Toronto Argonauts relieve Marc Trestman of head coaching duties

[Will]

https://www.argonauts.ca/2018/11/03/...aching-duties/

That was fast!

[Mightygoose]

I thought he would be back next season. But at 4-14 coming off a Grey Cup win and after Manning coming out public about needing to win, a message was sent.

Still wonder if this is actually mutual and there's an opportunity or 2 down south

[timlb01]

Don’t forget about the new management cap. This would be part of the factor too.

[Antwon]

Wow didn't expect anything that fast. Obviously there's been some disagreement at different levels.
I wonder if Steinauer could be pried away from Hamilton?

[doubleblue]

https://www.argonauts.ca/2018/11/03/...aching-duties/

That was fast!

Wow! Didn't think it would really happen. Doesn't make me feel good about it. I think Marc Trestman is a good man but things sure went south this year. The last two games it sure looked like he had lost the team. The Carter debacle didn't help him in the eyes of Management either I don't think.

Except for hiring Trestman, Jim Popp hasn't got a good record of hiring successful Coaches.

[paulwoods13]

It seems clear Popp is staying on. I don't have an issue with that -- he has a good track record of player recruitment over two-plus decades in the CFL. Obviously finding the right head coach is imperative. There are a lot of potential candidates, including fairly obvious ones like Steinauer, Condell, Austin (yuck), LaPolice and Benevides, and less-obvious ones like Himebauch. I wonder if Popp will have to wait until after teams are eliminated to talk to assistants, or if there is a protocol in place to do it while teams are alive, as there is in the NFL. I'd like someone with CFL experience and an offensive philosophy that includes more of a commitment to a running game, but the latter may conflict with the former.

As for Trestman, he deserves our long-term appreciation for the miracle he managed to create last year. Unfortunately his deep commitment to his approach to coaching mutated into unsuccessful stubbornness and perhaps arrogance this year. It cost us right from the start of the season, when a few guys who excelled in camp and preseason (like Trumaine Washington) were left off the active roster in favour of veterans who were past their primes.

[Argo]

It seems clear Popp is staying on. I don't have an issue with that -- he has a good track record of player recruitment over two-plus decades in the CFL. Obviously finding the right head coach is imperative. There are a lot of potential candidates, including fairly obvious ones like Steinauer, Condell, Austin (yuck), LaPolice and Benevides, and less-obvious ones like Himebauch. I wonder if Popp will have to wait until after teams are eliminated to talk to assistants, or if there is a protocol in place to do it while teams are alive, as there is in the NFL. I'd like someone with CFL experience and an offensive philosophy that includes more of a commitment to a running game, but the latter may conflict with the former.

As for Trestman, he deserves our long-term appreciation for the miracle he managed to create last year. Unfortunately his deep commitment to his approach to coaching mutated into unsuccessful stubbornness and perhaps arrogance this year. It cost us right from the start of the season, when a few guys who excelled in camp and preseason (like Trumaine Washington) were left off the active roster in favour of veterans who were past their primes.

Year in and year out, Calgary didn't seem to have a problem coupling a stellar ground game with aerial fireworks, so it can be done.

Popp has another year to demonstrate that he can successfully attract and assemble talented players. I only hope that he can also first select and sign the probable best available next head coach.

[SkalbaniasGhost]

It seems clear Popp is staying on. I don't have an issue with that -- he has a good track record of player recruitment over two-plus decades in the CFL. Obviously finding the right head coach is imperative. There are a lot of potential candidates, including fairly obvious ones like Steinauer, Condell, Austin (yuck), LaPolice and Benevides, and less-obvious ones like Himebauch. I wonder if Popp will have to wait until after teams are eliminated to talk to assistants, or if there is a protocol in place to do it while teams are alive, as there is in the NFL. I'd like someone with CFL experience and an offensive philosophy that includes more of a commitment to a running game, but the latter may conflict with the former.

As for Trestman, he deserves our long-term appreciation for the miracle he managed to create last year. Unfortunately his deep commitment to his approach to coaching mutated into unsuccessful stubbornness and perhaps arrogance this year. It cost us right from the start of the season, when a few guys who excelled in camp and preseason (like Trumaine Washington) were left off the active roster in favour of veterans who were past their primes.

The CFL has a supposed protocol in place but in typical CFL fashion it is not adhered to by anyone.The protocol was implemented by Mike Lysko but Popp/Wetenhall upstaged him in 2001 with the Don Mathews hiring during Grey Cup Week.It was the beginning of the end for Lysko and shows how ungovernable this league truly is. It will be interesting to see Edmonton's response this weekend since Len Rhodes was vocal about implementing this Competition Cap.I am curious to see limitations/punishments for not adhering to said such cap and if the Eskimos will abide to it.

I applaud Trestman's contribution to the Argo's and the CFL itself.I hope he takes 2019 off and focus on personal matters. Popp(if he sticks around) will need to go younger.The rebuild is going to get alot tougher in January when the XFL starts signing players.

[dmont]

I think Popp deserves to go more than Trestman. Popp had a lousy off season (TJ heath and Ronnie Yell), had a horrible draft, didnt acquire enough decent talent to compensate for in-season injuries, sent Lemon packing without a replacement, and pushed the Duron Carter fiasco.

Keeping Popp and losing Trestman is the worst possible scenario. Remember Montreal? Watch Popp provided middling-to-decent coaches with mediocre players, get impatient and start meddling, fire the coaches mid-season, and take over on the sidelines. This will be ugly.

Popp should have been fired for sure. Trestman.... I dont know, I was conflicted... but i was leaning toward keep. Have you ever seen a guy unite players so well under a team-first philosophy? Even this season, nobody was complaining. He needed better players and better coordinators.

Anyways, i am not happy that Popp is sticking around.

I hope Calvillos gone too. I have nothing against him, i just think hes cursed.

[AngeloV]

I hope Calvillos gone too. I have nothing against him, i just think hes cursed.

Who do you think brought Calvillo on board? Trestman picks his coaching staff. He did a lousy job of it IMO.

[Will]

I think Popp deserves to go more than Trestman. Popp had a lousy off season (TJ heath and Ronnie Yell), had a horrible draft, didnt acquire enough decent talent to compensate for in-season injuries, sent Lemon packing without a replacement, and pushed the Duron Carter fiasco.

Keeping Popp and losing Trestman is the worst possible scenario. Remember Montreal? Watch Popp provided middling-to-decent coaches with mediocre players, get impatient and start meddling, fire the coaches mid-season, and take over on the sidelines. This will be ugly.

Popp should have been fired for sure. Trestman.... I dont know, I was conflicted... but i was leaning toward keep. Have you ever seen a guy unite players so well under a team-first philosophy? Even this season, nobody was complaining. He needed better players and better coordinators.

Anyways, i am not happy that Popp is sticking around.

I hope Calvillos gone too. I have nothing against him, i just think hes cursed.

Once again, I do not trust Manning to make a hire vis-a-vis the General Manager position.

[paulwoods13]

The CFL has a supposed protocol in place but in typical CFL fashion it is not adhered to by anyone.The protocol was implemented by Mike Lysko but Popp/Wetenhall upstaged him in 2001 with the Don Mathews hiring during Grey Cup Week.It was the beginning of the end for Lysko and shows how ungovernable this league truly is.

I thought that situation involved the Als making the Matthews announcement when they were not supposed to. That protocol, I thought, was to prevent announcements about coaching changes when the postseason was under way, because such announcements would distract fans from focusing on the playoffs. I want to know if there is also a protocol allowing teams to approach and negotiate with assistant coaches from other teams that are still active, as the NFL has.

[ArgoRavi]

The CFL has a supposed protocol in place but in typical CFL fashion it is not adhered to by anyone.The protocol was implemented by Mike Lysko but Popp/Wetenhall upstaged him in 2001 with the Don Mathews hiring during Grey Cup Week.It was the beginning of the end for Lysko and shows how ungovernable this league truly is. It will be interesting to see Edmonton's response this weekend since Len Rhodes was vocal about implementing this Competition Cap.I am curious to see limitations/punishments for not adhering to said such cap and if the Eskimos will abide to it.

That was 17 long years ago and the league has successfully instituted an embargo on any football operations announcements during the playoffs since that time.

To answer Paul's question, I am pretty sure that teams are not allowed to interview coaches from other teams until that coach's team is eliminated from the playoffs.

[Will]

I cannot believe how indifferent I seem to be to this news.

He did not have an easy go of it this year for a variety of reasons (personal & otherwise), but I largely agree with Paul's second paragraph.

What I am interested to learn (and we may never know) is the 'behind the scenes' of all of this. Is it Manning who pushed for it?

[Argo]

Apart from the very hefty financial hit... good news.

[R.J]

I had a feeling that this was the likely outcome, but Trestman absolutely had to go. Good on the Argos Brass and even Popp for seeing that Trestman was part of the problem too. In saying that, I wish Trestman nothing but the best in his personal life.

[Stevoman]

Imagine going back to last December and saying he'd be fired by this time next year! However, imagine saying last year that we'd only win 4 games this year; both would've been unbelievable.

I have mixed feelings about the move. I really like his approach of building better men and using football as the opportunity but do think he was massively out coached this year and this team has never seemed together at any point and that lands on the coach.

With a change this fast it had to be pre-determined over the last few weeks. Hopefully an action plan has also already been talked about.

[Argo]

Imagine going back to last December and saying he'd be fired by this time next year! However, imagine saying last year that we'd only win 4 games this year; both would've been unbelievable.

I have mixed feelings about the move. I really like his approach of building better men and using football as the opportunity but do think he was massively out coached this year and this team has never seemed together at any point and that lands on the coach.

With a change this fast it had to be pre-determined over the last few weeks. Hopefully an action plan has also already been talked about.

The 4 win record actually seems to flatter the team. The change had to be made.

[Will]

The 4 win record actually seems to flatter the team. The change had to be made.

The 4 wins were by 3, 1, 1 and 4 points respectively. Yikes!

[AngeloV]

I'm not surprised at all. I knew there was a power struggle between Popp and Trestman. When a GM goes out and gets a QB, and the coach benches him in favour of a journeyman, you knew (or at least I figured) there was a power struggle. I've said many times, I love Trestman the man, but at this point, I believe his coaching system is done. My first choice to replace him is Paul LaPolice, with Orlando Steinauer as a #2, but I don't believe Hamilton will give the Argos permission to talk to him. He is definitely apprenticing as the next HC for the Ti-Cats.

Bottom line, this is good news for those of us that believe in James Franklin, and James Wilder, who may be able to run a different run play with a new philosophy other than between the guards.

I'll say it again, but Scott Milanovich had 1 bad year in 5 and had many more obstacles put in front of him.

I had a feeling that this was the likely outcome, but Trestman absolutely had to go. Good on the Argos Brass and even Popp for seeing that Trestman was part of the problem too. In saying that, I wish Trestman nothing but the best in his personal life.

I'm with you on this.