TORONTO — A new era of football begins in Toronto as Marc Trestman starts the regular season as the leader of the Argonauts.
The Argos’ bench boss has been a coach both north and south of the border – first starting his career in the NFL before heading north to the Montreal Alouettes and then returning back to the NFL for a second stint.
And now, Trestman is making his return to the Canadian game.
Trestman’s success in the CFL has been well documented and admired around the league — he, along with General Manager Jim Popp, led the Alouettes to back-to-back Grey Cups in 2009 and 2010.
And now the duo is united as the Trestman-Popp era of Toronto Argonauts football begins with hopes of helping the team improve on a 5-13 season.
Trestman spent 2001-2003 with the Oakland Raiders as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Then-head coach Jon Gruden decided to bring Trestman on board and Trestman left a lasting impression on the Raiders’ former bench boss.
“Marc’s really smart,” said Gruden. “If you go back and research him, I think he’s got a law degree. He could be a lawyer, he could be doing a lot of things. But he’s like me, he’s crazy. He got into this thing (and) he wanted to be a coach. Everybody wanted Trestman. He had a rapid rise and one day he was available. I was a head coach and I had the opportunity to hire him.
“He benefited not only our team, the Oakland Raiders, but he benefited me tremendously. I learned a lot of football from Coach Trestman. He was just so well versed and so experienced and so good with quarterbacks I thought he was a perfect fit.”
Trestman will look to work his quarterback magic on Ricky Ray this season in Toronto.
Ray, who is entering his 15th year in the league, has only played 12 games over the past two seasons after struggling with injuries.
“But he’s like me, he’s crazy. He got into this thing (and) he wanted to be a coach.”
Jon Gruden on Marc Trestman
Trestman spent time with the Oakland Raiders in the early 2000s before heading north of the border to the CFL (Oakland Raiders)
Those injuries led to instability at the quarterback position but if anyone can help steady the ship under centre, it’s Trestman.
“The team will be successful if your quarterback is successful,” said Gruden. “Just look at the NFL draft this year, the top five picks in this draft are all teams that have seen struggles at the quarterback position. I think that’s what Marc Trestman does. Wherever he goes, he can adapt his system to help a quarterback flourish.
“He did it with Russell Wilson at NC State, he did great things with McCown in Chicago. I bet Ricky Ray has a lot of fun playing in this system when he gets it going.”
So what is it that sets Trestman apart from the rest? To Gruden, it’s simple.
“It’s his intelligence, his communication, his work ethic, his sincerity as a person,” said Gruden. “He cares about people and I think that sets him apart. It’s why he was successful in Montreal. It’s why he’s been successful and why he’s been able to sustain a long time and a big reason why he’ll be successful in Toronto, you watch.”
