QB CENTRAL
New quarterback coach Anthony Calvillo joins an Argos team that reunites him with head coach Marc Trestman and boasts talented pivots Ricky Ray and James Franklin
Is there is a better place on Earth to be learning the position of quarterback these days than in Toronto?
Even before Monday’s announcement that Anthony Calvillo would be joining the Argonauts as quarterbacks coach, you had quarterback whisperer Marc Trestman in the head coaching role, you had future Hall of Famer Ricky Ray holding down the No. 1 job and an underrated offensive mind in Tommy Condell who will now fill the role of offensive coordinator.
Add Calvillo to the mix as the Argos did and it’s enough to make a young man like James Franklin get weak in the knees.
Franklin, the former Eskimos quarterback, arrives in Toronto after an off-season trade and immediately joins an organization that boasts the kind of quarterback know-how that has likely never been under one crest at the same time.
Calvillo was all set to take a year off after three seasons in a variety of coaching capacities with the Montreal Alouettes, but found the opportunity in Toronto too good to pass up.
“If other people would have come calling, I’m not sure I would have made the same decision,” Calvillo said of his recruitment by Trestman.
So a year of planned charity events and travel with his family was put on the back burner to come and learn from one of Calvillo’s most respected coaches of all time.
“We had a lot of plans,” Calvillo said. “A lot of charity events, golf tournaments, a little travelling with the family and then I got a call from Marc instructing me that Marcus (Brady) might be leaving and would I be interested?” Calvillo didn’t hesitate. “I want to get into this profession and learn as much as I can and this was an opportunity to learn from someone who I have so much respect for and I felt I couldn’t waste this opportunity,” Calvillo said.
Trestman shared that in selling Calvillo on the idea of coming to Toronto, he didn’t hesitate to use Ray as a drawing card.
“How cool would it be for you and Ricky to be in a meeting room together?” Trestman recalled saying to Calvillo over coffee when the two met in Montreal. “We could have a lot of fun.”
And Trestman sounds genuinely excited to be a part of those meetings when one Hall of Famer sits down to dissect film with another sureto-be Hall of Famer.
In three seasons coaching in Montreal, Calvillo has learned plenty — both what to do and what not to do.
And now he’s excited about taking that knowledge and bringing it to a new organization where his growth as a coach can continue. That a major focus of his work will centre on Ray might be daunting to some, but not Calvillo.
“The biggest thing is I just try to see what I can do to help him get better at this age,” he said.
Calvillo has had a couple of conversations already with Ray and what has come through loud and clear for the new quarterbacks coach is that his starting quarterback, even as experienced as he is, is still willing to learn.
“He wants feedback,” Calvillo said of his calls with Ray. “He said let me know what I need to work on. To hear that from him tells me he is open minded to learning and that is what I’m excited about.”
Trestman is almost giddy at the thought of what can come from two men who have excelled in the same offence sitting down and looking at ways to be even better.
“It’s going to really be fun to see what happens,” Trestman said.
Calvillo, along with the rest of Trestman’s coaching staff, began what Trestman described as a “two-week grind” at a downtown Toronto hotel Monday.
“We get our scheme evaluations done, we get our playbooks done, so when we get out of here we’re ready for the season,” Trestman said.
On April 16, the Argos will hold their annual tryout camp in Bradenton, Fla., followed by a three day mini-camp in which all of the Argos under contract will get together for on-field practices and meetings in advance of the 2018 season.