OttawaREDBLACKS.com
OTTAWA — Jaime Elizondo has big shoes to fill.
Taking over the REDBLACKS offensive coordinator position, Elizondo inherits an offence that last season led the CFL in total yards and took a second-year Ottawa team to the brink of a Grey Cup Championship.
To say the expectations are high would be an understatement, but the replacement for now Eskimos head coach Jason Maas isn’t backing down. In fact, Elizondo isn’t just looking to maintain Ottawa’s league-leading offence – he expects it to improve.
“I think the big part of my job is building on the foundation that’s been laid here,” Elizondo said in a one-on-one interview with OttawaREDBLACKS.com. “I have to remind myself, [Henry Burris] and the players have only been in the system one year. So I think there’s a lot more growth that can come from it.
“The advantage we’re going to have right away is there won’t be a lot of change in terminology, we’ll use a lot of the same terminology and that’s huge . . . I think there’s some familiarity with the system, with the coaches, with the players having been in the system for a year, that I’m excited about taking the next step.”
Put plainly, Ottawa’s offence was a juggernaut last year. Led by Most Outstanding Player Henry Burris and four 1,000-yard receivers, the REDBLACKS led the CFL in both total yards and passing yards. It’s even more impressive considering that unit that was totally re-constructed after a 2-16 season in 2014.
REDBLACKS QB Henry Burris delivers a pass (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Elizondo may be a name CFL fans are less familiar with, but his addition in the nation’s capital resembles continuity on a team looking to repeat last year’s success.
“It’s the same system,” Elizondo said, tracing the roots of a coaching tree tracing back to multiple Grey Cup-winning coach Marc Trestman, now an assistant in the NFL. “The system that [Maas] brought over, it started from Marc Trestman and it goes back to before that time.
“I’ve been in this system now for seven years and I think one of the exciting components is you know what’s next in the system,” he added. “You know the evolution of the system, you know the complements.”
After coaching special teams with the New Orleans Saints in 2007, Elizondo arrived in the CFL as a receivers coach with the Als in 2008 under Trestman and current Argos head coach Scott Milanovich. He worked with Syracuse in 2009 as a receivers coach before becoming an offensive coordinator with the Argos in 2010 and 2011.
Elizondo leaned on All-Star running back Corey Boyd and first-time CFL starting quarterback Cleo Lemon in those years, helping the Argos finish 9-9 and go to the Eastern Final in 2010 before sputtering to a 6-12 record the following year.
The Argos cleaned house after that while Elizondo took a job with the Columbia University Lions as an offensive coordinator, working closely with 20-year NFL assistant coach Pete Mangurian – while also keeping close ties with his CFL contacts.
“I’ve been fortunate because I’ve worked with some really good coaches over the years,” said Elizondo. “Through the years I stayed in touch with [Milanovich], he’s one of my closest friends, and came back in 2015 to Toronto.”
There, Elizondo was a receivers coach, where four first-year receivers emerged in Toronto in Diontae Spencer, Vidal Hazelton, Kevin Elliott and Tori Gurley.
“And then this opportunity came up,” Elizondo continued. “Marcel and I knew each other from our time in 2008 and we kept in touch, and when he reached out and asked if I’d be interested, I was excited about it. And here I am.”
Now he holds the key to a team that went from 2-16 to 12-6 in the span of a year, one that in 2016 won’t fly under anyone’s radar. Yet Elizondo isn’t sweating any high expectations, he’s embracing them. He says the pieces to the puzzle are in place and taking on this challenge was a no-brainer.
“I think the support that this team has from the community, from the organization – it’s being built the right way,” said Elizondo. “I have a lot of confidence in Marcel, from Marcel.
“When I first took the job at the beginning of 2015, I really studied every team throughout the league so I saw your 2-16 season. The growth and the pieces that have been assembled here and the transition from 2-16 to 12-6 and a playoff run is really amazing, really exciting.”
– With files from OttawaREDBLACKS.com
