December 16, 2019

Steinberg’s MMQB: The Calgary-Toronto connection?

Johany Jutras/CFL.ca

I have the privilege of being in a group chat with a number of former CFL players. Well, the second Ryan Dinwiddie was announced as new head coach of the Argonauts, one former player chimed in with “Nick Arbuckle to Toronto, book it.” It wasn’t the first thought I had, but it only takes a few seconds to make the connection.

The Argos sent some shockwaves through the CFL community last week when news broke of Corey Chamblin’s firing. It didn’t take long for Chamblin’s replacement to become public, either; Dinwiddie’s name was being reported in a matter of hours. With Dinwiddie making the jump from Calgary to Toronto, the big question becomes: who does he take with him?

This is Dinwiddie’s first ever opportunity as a head coach, so to see him surround himself with a few familiar faces makes sense. And some familiarity at the game’s most important position would probably top that list, which is why Arbuckle seems like a natural fit.

As quarterbacks coach with the Stampeders, Dinwiddie has worked side-by-side with Arbuckle the last two seasons. 2019 saw the Georgia State product get his first opportunity to start games on a regular basis and he impressed.


THE WAGGLE, EP. 190

Donnovan and Davis get caught up on the coaching movement in the CFL, including a special guest interview with Rick Campbell. Finally, they touch on upcoming free agency by ranking (and debating) their top available QBs.


Arbuckle went 4-3 as a starter after Bo Levi Mitchell went down with a shoulder injury in Week 3. More importantly, Arbuckle showed the traits you’d want from a long-term CFL starting quarterback.

Arbuckle finished the season with a 73.1 per cent completion rate while averaging more than 287 yards passing in his seven starts. Even more impressive was Arbuckle’s 11-5 touchdown to interception ratio, which showed an impressive ability to limit mistakes more than anything else.

I think Arbuckle has the chops to be a starter in this league, and I believe an actual full-time starting opportunity would see him truly break out. While starting in Calgary, Arbuckle was hesitant to push the ball downfield, mainly because he was attempting to limit mistakes. That’s natural when stepping in for an established starter. It’s a different story, however, when it’s your job, which would be the case if Toronto opted to sign Arbuckle.

The fit would make sense on so many levels, on top of the history between Dinwiddie and Arbuckle. From an Argos perspective, they don’t have a bone fide starting quarterback under contract right now. Neither McLeod Bethel-Thompson nor James Franklin solidified themselves as Toronto’s starter this past season, although I liked a lot of what I saw in the former.

With Pinball Clemons in as new general manager, it’s anything but a certainty to see either Bethel-Thompson or Franklin back in double blue. As such, there’s a clear opening right now, and if Dinwiddie convinces Clemons that Arbuckle is the guy, Toronto has the financial ability to lure Arbuckle.

From Arbuckle’s side, I would imagine dollars and cents only make up part of the equation. Sure, returning to Calgary would be stable and presents an opportunity to continue learning under Mitchell. By joining Dinwiddie, however, Arbuckle gets the opportunity to do what all quarterbacks want to do: start games on a regular basis.

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I’m curious to see who else might join Dinwiddie in Toronto. Does he attempt to bring over any other members of Calgary’s staff? I’m purely spit-balling, but what about Corey Mace or Josh Bell getting a shot as a defensive coordinator? The defensive line coach and defensive backs coach, respectively, are both highly thought of and have worked with Dinwiddie for years.

And, assuming we’re onto something with Arbuckle, would the Argos be interested in going hard after a receiver he’s familiar with? Reggie Begelton and Juwan Brescasin are both free agents come February, although you’d expect the Stamps to make a big effort to keep both.

Attractive opportunity

Scott Milanovich was in a pretty good situation with the Jacksonville Jaguars before the Edmonton Eskimos came calling. In his third season as quarterbacks coach, Milanovich was in a decent spot on the NFL’s coaching ladder. With a good reputation developing players at the position he played as a pro, a lucrative job as an offensive coordinator wouldn’t have been out of the question in the somewhat near future for Milanovich.

As such, it was going to take a good offer, and more importantly a great situation, in another league to make the jump. With a good foundation and a top tier quarterback in place, that’s exactly what the Eskimos presented. When Edmonton’s opportunity came knocking, Milanovich took the job and returned for his second stint as a CFL head coach.

First off, the history with Eskimos’ quarterback Trevor Harris is immense. Harris played for the Argos in the first four of Milanovich’s five seasons as head coach before moving on to join Ottawa as a free agent. Harris’s coming out party came with Milanovich as head coach; 2015 saw Harris start 16 games in Toronto, throwing for over 4,300 yards and 33 touchdowns. Yes, Harris was replaced by the returning Ricky Ray late that season, but his performance was enough to earn him a shot with the REDBLACKS from 2016.

Harris isn’t the only player in the fold when Milanovich officially takes control in a few weeks following Jacksonville’s season south of the border. The Eskimos have important receivers Greg Ellingson and Ricky Collins, along with left tackle SirVincent Rogers, under contract for next season, which gives Milanovich a great group to build around.

 

And, with a high profile coach in the fold, you can bet General Manager Brock Sunderland will be aggressive again in free agency. Many looked at 2019 as a missed opportunity for an Edmonton team that underachieved for much of the season. Sunderland knows the spotlight will be bright in 2020, so I expect him to be a major off-season player once again.

The fit seems like a good one for the Eskimos and Milanovich. Questions started surfacing late in Jason Maas’s tenure about the former head coach’s ability to get the most out of his group. That criticism was balanced by the knowledge Maas was (and still is) an elite offensive mind.

Well, in Milanovich, there’s not going to be much of a drop, if any at all, when it comes to offensive knowledge. Milanovich has had success in three leagues as an offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach; first in NFL Europe, then the CFL, and now the NFL. It seems like a good bet you’ll be seeing Edmonton near the top of the passing yards chart next season once again.

But Milanovich also has a reputation of being a good motivator and comes with championship experience. I wasn’t personally as down on Maas’s tenure with the Esks as others were, but you can’t deny the type of success Milanovich had in Toronto.

Milanovich started his tenure with a triumph over Calgary in the 100th Grey Cup before coaching the Argos to an East Divison regular season crown the following season. All in all, Toronto made the playoffs three out of five years with Milanovich at the helm and only had one really difficult season in 2016 before stepping away.

With a Grey Cup ring and very recent NFL coaching experience, Milanovich will open 2020 training camp with instant credibility and should command attention from the get-go. For a team widely thought to have fallen short of expectations last season, that seems like a pretty good fit to me.