CALVILLO LANDS IN T.O.
Aims to rekindle coaching joy
After 16 years as the Alouettes’ franchise quarterback, followed by three more as an assistant coach, perhaps it’s sacrilegious seeing Anthony Calvillo in Toronto Argonauts’ blue.
But this was a move Calvillo had to make, for peace of mind, and his future in the coaching profession. And don’t blame him for taking the carrot when it was dangled after he said he was going to take a year’s sabbatical. Had Toronto head coach Marc Trestman not come calling, down a body following the departure of Marcus Brady to the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, Calvillo probably would have remained out of the game for at least a year, working on his playbook and returning to a normal life.
“The last year just sucked the energy out of me. After the last game, I was thinking to myself, this hasn’t been fun. If I’m thinking that, I have to take a step back,” Calvillo told the Montreal Gazette on Monday from Toronto, when his hiring as the Argos’ quarterbacks coach was finally confirmed.
“I knew, deep in my heart, I still had the passion to coach. I just couldn’t afford to go through another year close to what we went through.”
Much like 20 years ago, when Calvillo had a decision to make as a player following three miserable seasons in Hamilton — sign with Montreal and back up Tracy Ham, or go to Saskatchewan, where he likely would have started — he has reached another crossroads in his journey.
Calvillo guessed correctly back then, just as he has this time. In signing with Toronto, he goes to the defending Grey Cup champions. He’ll learn how to coach at the feet of Trestman, who led the Als to three Cup appearances and two titles during his five seasons in Montreal. And Calvillo will have a quarterback to work with in Ricky Ray, the 38-year-old about to begin his 16th Canadian Football League season.
But most of all, Calvillo’s coaching career will return to some sense of normalcy and balance. Trestman is unlikely to get fired. Tommy Condell, one of the game’s brightest young minds, is the Argos’ offensive co-ordinator. There’s stability in the organization.
During his three seasons on the Als’ sideline, Calvillo worked for four head coaches. He was supposed to be a position coach but, with so much chaos and disarray, was thrust into a co-ordinator’s role prematurely. And that was starting to affect Calvillo’s psyche.
“The thing is, I accepted that responsibility. It’s a two-way street when it comes to that,” said Calvillo, always a loyal employee. “I think they believed I could get the job done, and I’ll always appreciate that. I wanted to do it and believed I could.
“That hasn’t changed in this profession. My playing days ... I believed I could get the job done (after Hamilton). I have confidence in my coaching ability. But I knew, coaching-wise, if there was another bad year, it was going to affect me and how I felt about this game.”
The wear and tear of working in the Als’ organization, mentoring ineffective quarterbacks and trying to find ways for the futile offence to score points, exacted a toll on Calvillo. That much was clear from his expression and body language during games. Nonetheless, he said he learned from Tom Higgins, who provided him with his first coaching opportunity, along with general manager/head coach Jim Popp, also his GM in Toronto, and Jacques Chapdelaine, all of whom tried getting blood from a stone.
Calvillo departs the Alouettes with his head high, knowing there are plenty of skeletons in the Als’ closet, but too classy and professional to provide details of this long-standing train wreck.
“I’m not going to go there. I have too much respect for that organization. I’m always going to wish them the best,” said Calvillo, who allowed new Montreal head coach Mike Sherman to pick his brain following his December hiring, but denied there was anything Sherman could have said to sway his decision.
“It’s tough to see where it is right now,” Calvillo added. “I hope things get turned around.”
But that’s no longer his problem. Montreal will remain the site of the family residence and, with three bye weeks in the schedule, Calvillo won’t be a stranger to the city. If putting on an Argos’ golf shirt for the first time was strange for Calvillo, he realizes it’s part of his new reality.
“We all have history in our profession. Some of us start out really fast, others don’t. He’s got some scars, like we all do,” said Trestman.
Trestman realized Calvillo was the obvious choice, but spoke to Alouettes co-owner Andrew Wetenhall first, to receive his blessing. Then he gave Calvillo about a week to decide. And Calvillo will be involved under Trestman, working on game plans, protections and tinkering, when necessary, with Ray’s fundamentals and mechanics because, as Trestman said, every quarterback needs to be coached, even the great ones.
“He understands our offence, he knows how to teach ... and he’s a great communicator,” Trestman said. “I can learn from him. He can learn from us. And Ricky will listen to him.”
I knew, deep in my heart, I still had the passion to coach. I just couldn’t afford to go through another year close to what we went through.