Rookie coaches prevail in CFL this season
Five of eight bench bosses are first- timers and their records vary as much as their ages
After being fired by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Greg Marshall vowed that he would return to the Canadian Football League.
No one thought it would be this soon.
But don’t jump to conclusions, Marshall said Tuesday. He was just paying a “courtesy call” at a B. C. Lions practice, and he has no intention of joining the organization’s coaching staff immediately.
“I just stopped by to say hello,” said the man, a firstyear head coach who was fired in August last year after the Roughriders started the 2011 season at 1- 7.
“I have a daughter going to school on Vancouver Island, and then we’re headed to Oregon ( Marshall played collegiately at Oregon State). I have a lot of people down there. I’m not involved in football. I’m just a fan, like a lot of other people. Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to get back.”
Marshall is still being paid by the Roughriders on a threeyear contract that runs through 2013, so he is in no rush to find ways to put food on the table, unless the situation is to his liking.
“I’m not actively looking for a job at this time,” he explained. “When the time’s right, and the opportunity presents itself, I’ll be back. But I’m kind of enjoying my busman’s holiday. I spoke to ( Lions coach) Mike ( Benevides) earlier, told him I would be out this way, and asked if he’d mind me stopping by. He was great.”
Lions fans probably think the same. Any qualms about Benevides’ suitability for the job have been quickly put to rest. The Lions first- year head coach is 7- 3 in his first 10 games. Scott Milanovich, another first- timer, is 6- 4 after his first 10 games with the Argonauts, a team the Lions meet Saturday afternoon at BC Place Stadium.
By comparison, Edmonton’s Kavis Reed, a rookie head coach in 2011, started 5- 0 but was 6- 4 at the 10- game mark en route to an 11- 7 record.
Let’s not forget Benevides’ boss, Wally Buono, who was 5- 4- 1 in his first 10 games as a rookie head coach with the Calgary Stampeders ( 1990).
Indeed, this season, five of the current eight head coaches in the CFL are first- timers, if Winnipeg’s Tim Burke is included in the mix. Burke replaced Paul LaPolice, who was fired in August, like Marshall, after eight games by the Blue Bombers. Burke’s record after two games is 0- 2.
Saskatchewan’s Corey Chamblin, the youngest of the rookie head coaches, at 35, saw his team drop five in a row after a 3- 0 start but the ’ Riders have rebounded with two straight wins and sit at 5- 5.
George Cortez, the 61- yearold rookie head coach of the Hamilton Tiger- Cats, is the oldest of the first- timers and, Burke excluded, curiously appears to be facing the steepest learning curve, given his lengthy resume. His Ticats are 3- 7.
Cortez got a vote of confidence from Ticat president Scott Mitchell earlier this week. With eight games and another three years left on his contract, he’s not going anywhere, despite the buildup of heat in The Hammer to do something. END ZONE — With time winding down before linebacker Solomon Elimimian’s contract reverts to the Lions, his agent reports that efforts remain ongoing to place Elimimiam with another NFL team. “No new news on Solomon,” said agent Bardia Ghahremani. “Just trying to find a fit.” Elimimian was released by the Minnesota Vikings and was briefly with the Cleveland Browns ( on their practice roster) before being let go. He has until 1 p. m. on Thursday to find an NFL team willing to take him before he must return to the Lions and play out the remaining portion of his option year. If that should occur, Elimimian still seems intent on making another attempt to sign with an NFL team in the off- season ... DE Brandon Peguese, traded by the Lions to Hamilton on Monday for futures, took part in his first workout Tuesday with the Tiger- Cats.