Popp and Trestman in Toronto ?

The Place for BC Lion Discussion. A forum for Lions fans to talk and chat about our team.
Discussion, News, Information and Speculation regarding the BC Lions and the CFL.
Prowl, Growl and Roar!

Moderator: Team Captains

User avatar
WestCoastJoe
Hall of Famer
Posts: 17721
Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 8:55 pm

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/j ... -1.4000946
Dream team? Argos reunite Jim Popp, Marc Trestman: report

Duo won 2 Grey Cup titles as GM, head coach with Alouettes in 2009, 2010

The Canadian Press Posted: Feb 27, 2017 11:21 AM ET| Last Updated: Feb 27, 2017 3:48 PM ET

The Argos reportedly have reunited former Alouettes general manager Jim Popp, left, and head coach Marc Trestman, right. Popp spent 21 seasons as Montreal's GM, leading the franchise to eight Grey Cup appearances and winning two with Trestman as head coach in 2009 and 2010.

Jim Popp and Marc Trestman are together again.

Two sources said Monday the Toronto Argonauts have agreements in principle for Popp and Trestman to become the CFL club's GM and head coach, respectively. Both Popp and Trestman will meet with reporters Tuesday morning during a news conference at BMO Field.

Popp was photographed sitting with Larry Tanenbaum during the Toronto Maple Leafs' 5-4 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 21 at the Air Canada Centre. Tanenbaum is chairman of Maple Leafs Sports And Entertainment, which owns the Leafs, but he is also the Argos co-owner.

Argos spokesman Jamie Dykstra declined comment Monday. Popp did not immediately respond to a message from The Canadian Press.

Popp spent 21 seasons as the Montreal Alouettes general manager (1996-2016), leading the franchise to eight Grey Cup appearances, winning three. Two of those titles came with Trestman as the club's head coach (2009-10).

Popp hired Trestman as Montreal's head coach in 2008. The move paid off immediately as Trestman led the Alouettes to a Grey Cup appearance in his first season, losing 22-14 to Calgary at Olympic Stadium.

During Trestman's tenure, Montreal finished atop the East Division four times, posting a 59-31 regular-season record and a 5-3 playoff mark. Trestman was hired as the Chicago Bears head coach in 2013, a post he held for two seasons before being fired after compiling a 13-19 overall record.

The Baltimore Ravens hired Trestman to be their offensive co-ordinator but fired him in December after just 21 regular-season games on the job.

Trestman's staff a mystery

It's unclear who'll be on Trestman's staff in Toronto but a source confirmed Monday Trestman has spoken to Corey Chamblin, the former Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach who was fired during the 2015 season. But the source added no formal offer was made to Chamblin — who has also served as a defensive backs coach and defensive co-ordinator in the CFL — to be part of the Argos' coaching stafff.

Toronto finished last in the East Division last season — their first under new ownership and playing at a revamped BMO Field — with a dismal 5-13 record. However, the club waited until Jan. 24 to fire GM Jim Barker, who still has two years remaining on his CFL contract.

Toronto's off-season plight worsened three days later when head coach Scott Milanovich — who served as Trestman's offensive co-ordinator in Montreal — resigned to become the quarterbacks coach with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.

The moves left assistant GM Spencer Zimmerman to lead Toronto into the start of CFL free agency Feb. 14.

While the timing of the moves is hardly ideal, the addition of Popp and Trestman certainly gives the Argos a proven commodity on and off the field.

Popp has established himself as one of the CFL's top GMs, also earning a Grey Cup ring in 1995 as the Baltimore Stallions general manager. In 2011, he was named executive of the year by Sports Media Canada.

But the 52-year-old native of Elkin, N.C., proved ineffective as a head coach, posting a 22-36 regular-season record and 1-4 playoff mark in four separate stints on Montreal's sidelines.

He was fired as coach last September, with Montreal at 3-9. Interim coach Jacques Chapdelaine finished the season 4-2 and was named full-time coach in December by Kavis Reed, Popp's successor as GM
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
User avatar
SammyGreene
Team Captain
Posts: 8079
Joined: Sun Oct 06, 2002 11:52 am

Copeland's patience paid off big time in landing Trestman. Have to say I was pretty concerned about the Argos' situation a few weeks ago. Not anymore. Watching the press conference on TSN, so impressed with him. Not sure if Popp is brought in as GM without him but their track record together is excellent and puts the Argos' in a terrifc position moving forward.
Too bad Trestman didn't have Trevor Harris to work with but he confidently said Ricky Ray is his starting QB until he shows him otherwise.

Argos now have solid ownership, an excellent venue and highly-respected GM/HC in place. Next step is putting an entertaining product on the field and the greatest challenge of all — captivating enough of the Toronto marketplace to complete the makeover.

League's attention slowly turning to the ownership and leadership situation in BC. 76-year-old owner now club president and an icon GM/HC in the final year of his contract who has earlier indicated this might be it for him. It needs to be near the top of Orridge's priority list.
User avatar
WestCoastJoe
Hall of Famer
Posts: 17721
Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 8:55 pm

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/video/argos-offic ... an~1067168

Excellent press conference, Sammy.

Trestman exudes class and dignity. He is so different from the stereotype of a drill sergeant, as a loud, shouting, even abusive coach. Trestman speaks about the beautiful design of the CFL game, the last three minutes, etc. He is confident the coaching staff will come together quickly.

Answering a question, Copeland says that Jim Popp would have been hired as GM even if Marc Trestman was unavailable.

Popp speaks about the blue collar, down to earth, aspect of the CFL, how the players fraternize with the opponents, mix easily with the fans, etc. Popp believes in building from within, not so much through free agency. On a personal note, Popp mentions that all of his kids were born in Canada.

Trestman has not seen enough of Johnny Manziel to make an evaluation (Manziel is the CFL property of the TiCats).
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
Blitz
Team Captain
Posts: 9094
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2005 8:44 am

Certainly, Toronto now has a Head Coach who has proven he can take a team to a Grey Cup victory and he can do it more than once. I thought Popp was finished in the CFL but by hitching up with Trestmann he's given himself new life.

Over a long career, even a very successful one, there has to be a few times when there are some downs. So, when Cavillo retired and Popp did not have a replacement in place, one can understand that the Montreal franchise was going to have some struggles on the field. But it was a gong show that Popp created and left in Montreal this past season and that does now show well on him at all.

I'm also surprised that Trestmann is going to hitch his wagon to Ricky Ray. I was one of the few on Lionbackers who was not critical of the Ricky Ray trade to Toronto. Edmonton did not do that well, in terms of the players they received in return but I believed it was time for Edmonton to move on from Ricky Ray. While Ray did win one Cup in his first season in Toronto, he has not been back to the Big Dance. Edmonton eventually moved on to quarterback Mike Reilly and their future is brighter with him at quarterback than Ray in Toronto.

The Argos would also have been wiser to go with Trevor Harris as their starter when they had the opportunity to do so.

I thought it would have been wiser for Trestmann to move on from Ricky Ray or give him Lulay like status there this upcoming season as an experienced backup.

\Ray has been often hurt since his trade to Toronto, with knee, rib, and shoulder injuries as well as recovering from shoulder surgery. Ray has only played in 53 of 90 games since his trade to Toronto. He's only started 12 games over the past two seasons.

Ray will benefit from Trestmann's West Coast offence, which favors quick reads and quick passes. But there is a lot of work to be done to get the Argos ship turned around.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
Post Reply