‘I STILL HAVE THE PASSION’
Love of teaching led Trestman to return to CFL
TORONTO The Toronto Argonauts undoubtedly needed Marc Trestman, who was still under contract to the Baltimore Ravens and could have spent another year doing nothing and cashing cheques, being a father and a husband.
But Trestman needed the Argos as well, just as he needed the Alouettes in 2008, when the Canadian Football League team gave him his first head-coaching job after 25 nomadic years of chasing his dream.
Out of professional football for the second time in quick succession after being fired as the Ravens’ offensive co-ordinator last October, there weren’t many people knocking on his door, and there’s a simple rule in sports, as in life — out of sight, out of mind. If Trestman’s time in the National Football League was done, he believed he had more to give to the game. And, at age 61, he wasn’t prepared to retire.
“I like coaching football. I’m not ready to do nothing. ‘Nothing’ is not that far away at 61,” Trestman told the Montreal Gazette this week.
“I still have the energy. I still have the passion. I love teaching and coaching,” Trestman added. “It was an opportunity to continue doing that.”
Trestman returned to the CFL in February, only three months before the start of training camp, when he and general manager Jim Popp — who hired him in Montreal — signed three-year contracts.
If the stars aligned when Trestman came to the Als, as he frequently states — inheriting a veteran quarterback like Anthony Calvillo, on his way to becoming pro football’s career passing leader, always is a good starting point — the growing pains have been more discernible in Toronto, despite the presence of veteran pivot Ricky Ray.
Popp and Trestman got off to a late start and were immediately at a disadvantage. They also inherited a team that was a CFL-worst 5-13 last season, with more obstacles to overcome in Toronto than when they were in Montreal. Although Ray passed for 506 yards in the Argos’ season-opening victory, followed by five 300-yards-plus passing games, a chronic shoulder injury acted up two weeks ago, forcing him to miss last Friday’s game at Molson Stadium.
And the Argos are 3-5 heading into Saturday’s rematch (4 p.m., TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5, RDS, TSN 690 Radio) against Montreal at BMO Field.
But Trestman is home again in the CFL. If he wants balance in his life and a sense of normalcy, Canadian football and its 41/2-hour workdays will provide that. He can get home for dinner during the season, spend six months of the off-season with his two daughters in Raleigh, N.C., or in Chicago, where Trestman and his wife own a townhouse.
He must feel on occasion that time has stood still, surrounded by so many familiar faces — Popp, S.J. Green, Bear Woods and Brandon Whitaker — in Toronto. And, like in Montreal, the players board a school bus for the practice field and return to a second facility where they meet and shower.
Trestman has used the bus excursions as a bonding exercise. He views the late start to rebuilding the team as a challenge, using the same holistic approach that has become his trademark to build a program and culture. Trestman wants to make a difference in the lives of his players and assistant coaches; winning and losing almost becoming an afterthought, he said.
“You don’t really think where you’re going. You head in a different direction and hope it continues,” he explained. “I never ruled out coming back to the CFL. I loved coaching here. There was always the possibility. I never said I’d never come back.
“I know Jim being here is a major reason why I decided to come back, but I can’t say I wouldn’t have returned without him.”
The media in Toronto suggest Trestman’s dry and droll — and he is — but he’s not aloof. He’s usually the smartest guy in the room, but never acts in a pretentious manner. Sombre and straight-faced in public, he is relaxed in a casual setting.
Maybe they just didn’t understand his quirks in the NFL, where he was 13-19 during two seasons with Chicago and, according to some reports, lost the room.
Trestman found success in Montreal, where he was 59-31 overall, won two Grey Cups, lost a third and was named the league’s coach of the year in 2009.
If he was victimized in Chicago by a quarterback (Jay Cutler) known for killing the careers of coaches, Trestman can still hold his head high, knowing he was part of a select group — one of 32 NFL head coaches. He said there’s a perception and there’s a reality. His only regret is Bears management didn’t provide him with a longer rope.
“I’m really proud of every place I’ve been. I’ve never looked at the won-lost record as a measure of success,” he said. “I look at the contributions I’ve made to the lives of the people I’ve worked with.
“If you look at winning and losing as a measure of success, I think ... it’s really not relevant. The winning we did isn’t as important as the impact on people’s lives in a positive way, hopefully. My job’s to coach them and create an environment in which they can improve as players and people.”
I like coaching football. I’m not ready to do nothing. ‘Nothing’ is not that far away at 61.