March 22, 2017

Argonauts finalize coaching staff as preparations for 2017 season continue

Hamilton Tiger Cats 0 vs Toronto Argonauts 48 Sept 10, 2005

Toronto Argonauts Head Coach Marc Trestman announced the team’s coaching staff for the 2017 season today.

“I am excited about our 2017 staff. These are men of high character as well as great teachers in the science of football,” said Trestman. “Our players will enjoy being coached and mentored by them during the upcoming season. Now that we have our entire staff assembled, I look forward to building our three phases of football.”

This week the entire coaching staff will be attending meetings to further prepare for the season, while the Argos’ personnel department led by General Manager Jim Popp are in Regina attending Mark’s CFL Week, which includes Rules Committee meetings and the CFL Combine presented by adidas.

Here is the Toronto Argonauts 2017 Coaching Staff:

Marc Trestman                   Head Coach

Offence:

Marcus Brady                    Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach
Mitch Browning                  Offensive Line Coach
Tommy Condell                  Receivers Coach
Josh Moore                         Running Backs Coach
Steve Walsh                        Senior Assistant Coach

Defence:

Corey Chamblin                Asst. Head Coach / Defensive Coordinator / DB Coach
Mike Archer                        Linebackers Coach
Kerry Locklin                     Defensive Line Coach
Tyron Brackenridge         Assistant Defensive Backs Coach
Gavin Lake                         Defensive Quality Control Coach

Special Teams:

Kevin Eiben                         Special Teams Coordinator
Wendell Avery                    Assistant Special Teams Coach

OFFENCE


Marcus Brady returns for his fifth season as the Argonauts’ Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach, being reunited with Marc Trestman, who he coached under from 2009-12 with the Montreal Alouettes. In four seasons together in Montreal, Trestman and Brady led the Alouettes to back-to-back Grey Cup championships in 2009 and 2010, while their offences ranked in the top four in yards per game, points per game, passing yards per game and sacks allowed per game in all four seasons.

In four seasons as the Argos’ offensive coordinator, Brady’s offences have led the CFL in passing touchdowns three times, passing yards twice, and have ranked in the top three in points per game and turnovers twice. During his four-year tenure as offensive coordinator, only two other CFL offences have totalled more passing yards than the Argos.

Mitch Browning comes to Toronto as the club’s Offensive Line Coach after serving in the same role at Rutgers University for two years. The native of Perrysville, Ohio, has 37 years of coaching experience, including stops at six BCS programs and appearances in 13 NCAA bowl games. During his first season with the Scarlet Knights, he coached an offensive line that was part of a unit that ranked second in the Big Ten in red zone offence, third in sacks allowed and sixth in passing offence.

Tommy Condell enters his first season with Toronto Argonauts as the Receivers Coach. He initially joined the club in February as a Special Advisor. Boasting 20 years of coaching experience in the NCAA and CFL, he most recently served as the Offensive Coordinator and Receivers Coach with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 2013-15. Under his watch, Condell led one of the league’s most explosive offences to not only rank near the top in several significant statistical categories (total yards, yard per game, first downs, pass completions and touchdowns) but also helped lead the Ticats to two Grey Cup appearances in 2013 and 2014.

Josh Moore reunites with Trestman as the club’s new Running Backs Coach. He previously served as Assistant to the Head Coach with the Chicago Bears. As Running Backs and Tight Ends Coach at Navarro College, Moore tutored back-to-back players to All-American honors and Conference MVP awards. In 2013, Navarro finished 1st in the nation with 47 rushing touchdowns and 2nd in overall rushing with 3,457 yards.  He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Georgia State University, coaching wide receivers and serving as Recruiting Coordinator under Bill Curry.

Steve Walsh will serve as Trestman’s Senior Assistant. The former NFL and University of Miami QB brings 11 years of professional playing experience and 8 years of high school coaching experience in Florida. Walsh led the Miami Hurricanes to the National Championship and finished with a 23-1 record. The former first round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys would go on to play for 5 teams leading the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears to the playoffs as their starting QB. Walsh was the head coach at Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach for 6 years and spent the last 2 seasons at IMG Academy in Bradenton as their Director of Football.

DEFENCE


Corey Chamblin, a two-time Grey Cup Champion, joins the Argonauts with nine years of coaching experience in the CFL. The 2013 CFL Coach of the Year spent four years as the head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders (2012-15), leading the team to three playoff appearances and a 45-13 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 101st Grey Cup at home in Regina.

Prior to being hired as the head coach of the Riders, Chamblin spent four seasons as a defensive backs coach with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2007) and Calgary Stampeders (2008-10), and one season as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2011). He won his first Grey Cup as a member of the Stampeders coaching staff in 2008. During his nine years in the CFL, Chamblin has coached 14 CFL All-Stars and 26 Divisional All-Stars.

Mike Archer, a widely respected defensive strategist, holds over 40 years of coaching experience in the NCAA and NFL, including four years as the head coach at LSU and seven years as an assistant coach in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Archer and Trestman both jump-started their coaching careers under Howard Schnellenberger’s guidance at the University of Miami in the 1980s.

Coming to Toronto as the club’s Linebackers Coach, he has helped guide collegiate defensive units to set school, conference and NCAA records, and rank in the top 20 in the nation in a number of defensive categories. With the Steelers, Archer coached a pair of two-time Pro Bowl selections (Jason Gildon, Levon Kirkland) and two other Pro Bowl selections (Joey Porter and Kendrell Bell). Bell was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2001. Archer assisted a Steeler defence that led the NFL in rushing defence in 2002.

Kerry Locklin, the Argonauts Defensive Line Coach, enters his second tenure as a coach in the CFL, having previously served as the assistant head coach for the Shreveport Pirates in 1994. Following his initial stint in the CFL, Locklin went on to coach at many levels, including the NFL, UFL, AFL and NCAA over the last 29 years. He most recently served as the defensive line coach at New Mexico State for the last three seasons. His father, Billy Ray Locklin, starred as a defensive end with the Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats over 10 seasons (1961-70).

Tyron Brackenridge, a two-time CFL and West Division All-Star with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, will start another chapter of his CFL career this year as he enters his first season as a coach. The Assistant Defensive Backs Coach will be reunited with DC Corey Chamblin, who he played under from 2012-14 and won the 101st Grey Cup with Saskatchewan in Regina in 2013.

Gavin Lake brings with him a wealth of coaching experience in CFL, USport, CJFL and overseas in the Austrian professional ranks. Prior to joining the Argonauts staff as the Defensive Quality Control Coach, he served as the head coach of the AFL’s Amstetten Thunder.

SPECIAL TEAMS


Kevin Eiben enjoyed a 12-year playing career as an all-star linebacker in the CFL, 11 of which were with the Argos, and will enter his first season coaching in the professional ranks as the club’s Special Teams Coordinator. Eiben previously served as a Defensive Coordinator at the University of Toronto for three seasons and McMaster University for one. As a player, the Argos 2001 CFL Draft pick was named a League all-star on three occasions, East Division All-Star five times, and played a key role in the Argonauts 2004 Grey Cup championship.

Wendell Avery joins the Argonauts staff as the Assistant Special Teams Coach. Avery was teammates with head coach Marc Trestman at the University of Minnesota. He previously served as the head coach at Savannah State University. He brings a vast array of experience in all positions as an assistant coach in both the NFL and NCAA.