A Labour Day loss may result in a coaching change for the Toronto Argonauts, a club source tells me.
His information:
If the Argos lose in Hamilton Monday – and that’s feasible since the Tiger-Cats defeated Toronto in two previous games this season – the teams would be tied with 3-6 records and Rich Stubler could be fired as head coach and possibly demoted to his former position of defensive co-ordinator.
Replacing Stubler would either be ex-head coach Michael “Pinball” Clemons, who’s been resisting overtures from ownership because of his preference to focus on his family and his CEO responsibilities with the Argos, general manager Adam Rita, who has decades of CFL coaching experience, or assistant GM Greg Mohns, a former head coach of the B.C. Lions.
“We’ve unloaded players (backup quarterback Michael Bishop, who was traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and safety Orlondo Steinauer, who was released) and, if we can’t beat Hamilton, we’ll review our head-coaching situation,” the Argos’ source said. “It’s possible Stubler isn’t cut out to be a head coach. He might just be one of those guys who’s able to be a great co-ordinator but doesn’t have the skills to be a good head coach.”
Truth is, Stubler is demonstrating an irascible personality as a head coach and it’s rubbed both players and management types the wrong way. I’m told Stubler and Mohns won’t even talk to each other. . .Looks like Hamilton will start backup Richie Williams at QB Monday as Casey Printers, the CFL’s highest-paid player, is still complaining about a sore thumb. . .And, hey, why haven’t I been receiving any emails from boasting Roughriders fans lately? Might it be that the team, losers of two consecutive games, is falling apart, just as I suspected it ultimately would? After a 6-0 start, the Riders find themselves only two points ahead of the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos.
Major changes are happening at Canadian sports networks.
TSN will launch another channel, TSN2, this week while The Score will introduce a state-of-the-art studio next week that’ll include innovative bleachers and sliding glass windows to encourage fan participation. Maverick programming chief Richard Garner envisions fan involvement as a key element in The Score’s future.
The outside of the network’s Toronto building will offer passersby a massive screen that will display sports information and broadcasts.
The network also plans to throw a huge street bash, featuring luminaries such as ex-NHL star Wendel Clark and musicians Kardinal Offishall and The Trews.
