Argofans

What are the changes you want to see the Argos make for 2026? Here are ones that immediately come to my mind:

1) Coaching - I definitely want to see Ryan Dinwiddie, Mike Miller, and Pete Costanza return and hope that Drew Tate does also. The Argos have as good of a passing game as any, even without Chad Kelly and the aforementioned gentlemen are the reason why. I am not against Kris Sweet or Mickey Donovan returning but acknowledge that different voices may be needed to improve the o-line and return special teams to glory. I would cut both d-line coach Greg Marshall and co-defensive coordinator Jason Shivers loose. It feels like Marshall has rarely coached on a winning team while Shivers' defences have performed poorly for 4 consecutive seasons. Either make Kevin Eiben the sole defensive coordinator or bring in somebody else that you have confidence in.

2) Improving the d-line has to be top priority. I am not convinced that our secondary is that bad because we just don't get the same pressure from our front four that we once did. Joe Wallace may be part of the answer along that d-line and I hold out hope in Canadians Jeremiah Ojo and Paris Shand (whom I believe will show next year) but we need to find other d-linemen who can stop the run and pressure the QB.

3) Re-sign Nick Arbuckle to backup Chad Kelly. There are currently no obvious open starting QB positions and Arbuckle has to know that his best fit is with Ryan Dinwiddie. If Chad Kelly can return to form in 2026, that automatically makes the Argos contenders.

4) I am not as down on the o-line as others. I think injuries had more of an effect this year than anything. Peter Nicastro has played superbly and made Darius Ciraco expendable but I believe that Ryan Hunter has been trying to gut it out through significant injury this year and needs to get healthy. There's no question that they have to figure out the left tackle position. Brandon Kemp could be the answer there but I have a lot of trouble seeing Hampton Ergle as any kind of answer. I still love the potential of the likes of Sage Doxtater, Anthony Vandal, and Anim Dankwah. I also want to see a healthy Dylan Giffen return.

5) This pains me to say this but the Argos may need to say goodbye to Davaris Daniels.

The three CFL on TSN panelists today - Henoc Mwamba, Paul Lapolice, and Milt Stegall - all like the Argos' chances of rebounding better than the Redblacks' (discussed at halftime of the Stamps/Lions game). They all acknowledged the Argos' many injuries this year but like their strength at QB and the foundation they have established with Ryan Dinwiddie and Pinball. Mwamba believes that their defence will be much better next year with many of the same players because they had so many changes this year and lacked necessary continuity.

Regarding D Line coach Marshall, last year when he was with Ottawa, his unit was highly rated. This year the Redblacks D Line wasn't nearly as effective. Did he have the horses this year in Toronto?

I thought I read somewhere that Arbuckle was signed through next season? Does Kelly return at all?

Not sure how much coaching Kris Sweet can do when he has a raw American rookie off the PR protecting the QBs blind side, and injuries every where else....and a Dejon Allen trade.

Donnovans unit looked much better when Haggarty started finding his groove with his Punt placement.

Let's see how Rogers is with the purse strings this offseason. Will McManus be replaced by a younger cheaper player like Aaron Casey? I just don't trust them not to send players who are in line for a raise packing like this past offseason.

The o-line is a disaster area, and I have completely lost faith in some guys I thought would be longterm fixtures: (Hunter, Vandal and Giffen, to be precise). The jury is still out on Doxtater but he's definitely worth bringing back
The jury might still be out on Bosse but it's close to reaching a verdict, and it isn't looking to be in his favour. Ergle might be the worst OT the Argos have started in all my years watching the team. Kemp might be decent, Moore not so much. Much new blood is needed at these positions IMO.

I'll be surprised if we ever again see Kelly in an Argo uniform. I won't be surprised if Tre Ford is here in 2026. I definitely want Arbuckle back, with a raise, based on how he soldiered on with an atrocious o-line and no running game (and little speed at receiver).

The defence needs a complete overhaul, apart from a few pieces like Judge and (perhaps at lower salary) McManis. Big shakeup needed in the coaching staff, and in player evaluation and recruitment.

paulwoods13 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 04, 2025 9:20 pm The o-line is a disaster area, and I have completely lost faith in some guys I thought would be longterm fixtures: (Hunter, Vandal and Giffen, to be precise). The jury is still out on Doxtater but he's definitely worth bringing back
The jury might still be out on Bosse but it's close to reaching a verdict, and it isn't looking to be in his favour. Ergle might be the worst OT the Argos have started in all my years watching the team. Kemp might be decent, Moore not so much. Much new blood is needed at these positions IMO.

I'll be surprised if we ever again see Kelly in an Argo uniform. I won't be surprised if Tre Ford is here in 2026. I definitely want Arbuckle back, with a raise, based on how he soldiered on with an atrocious o-line and no running game (and little speed at receiver).

The defence needs a complete overhaul, apart from a few pieces like Judge and (perhaps at lower salary) McManis. Big shakeup needed in the coaching staff, and in player evaluation and recruitment.

Ryan Hunter should be employed as a LG!

paulwoods13 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 04, 2025 9:20 pm The o-line is a disaster area, and I have completely lost faith in some guys I thought would be longterm fixtures: (Hunter, Vandal and Giffen, to be precise). The jury is still out on Doxtater but he's definitely worth bringing back
The jury might still be out on Bosse but it's close to reaching a verdict, and it isn't looking to be in his favour. Ergle might be the worst OT the Argos have started in all my years watching the team. Kemp might be decent, Moore not so much. Much new blood is needed at these positions IMO.

I'll be surprised if we ever again see Kelly in an Argo uniform. I won't be surprised if Tre Ford is here in 2026. I definitely want Arbuckle back, with a raise, based on how he soldiered on with an atrocious o-line and no running game (and little speed at receiver).

The defence needs a complete overhaul, apart from a few pieces like Judge and (perhaps at lower salary) McManis. Big shakeup needed in the coaching staff, and in player evaluation and recruitment.

Huge changes needed overall IMO.

D only has a few keepers - McManis & Judge; Chatfield at DE and maybe vet Lanier if he can bounce back; McFadden in the secondary.

O-Line = Hunter is not an OT so stop trying to play him there; find 2 new solid OTs

D coaching is a total joke IMO = punt all of them.

RB - obvious - bring in a bunch of competition, including - gasp - considering top Canadian RB talent

Ford as an Argo QB = LOL - they can find Div III or NAIA level talent they would prefer for sure.

RE Arbuckle
https://www.bgmsportstrax.com/2025/02/0 ... ough-2025/
The Toronto Argonauts and quarterback Nick Arbuckle agreed to a one-year contract extension through the 2025 season on Tuesday.

Should be an interesting off season.

The lines are a mess. Major influx of talent is needed. The OL is a disaster, espcially the tackles. I’d keep Nicastro, Doxtator and Hunter (move him the RG). Hopefully Donovan can be the RT, but that’s based on wishful thinking too. All the LT’s they have can go. None of them impressed, Kemp included. The Allen trade clearly did not pan out. I’m hoping that Ankwah can be a player, but that’s just hope. Nothing substantiated there. I’d like to see Giffen succeed, but he’s never healthy. Vandal can go. I’m tired of watching DT’s overpower, or run by him. The OL was just awful - you can’t give up 16 sacks in two weeks like they just did. Plus their inability to block was part of the disastrous run game.

The DL needs lots of help too. Chatfield can be back. Wanted to see more from Parrish. The rest ….. not good. Lanier was the best of a bad lot of DT’s, and I wouldn’t be sad to see him go. Plus the lack of depth there hurt, especially the lack of Canadian depth. Not sure what happened with Hergott, and hopefully Ojo will develop into the rotation next year. Pelley ….. not sold. He was just ok, and there had to be reasons why they were able to get him from the streets that late in the season, especially for a Canadian player.

The rest of the D may be salvageable. Dunno for sure though.

As for the O - all the RB’s can go. Thank you for your service.

The receivers are good, but lack someone who can stretch the field and take the top off of the defense.

I’d like to see Kelly back next year. He throws the best deep ball, and has the “it” factor. The team has a swagger when he plays.

The kickers can stay. Grant….. sure, he can come back, but the specials need to be better. The loss of Adebeboye is understated on specials, and he could have helped out in RB.

Hopefully they do better in the draft next year. Although they played more Canadians than required it was evident that the depth just wasn’t the same. That showed in the specials in the lack of big returns, and the busts that were deadly early in the season. I would think that the Argos should get the additional pick at the end of the second round based on the number of snaps played by Canadian players. They played far above the mandated requirement. But they need to get draft picks on the field now. They can’t wait on “futures” any more.

I'm increasingly convinced a major change to the mgmt structure is needed. Assuming we are following the SMS rules, a significant amount of money is being paid to (and used up under the SMS by) a GM who does not do what every other team's GM does: find, recruit, sign and trade for players. And I'm betting the HC is the most expensive in the league, given that he's also the offensive coordinator and de facto GM. IMO Pinball needs to be given a title (VP?) that officially takes him out of football ops. And MLSE would then need to spend the amount currently attributed to him under the SMS on actual football ops, for instance by replacing Magri and Russell with individuals who might be able to replicate their ability to find NAT talent. I have little expectation either of these things will happen, unfortunately.

Let’s start with the coaching staff, the O coaches are fine, hard to excel with your starting QB unavailable for the entire season.
The O-Line needs a complete overhaul, should be addressed in the draft and free agency.
Running back another area that isn’t near good enough, serious blunder moving on from Ka’Deem Carey prior to the season, Brown looks pretty decent but McMahon isn’t an every down option.
The receivers as a group are a fairly talented group with Polk, Coxie, Herslow, Brissett and Mital.
The big question is at QB, will Kelly return and who will be his backup?
Enough with the Co-DC routine, pick one guy that runs the defence and be done with it.
Chatfield is a talented DE, Parish showed signs of improvement later in the season, outside of Lanier the interior D-Linemen aren’t very good at all.
Hard to evaluate the secondary which wasn’t helped by a lack of pass rush most of the season but several times this season receivers routinely burned this group.
Player ops needs to do a better job recruiting and retaining players, the mass exodus witnessed over the last two seasons finally caught up with the organization big time.

How do you keep the players healthy? Doesn't it seem like every year this team is ravaged by injuries moreso than any other team?