Advertisement

The state of the CFL's coaching carousel

The state of the CFL's coaching carousel

There have been plenty of coaching moves made so far this CFL offseason, and there are still plenty of jobs available, some of which may trigger their own domino effects. Here's a look at some of the positions still left open and who's already filled some prominent positions.

Edmonton head coaching job: Open: With Chris Jones leaving to become the Saskatchewan Roughriders' head coach and general manager, the Eskimos' head coaching job is the biggest CFL opportunity out there. Edmonton general manager Ed Hervey has said they're hoping to make a hire within the next couple of weeks. Hervey did confirm that he received permission to speak to Ticats' defensive coordinator Orlondo Steinauer, contrary to some reports, and that he isn't looking at current Eskimos' coaches. Ottawa offensive coordinator Jason Maas, a former Edmonton quarterback, has also received some buzz here. If either leaves, that will leave their team with a hole to fill. It also sounds like most of Jones' assistants with the Eskimos are following him to Saskatchewan, so the new head coach in Edmonton will have more roles to fill too.

B.C. offensive coordinator job: Open: George Cortez's retirement leads to this job opening with the Lions, who will also have a new head coach now that Jeff Tedford has left for the NCAA and Wally Buono has returned to the sidelines. Some of the Lions' reported targets, including Paul LaPolice and Jarious Jackson, have already found jobs elsewhere. They may elect to promote quarterbacks coach Khari Jones, who was the team's OC in 2014.

B.C. special teams coordinator and running backs coach job: Open: Veteran coach Chuck McMann retired earlier this offseason. No replacement has been listed yet.

Toronto defensive coordinator job: Filled: Long-time CFL coach Rich Stubler left the DC role with the Calgary Stampeders to take the same job with the Argonauts, replacing Casey Creehan.

Calgary defensive coordinator job: Filled: Calgary's promoted defensive line coach DeVone Claybrooks to fill Stubler's spot, and hired Corey Mace to fill Claybrooks' old job.

Winnipeg offensive coordinator job: Filled: The Bombers managed to lure Paul LaPolice, their former head coach, away from TSN to take this one.

Montreal linebackers coach: Filled: Saskatchewan DC Greg Quick saw things were changing with Jones coming in, and headed back to the Alouettes to take his old role as LB coach.

Calgary quarterbacks coach: Filled: The Stampeders have hired former Montreal co-offensive coordinator Ryan Dinwiddie for this slot.

There are still plenty of potential dominoes to fall, especially in Edmonton where whoever's hired as the new coach may be pulling in a lot of staffers from elsewhere. It's already been a busy offseason in terms of coaching moves, and it shows no sign of stopping just yet.