TORONTO — As he took his seat at the podium to begin his second stint as head coach of the Toronto Argonauts, Jim Barker had something to say about how his first stint had come to an end. He was never fired, he said, at least not in as many words.
It was a decade ago, and the team had changed owners, having been bought by New York insurance magnate Sherwood Schwarz. Barker arrived for work at the team’s suburban practice facility one day, only to discover all the doors had been locked, and that he suddenly had no way of opening them.
“I never got fired,” Barker said with a smile. “I just went in and my key didn’t work.”
He was officially welcomed back at a news conference held Tuesday, reclaiming the job as the Argos were in the middle of preparing for another ownership change. Barker, the team’s fourth coach in the last two years, was received on the podium by general manager Adam Rita and team president Bob Nicholson.
David Cynamon and Howard Sokolowski, who had made a habit of attending most major news conferences since they bought the team seven years ago, were not in the room. Their absence did not seem to bother Barker, who said the uncertainty did not impact his decision to re-join the team.
“I wouldn’t go into a situation where I didn’t have confidence and trust,” Barker said. “You’re either going to trust the people that you work for, or you don’t. I have a tremendous amount of trust in Bob Nicholson and Adam Rita. And whatever happens with the ownership situation, I know I have those two right here.”
Within hours, it was announced Cynamon and Sokolowski had sold the team to B.C. Lions owner David Braley. The Toronto businessmen had been weighing their options, with one of their frustrations being that their attempts to develop a revenue-sharing program had been rebuffed by the CFL’s board of governors.
The uncertainty slowed the pace of the franchise’s day-to-day business, and the delay in settling the football operations side of the organization has left some veteran players frustrated. It is not clear how many assistant coaches will be retained, though Nicholson did make a point of announcing Rita would remain in place as general manager.
“It’s good to see the CFL experience being one of the major factors of why they made the decision to go with Barker,” long-time Argos receiver Andre Talbot said. “I mean, I still think it’s taken quite a while to make any of these decisions, and we’re in mid-February. I think, from a player’s standpoint, it’s about time we made one of the moves that they need to make.”
The Argos finished last in the East Division with a 3-15 record last season, the team’s worst finish in more than 15 years. Toronto has lost 23 of 26 games since firing former head coach Rich Stubler 10 games into his rookie season, in 2008.
Don Matthews lost eight games in relief of Stubler, and was replaced last year by NFL Europe veteran Bart Andrus. Billed as an offensive innovator, Andrus was quickly proven to be out of his depth, exiling talented players such as slotback Arland Bruce III and cornerback Byron Parker to rival teams in the name of control.
“The worst thing you can do is go through a losing season, it’s kind of like a slow death,” Rita said. “We’d like to turn that around. We wanted to ensure we had the right person who could lead the team on and off the field, and we think we’ve done that.”
Barker landed in the CFL for the first time in 1996 as an offensive line coach with the Montreal Alouettes, and spent the last five years working in the front office for the Calgary Stampeders. He owns three Grey Cup rings — one each with Toronto (’97), Montreal (’02) and Calgary (’08) — and has been itching to return to the sidelines.
Assembling a staff will be his first order of business, followed by a thorough evaluation of the roster.
“I believe there are a lot of quality Canadian Football League players in this organization,” Barker said. “It’s our job to make sure that whatever it is that we put together, scheme-wise, works for them.”
Barker led the Argos to a 9-9 record in his first season as coach, in 1999. His contract was shuffled off to the league office after Schwarz bought the team and the eccentric John Huard was installed in his place.
Huard did not last the season.
The terms of Barker’s deal were not disclosed, least of all by Barker.
“That’s not your business,” he told one reporter. “I can tell you that the length of a contract in this business doesn’t matter. I’ve seen coaches with three-year contracts last six games, and coaches with year-to-year contracts be here for six or seven years. It’s just a question of how we produce — if we produce, I’ll be here, and if we don’t, I won’t.”