Jaime Stein
CFL.ca
The Pinball has bounced into the boardroom.
The Toronto Argonauts and Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons have arrived at a decision that is best for all parties involved. The Argonauts benefit by having one of the most recognizable faces in the city at the helm of their organization; the Canadian Football League benefits by keeping one of its great ambassadors a part of the game; and Clemons benefits because his personal brand in strengthened by his association with the Argonauts and the CFL.
Clemons will hold the position of CEO, marking his second stint in the front office of the Toronto Argonauts. He served as president during the 2002 season. Clemons will be paired with former Ottawa Renegade boss, Brad Watters, who becomes the new COO.
Essentially, co-owners David Cynamon and Howard Sokolowski have split the duties of former President and CEO, Keith Pelley. These separate roles fit the qualities of Clemons and Watters. The role of a CEO is to provide the long-term vision and strategy of the organization while the day-to-day duties and the execution of said vision will be carried out by the COO.
Clemons is the ultimate visionary and an exceptional leader and will play a similar role to Pelley in creating goodwill in the local community. It was Pelley who created a vision for the Argonauts to be Toronto’s No. 1 community team. The split front office duties will allow Pinball to devote more of his time to the community than if he held both positions as did Pelley. As head coach, Clemons’ time was often stretched between the football field and the community. For a man who loves people and public service, this arrangement works best.
Having Watters run the day-to-day operations of the organization makes sense. He ran a successful 2007 Grey Cup and he knows the local market well through his involvement with the Toronto Rock and other ventures. However, there is some trepidation with Watters because of how his tenure ended in Ottawa.
For those fearful of Clemons ability to transition to the front office based on his stint in 2002, his second go-around will be smoother. He inherits an organization with a proper structure from top to bottom with great owners, an experienced COO in Watters and a strong workforce that was dedicated to Pelley – often going above and beyond the call of duty – and shows the same admiration and respect for Clemons.
The road will not be all roses for the Argonauts’ new front office. It will be interesting to watch the dynamics on the football side of the organization, which Pinball will oversee. The troika of Clemons, Adam Rita and Greg Mohns has had disagreements on personnel moves in the past and they were heightened during the 2007 season. How those dynamics play out in addition to hiring a new head coach will be fun to watch.
Clemons has also been named as the Argonauts governor at the league level. His football knowledge will be useful at the round table, but it remains to be seen how Clemons is treated by some of the big boys. Pelley held a large amount of influence during his time as governor for the Toronto Argonauts; the jury is out on whether Clemons can exert the same amount of influence at the league level.
Finally, who will speak for the Toronto organization? The role belongs to the CEO. Having mixed messages from the CEO and COO could prove to be problematic. Watters has been known to shoot from the hip and that created unnecessary fires in Ottawa that had to be extinguished. Both men enjoy the limelight and this could present an alluring dynamic down the road.
But rest assured Argo fans, for now the organization remains in good hands.
Jaime Stein is the former play-by-play voice of the Toronto Argonauts.
