I have to agree with ottawacat, and certainly hope this will be the case. While I'm sure that Greg Marshall would like to be a head coach, the fact that he was not chosen by either Toronto or the Winnipeg last year could weigh heavily on his decision. I would hope that he is more interested in staying on and continuing the process of turning Hamilton around, as opposed to stepping in to the mess that both these organisations are in.
The decision to coach in Winnipeg would be the more probably choice, as he is more familiar with the organization and players, but a lot of this will depend on who the new GM is. I would not be surprised if he interviewed with either team. It also would not surprise me if he chose not to take either position.
I really hope he remains in place for 2010. It will only improve the Ti-Cat's chance of having a big year.
I want Marshall to remain with the Cats, but I suspect he'd give his left nut for a shot at a CFL head coaching job, regardless of whether it's an "ideal" situation.
Greg Marshall was not selected by the Bombers last year for the head coaching position because team president Lyle Bauer chose his long-time friend Mike Kelly shortly after the 2008 CFL season ended. Bauer believed, incorrectly as it turned out, that Kelly could remake the Bombers into an offensive powerhouse similar to what they were in the early 1990s when Matt Dunigan was the quarterback and Kelly was the offensive co-ordinator. Neither Marshall nor anyone else other than Kelly had a realistic shot at the job last year.
Marshall will be one of the frontrunners for the Bombers and Argos head coaching jobs in 2010.
Perry Lefko mentioned a few candidates in a recent column, Marshall obviously being one of them. Offensive Coordinatiors George Cortez in Calgary and Scott Milanovich in Montreal will get serious consideration too.
As much as Andrus and Kelly helped TiCat fortunes last year I'm still glad to see them gone. There are several much more deserving CFL candidates for the head coach position than those two clowns.
Oops! Hadn't thought of Higgins and there is a connection with him. This article from the Winnipeg Sun suggests Marshall is the choice among club directors and players:
I'd like to see Marshall get a HC job, it's what he wants. Sure it would be bad for us in the short term, but I would never want to see a good person miss out on an opportunity to get ahead. If he's back with us in 2010, great for us. If he moves on to a HC job, good for him.
Former CFL Commisioner Tom Wright is mentioned by Dave Naylor as a possible new Blue Bomber CEO in his CFL Insider report on TSN.ca.
It makes sense to hire a new CEO first and let him choose a GM and a Head Coach. Taman was highly regarded ( we were even considering him before Obie was hired) so it would seem a logical move to get him back to Winnipeg as GM.
If there were some "issues" between Taman and Greg Marshall , then maybe they would look at Dave Ritchie to become an interim HC.
That would leave Greg Marshall looking at a possible HC job with the Blue Team ( he'd have to be nuts!) or staying in Hamilton and wait for another HC opportunity.
Should be an interesting start to 2010 while this musical chairs game is played out.
If the reason Taman turned down Greg Marshall last year
was because he 'had issues' with him, and Brendan is hired,
Greg could lose out on Winnipeg’s head coaching job again this year
but I think Taman just prefered Kelly a little more at the time.
Taman didn’t have a say in the Kelly hiring. That was Bauer hiring his pal as coach and getting Brendan to, for awhile, accept a demontion so that he and Kelly could share the GM’s duties. Brendan chose Doug Berry in '06 when Marshall was also a candidate and then Berry hired Greg as his DC.
Here is a link to an article titled "Marshall law appealing to Blue and Gold veterans" by Kirk Penton on the Winnipeg Sun website today. The players want him to be their head coach.
And, in his column in the Hamilton Spectator today (not available on-line), Scott Radley noted that a poll of Bomber fans has Greg Marshall way ahead as their first choice for the head coaching job.
The players and the fans want Greg Marshall to be the Bomber head coach and Marshall wants to be the head coach. A new CEO and a new Director of Football Operations to be hired shortly by the Bombers will start off on the wrong foot if they choose someone other than Greg Marshall as the new head coach.
As Scott Radley commented at the end of his column today, Obie better have Rich Stubler on speed dial to chat with him about replacing Marshall as the Ticat defensive coordinator.
Works for them cause the board seems happy with that choice as well. They should still let the new President create an organic process. I don't mean hiring another vegetable as HC.
Surely the fans calling for Marshall aren't the same fans that called him "overrated" and "predictable" when he was there and predicted dissapointment for the Tiger Cats when Obie signed him, could they ?
....Actually it's not just some fans wanting Greg on board.... statements from the players today...Doug Brown...Obie Khan....Barrin Simpson and a few others have said Marshall should've never left the Peg and he should be the head-coach NOW....hmmmmmm now if the BOG sees it that way.....you may have to part company with your D C....
I'm not sure who is available out there. I wonder if any of the D coordinators from decent CFL teams have expired contracts after 2009?
I trust Obie and Marcel to make the right choice if we do indeed lose Marshall. I would make Stubler my #1 choice but as I said who knows if he would even want the job. He is an older man (at least mid 50's) and may be enjoying his new coaching free life.
It sounds good for Marsh in Winnipeg. When you get veteran Canadian players in your corner it carries a lot of weight. You have to keep those guys happy. Hope he gets the job he deserves to IMO.
The only negative public thing I ever saw or heard about him was that one finger salute to Don Mathews a few years ago which was caught on TV.
Seeing it was Don Mathews I guess Greg could be forgiven. The Don in his crazy way probably thought it was funny.
I think Hamilton will go with a younger DC if Marshall goes. Somebody mentioned Brad Miller. Marcel would probably be more comfortable with somebody from his own generation rather than a Dave Richie or a Rich Stubler.
Greg was a huge asset to Marcel this year.... i think back to a play when Marshall was visibly helping Marcel with clock management before the end of a game.
He would be a big loss to the organization, and going young may not be a good idea with Marcel and Gibson already. In my opinion the head coach helps on the unit that he specializes in (for Marcel this is the O) and the D Co ordinator needs to be like a 2nd head coach.... like a Stubler, or when Mr Lancaster was here, Don Sutherin. This allows the head coach to spend less time with the unit he doesn't specialize in while not losing a beat because of the trust level with the assistant.
I think you are right here. My only concern is that whoever they get (if Greg Marshall really does go) needs to have some creativity with the defence....and keep them fired up and aggressive ALL the time.
For that.... age really does not matter.
I think Greg gives his players a lot of individual responsibility within the defensive system. That kind of confidence comes with experience. I hope to see Greg have one more year with this defence so we can really see the full impact of his influence. But right now the chances of that happening don't look good. <!-- s:( -->:(<!-- s:( -->
