Tom Higgins steps down as CFL director of officiating; what’s next for him, and for the job?

Thursday's news that CFL director of officiating Tom Higgins is stepping down effective immediately isn't that unexpected, except for the timing. It's been thought for some time that Higgins, a former head coach in Edmonton and Calgary, might want to return to the sidelines, and the league's own statement on his departure includes commissioner Mark Cohon saying "It's our understanding Tom intends to seek a position on the competitive side of football, as a coach, general manager or administrator." However, those positions are now few and far between in the CFL. Where will Higgins wind up, and who will replace him in the league's top officiating job?

If Higgins had left the officiating job immediately following the Grey Cup, there were plenty of potential landing spots for him across the league. At that time, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Ottawa were all looking for new head coaches. However, the Eskimos and Bombers have since filled their head coaching spots with Chris Jones and Mike O'Shea respectively, and the Redblacks appear set to announce Rick Campbell as their new head coach Friday. The management positions are filling up too, with Winnipeg announcing Kyle Walters as their new full general manager and adding Danny McManus and Ted Goveia as assistant general managers, and even some coordinator-level jobs are being filled, with Tim Burke officially announced as the Argos' new DC Thursday (a move expected for some time).

Higgins has worked in personnel and as a coach on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, so it's certainly conceivable he could wind up as a coordinator or an assistant general manager somewhere. There are a lot fewer high-profile CFL gigs available now than there were a couple of weeks ago, though. Of course, Higgins could have his sights set on the CIS, or perhaps a return to U.S. football or even a coaching job in Europe; it's not like the CFL's the only league out there. Still, it's going to be interesting to see what kind of a position seemed enticing enough for him to leave at this particular moment.

As for his impact? There's no dispute that CFL officiating's come a long way during Higgins' tenure, particularly with the expansion of replay and the involvement of the Toronto-based command centre on video reviews. The league's also brought in several impressive rule changes during his time, even if they haven't gone as far to promote safety as some of us would like, with some crucial proposed cut block changes never advancing out of the rules committee. That's not all on Higgins, though.

For his part, Higgins did a great job of discussing rule changes, confirming interpretations and commenting on controversial calls, giving media and fans important information on CFL officiating. There are still plenty of issues with this league's officiating, of course, ranging from how head shots are called on the field to inconsistencies in catches, fumbles and pass interference calls, but every league has officiating issues; the CFL did seem to make progress in the quality of its officiating under Higgins, even if it still has further to go. It's going to be interesting to see who replaces him, though. Will the league go with another former coach or general manager, or will they tab a long-time official instead? Either approach could work out; Higgins proved an outsider can do it and do it well, but there might be benefits to someone familiar with the officials' perspective. Whatever way they go, the next director of officiating will have big shoes to fill, and a substantial role to play in how this league evolves.