Yes the lack of quality replacements and the inability to develop a QB says it all for Rita.
In sport and like everywhere in life, there is a shelf life and clearly for Adam it has expired.
As for a replacement, I am hoping Eric Tillman comes in next year and too bad it wasn't this year.
With his contacts and evaluation talent, he will instantly make the team a contender.
CFL, unless you have proof that Rita is abusing drugs, leave that crap to the tabloids. It's one thing to joke about someing being high because they made a dumb decision, but to insist that he must be abusing drugs... no.
Rita's tenure in TO hasn't been a total failure. The last two seasons have been brutal, but he does have a pretty decent track record. I'd say he gets one more season. The team has no QBs and no Canadian talent. The Argos are likely in for a long season, and it should cost Rita his job.
Perhaps this season will help determine how much owner interference Rita was facing too since IIRC there were a few decisions (like the Joseph trade) that were forced on him by the previous owners.
When your a GM and people try to impede your work or force things on to you. You do like Taman and walk... I don't think that is an excuse and at the same time I don't think it would be fair to judge Rita on this coming season, no one can turn this around in one off season that really started in February.
I agree with you that judging Rita based solely on 2010 isn't fair. However, he was in charge (whether people meddled or not) during the horrendous 2008 and 2009 seasons. He's hired, what, 4 head coaches in the last 2 years. That's way too many. Firing Stubler was a bigger mistake than hiring Andrus! The Argos were 4-6 and in 2nd in the East; where the hell did they think they should be at? 10-0? 9-1? I mean, c'mon.
Anyway, if this was Rita's first year on the job, I say give him a pass. Since it isn't, and he's had two of the worst back-to-back seasons as a GM of anyone in Argos history, I say if the team is at least improved, whether that be in the standings or just from being a competitive team, Rita stays. If not, it's a gots-to-go situation.
You do have to wonder how much Rita's hands have been tied. IIRC some of the Argo fans have said that Rita didn't want to hire Stubler - that Pinball had used his influence to get Stubler hired. We also have reports about Rita having no input in the Joseph trade. And before Braley took over the team all of the reports indicated Rita wanted to offer the HC job to Doug Berry but it was offered to Milanovich instead. In some ways it's amazing that he stayed with all that interference. Since Braley is a hand's off owner it would seem to be a much different environment for Rita to work in this season.