Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
Hello, Darian Durant. You look weird, man. It’s not your fault, it’s that whole blue and red colour scheme thing you’ve got going there. It’s just… weird.
Outside of the realization of having to get used to Durant’s new uniform, here are a few other takeaways from this off-season:
1. You can’t do that. Wait. I guess, now you can… (Part I)
Jim Popp (left) and Marc Trestman (right) are introduced as Argonauts back at the end of February (The Canadian Press)
The Toronto Argonauts ended up with Marc Trestman as their head coach and Jim Popp as their general manager, even though they only got around to executing changes in January, flouting what we accept as conventional wisdom.
After a 5-13 season in 2016, the Argos were primed for change but seemed to be in a front office free-fall after letting GM Jim Barker go and watching Head Coach Scott Milanovich resign. They even went into free agency without a settled picture and when a very notable free agent — offensive tackle Derek Dennis — admitted that the team’s lack of clarity in football ops played a part in his decision not to sign with them, it appeared the Boatmen were headed for a dismal 2017.
There were storm clouds. Driving rain. Jagged rocks all around. But then, a dinghy carrying Popp and Trestman miraculously approached through the chop and when the two boarded, the skies brightened with a way through the gauntlet becoming apparent. The timing wasn’t what you’d call optimum and the Argos still begin the season behind a bit of an eight-ball when it comes to pulling together off-season preparations. But they ended up in good hands, despite their choice of unusual timing when it comes to instigating off-season moves. Good things come to those who dawdle?
2. You can’t do that. Wait. I guess, now you can… (Part II)
Eric Tillman and the Ticats have begun revealing their ‘secret’ negotiation list (Pawel Dwulit/CFL.ca)
For years a team’s negotiation list had been sort of like a treasure from the Indiana Jones movie franchise. We were always sure it existed but to get to it seemed it would take a bit of an effort, complete with sherpas and the careful negotiation of a network of elaborate booby traps. I was always deathly afraid of mistakenly gazing upon one of those hallowed documents, fearful that my face might melt off.
The Hamilton Ticats changed all that when they decided to publicize their negotiation list, doling it out one ladle at a time. To my knowledge, there were no casualties. Not only did the Ticats release names, they had their general manager, Eric Tillman, give a video scouting report on some the players on the list. It signalled a completely different way of handling the information. It’s a game-changer and judging by the favourable response the Ticats received, only a matter of time until other teams follow suit.
3. Chris Jones is a collector.
Chris Jones has been busy making more big changes in Riderville this off-season (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
I wonder what it would be like to go shopping with Chris Jones at one of those way-cool antique flea markets; the ones where you can find a hundred-year-old butter churn next to a set of hub caps for a 1977 AMC Gremlin, all of them tucked in behind a display case that features a Ray Elgaard rookie card. Except, I don’t think we’d ever get out of the place and might need to call in a fleet of pick-up trucks to transport his loot.
Jones’ first season in Saskatchewan was marked by roster turnover and a less than stellar win/loss record. So, off he went on a spree this off-season, picking off prime free agents like Derek Dennis and Marc-Olivier Brouillette. Adding Eddie Steele, Kienan LaFrance, Glenn Love and Zach Minter. Chad Owens. Bakari Grant. Slow down, there, Jonesy. We can’t fit ’em all in…
“Hey, is that a Duron Carter I see over there? I’ll bet I can refurbish him and… oh my lord! Is that a Vince Young? I can make him go.” Hey, when a guy is furnishing a brand new house, you gotta let him splurge.
4. It’s all yours, Trevor Harris. No, really, this time.
After giving way to Henry Burris last year, Trevor Harris is the guy for the Ottawa REDBLACKS (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
The Ottawa REDBLACKS’ quarterback will head into 2017 as THE guy. That’s never really happened before, although the 2015 Toronto Argonauts went into that season knowing they needed to rely on Harris as incumbent Ricky Ray stayed on the sidelines due to injury.
Harris has been a dutiful back-up and a patient man of ascension, spending three full seasons prior to his 2015 breakthrough as number two or three on a depth chart. That 2015 season had him playing impressively at a starter’s level, yet he was benched in favour of a still not fully healthy Ray with two games left. Last year, Harris took over for an injured Henry Burris and you had to wonder if his time as a starter had arrived. That is, until Burris came back and floored it all the way to a Grey Cup title.
With Burris’ retirement, Trevor Harris is now firmly planted in the Ottawa driver’s seat and at the age of 31 (as of May 31) has his chance to have and to hold QB1 status. Drew Tate is aboard as insurance, but the REDBLACKS are Harris’ team to keep and a key storyline of the 2017 season will be coloured by how he responds to being da man.
5. You can’t do that. Wait. I guess, now you can… (Part III)
The dismissal of Ed Hervey as Eskimos’ GM sent shockwaves across the CFL world (The Canadian Press)
In keeping with the theme of “supriiiiise!” the Edmonton Eskimos let go of their general manager, Ed Hervey, in April, making the Argos’ timing look positively routine. True, the Eskimos won it all in 2015 and had another very good season in 2016 and had a winning record under Hervey’s control. If you’ve ever wondered if winning is the only thing, however, wonder no more.
Good news for the Eskimos is that most of the off-season juggling is fairly well done, and they head into the draft with the respected and experienced Paul Jones overseeing things there in concert with Head Coach Jason Maas. The optics of the timing may be bad, certainly, but the Esks are not otherwise in a bad place as training camp rounds the bend.
The message for the next GM: Just win, baby. Well, win and do it our way. Baby.
