Tim Burke settles with Bombers, takes Chris Jones’ old defensive coordinator spot with Argos

Former Winnipeg head coach Tim Burke is off to Toronto. Burke, who was fired a week after the team's 3-15 season ended, signed a settlement deal with the Bombers for the remainder of his contract Monday. That meant the team won't have to pay him his full salary this coming year, but it also freed him up to take a new job. It appears he's officially done that as of Tuesday, with CJOB's Bob Irving reporting that Burke has followed the rumours and headed to Toronto to become the Argonauts' new defensive coordinator. Burke will be filling the shoes of Chris Jones, who was recently named the Edmonton Eskimos' head coach. Burke's reign as a head coach was less than stellar, marked by odd coaching decisions, avoidance of blame and apt unflattering comparisons, but he's proven to be a very good CFL defensive coordinator in the past. Will he be able to do that again in Toronto?

The Burke settlement and move makes a lot of sense for all parties involved. It allows the Bombers to pay Burke much less than they would have normally. That's important, considering that they're still on the hook for almost $85 million in stadium contributions, that they have an expensive press box renovation to do before they can host a Grey Cup and that the provincial government has threatened to intervene in their governance if they default. For Burke, he doesn't get as much cash from the Bombers as he would have if he'd sat out of the CFL this year, but he should make about as much in total when you add what Winnipeg will pay him in this settlement and what Toronto will give him as a DC. He also gets another chance to show what he can do, and if his stint with the Argonauts goes particularly well, maybe he'll even get another head-coaching opportunity down the line, in the CFL or elsewhere. He's certainly closer to that than he would be from sitting out a year. The Argonauts benefit here too, as they're able to bring in a high-profile DC to replace Jones at what might be a lower salary than normal thanks to Winnipeg paying Burke too.

Can Burke regain the form he showed as a CFL defensive coordinator in Calgary (2005-2007), Montreal (2008-2010) and Winnipeg (2011 through the first part of 2012)? Well, it's certainly possible. Burke's a smart guy, and he's done very well with defences in those different cities. His defence was critical to the back-to-back Grey Cups the Alouettes won in 2009 and 2010, the latter in particular, and his innovative (and NFL-inspired) schemes helped the Bombers get to the Grey Cup in 2011. He's also worked with Toronto head coach Scott Milanovich (who was the offensive coordinator in Montreal during his tenure there) before, so they should be on the same page. However, the Argonauts suffered heavy personnel losses on defence this year, and while they were okay from a points-allowed perspective, they were last in the league in yards allowed per game and passing yards allowed per game while recording the CFL's second-lowest sack total. Burke won't necessarily have a lot to work with going into this job. While this seems like a good move for both him and the Argonauts, it's not without its challenges, and it's going to be interesting to see how he does in a DC's role again.