brief case of cash louring players to play in Toronto.

[paulwoods13]

Curious what the fan buzz was like at the time prior to his firing.

The entire stadium was singing "Goodbye Leo." That's some serious fan buzz.

[ArgoRavi]

The entire stadium was singing "Goodbye Leo." That's some serious fan buzz.

The final game of Leo's second stint as head coach - an ugly 27-2 loss to Montreal in 1978 - is up on YouTube.

[Scooter McCray]

I remember going to a game in Ottawa when I lived there in the 1970s when my parents had season tickets for the Rough Riders, Ottawa beat the Argos in a night game and all of Lansdowne Park was singing "Goodnight Leo". He was furious and threw his headset down on the ground.

I thought he was great for the Argos, great for the CFL and turned into one of the better colour commentators for the game.

[jerrym]

I loved Leo because I remember the horror of most of the decade BC (Before Cahill). However, part of the negative reaction to Cahill was his boastful nature, which is helps gain media attention and drive fan interest, as long as your winning.

Some fans never forgave him for his "Act of God" statement after winning the first game of the two game total points 1969 Eastern final. I lived in Ottawa and remember how the Ottawa players, media and city were up in arms about this, driving their motivation.

When the Argos blew the 1971 Grey Cup with their highly talented lineup and huge payroll making them heavy favourites, especially after seeming on the verge of winning on Calgary 12 yard line with two minutes to go only to see McQuay fumble, more fans started questioning Cahill's coaching.

When the losses started piling up, the media and the fans who had loved him as a winner, were harder on him than all the losers of the previous decade, as is often the case (think of the talented Amy Winehouse).

Cahill had took over the Argonauts in 1967 and immediately made the team into a genuine contender.

In 1969, the Argonauts had so improved that they disposed of the hated Tiger-Cats in the eastern semi-final and now were two games away from qualifying for the Grey Cup – in 1969, the eastern final was a two-game, total points affair. ...
Cahill was confident and prepared his team well for the first game in Toronto. They dominated the game and won it 22-14, a score that could easily have been worse for the Roughriders.After the game, Cahill was so confident that he added a new opponent to the Roughriders’ arsenal: God himself. Asked about his team’s chances in the return match in Ottawa next week, Cahill declared that only “an act of God” could stop the Argonauts from appearing in the Grey Cup.
Obviously Leo was so impressed by his team’s performance that he was not worried about any repercussions: not even a team that had regularly defeated him, nor the added danger of possible divine intervention, could make him retract his confident prediction.
Meanwhile up in Heaven, God decided to suspend His usual activities of judging newly arrived souls to weigh in on a CFL Eastern Final Game.
So far as it has been humanly reported and deciphered, it may be said that God found Cahill and the Argonauts presumptuous and the Rough Riders less sinful.
He showed His hand by sending cold weather to Ottawa during the following week, freezing the Landsdowne Park field to nearly rock-hard ice.
When the Argonauts showed up a week later, they were wearing their usual football cleats while the Roughriders wore special shoes to meet the changed conditions.
Ottawa easily won the game 32-3 and the two game total point series 46-25. God showed that He was not to be bet against.
But God was not done with the Argonauts and Cahill yet. In the Grey Cup two years later, it was obviously God who created a slippery spot that caused Leon McQuay to fumble and lose the Cup. And after one more year, after a dismal season, Cahill was fired.

http://lastwordonsports.com/2014/11/...ted-the-argos/

[ArgoRavi]

If anyone is wondering why Leo was fired in 1978, this article from the Globe and Mail sheds some light on that (there are some eerie similarities on how that season and the 2016 season unfolded btw):

Viewpoint Argos solve one problem by firing their coaching staff
Tuesday, November 07, 1978
Jeffrey Goodman
Toronto ON -- By JEFFREY GOODMAN Chaotic, depressing, humiliating, mind-boggling and desperate. All these adjectives describe Toronto Argonauts' 1978 season. Optimistic, enthusiastic, confident, unified and energetic. These adjectives, as in the past, undoubtedly will crop up again when the Canadian Football League club rebuilds for the 1979 season.

The reassembling began yesterday, the day after Hamilton Tiger-Cats clinched third place in the Eastern Conference with a 23-16 win over the Argos, when general manager Dick Shatto informed the four members of the coaching staff that they were free to look for other jobs. Their one-year contracts will be honored until they expire in February.
One problem we had was coaching, said Shatto. What the club needs is someone who will provide discipline and direction. But there are other factors which hurt the club.
In the five years that Bill Hodgson has been majority owner of the Argos, there have been some consistent factors surrounding their inability to finish higher than third place. At the beginning of each season their fans have been teased into believing that a new day is dawning. By each season's end, the record made it clear that the fans had been duped.
Of the numerous poor years the Argos have had, this was one of the worst. In one regard, however, it offered a good lesson on how a wealthy, well-established organization is capable of inflicting trouble on itself.
The Argos' woes did not come upon them gradually. Their internal problems were evident at training camp and simply became magnified as the season crawled by. They lose because their employees tend to concentrate less on putting out a decent product than on internal politics and what is being reported about them. It also tends to let many good people move to other clubs.
No single person deserves all the blame. However, the brunt of it must fall on the people who make the decisions. The players reacted positively to assistant coach Lamar Leachman, but former head coach Leo Cahill got his way and sent the defensive line coach packing. Next to go was middle linebacker Ray Nettles, a Leachman disciple and the heart and soul of the defence.
Cahill never found a replacement for Nettles, and Del Wight, Leachman's replacement, alienated the players further. Cahill hired Bud Riley to run the offensive backfield, but felt that Riley was undermining him, as he believed Leachman had the year before.
Wight, who was hired on Riley's recommendation, became isolated from Cahill, offensive line coach Chuck Dickerson and defensive backfield coach Jim Rountree. Two opposing camps formed among the coaches and Cahill couldn't control the dissension. The coaches also knew at training camp that the team had to improve this year, and were nervous. The players were not at first, but this feeling eventually spread to them.
Meanwhile, plans for the offensive line went awry when tackle Mike Wilson injured his knee and fled to the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals. Cahill's lineup decisions - keeping linebacker Larry Brame instead of Ron Foxx, using an import named Ralph Hill at centre, suspending Joel Parrish when he was needed and moving Gene Clark from guard to tackle - caused more internal friction. Argos' annual airlift of players after its third loss brought insecurity and in some cases apathy.
From then on, the problems grew worse. Cahill was fired and Riley took over as head coach; Rountree was fired and the rift in the coaching staff increased.
In the midst of this internal strife, some players lost their desire and even a win failed to unite them.
Shatto is prepared to take the blame for some of the mistakes and problems. Others, Hodgson for example, appear as though they are not.
I made a mistake by not stepping into the coaching problem, said Shatto. Instead of riding along and watching the trouble I should have exerted more influence and pressure.
Obviously, it's too late now, so the club can only hope to learn from its mistakes and concentrate on rebuilding. On the whole, the Argos still have an abundance of talent.
It has an excellent defensive line in Wayne Smith, Bruce Smith, Jim Corrigall and Ecomet Burley. Tom Poe shows promise at middle linebacker. Paul Bennett and Jim Marshall are credits to the defensive secondary.
On offence, the team is stable, with Terry Metcalf and Mark Bragagnolo in the backfield, Peter Muller at tight end and Nick Bastaja at tackle. Wide receiver Dwight Edwards and offensive guard Doug Redl should improve with experience. Quarterback Alvin White needs time to develop poise and maturity.
Chuck Ealey? Rodney Allison? Parrish? They will not be back. Cornerback Eric Harris will have to be replaced. Slotback Mike Harris probably won't return. Eric Harris is entering his option year, but the talented import has been watched closely by the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and Shatto expects they will attempt to buy his contract. Finding a quarterback and offensive linemen will be a major goal.
Who the new head coach will be remains a mystery. Shatto has not been told by Hodgson to hire one. That will be left up to the Bassetts, Doug and Johnny F., when they take control of the club. Shatto may not even be involved in the decision.
I'll continue to do the job until or unless the situation changes, said Shatto. The only thing I can do is wait and see what happens and do whatever is necessary when the time comes.
A fitting and familiar epilogue to a season marred by uncertainty and frustration.