Stubler Back in the CFL

Looks like Rich Stubler is headed back to the CFL. The former long-time Defensive Coordinator, and one-time Head Coach, of the Toronto Argonauts will be joining the BC Lions as Defensive Line Coach, according to Sportsnet.

The last we saw of Stubler he was being fired as Head Coach of the Toronto Argonauts in 2008. At the time he was 4-6, and the Argos were in 2nd place in the East Division. He was replaced by Don Matthews, who ended up going 0-8 the rest of the season. The Argos would miss the playoffs with a 4-14 record the year after they hosted the East Division Final.

The Argos replaced Matthews with Bart Andrus, who went a horrendous 3-15 in 2009, which was his one and only season in Toronto. The Argos hired Jim Barker this off-season to replace Andrus.

Even though Stubler coached the Boatmen, I always thought he was a great Defensive Coordinator. The move to BC will likely lead to him being a Defensive Coordinator again in 2011. Maybe he'll move back to Ontario to join the Ti-Cats. It's likely that the current Defensive Coordinator, Greg Marshall, will get a head coaching position in the near future, so if the Cats were to lose Marshall, I couldn't think of a better man to replace him than Rich Stubler. It would just add to the list of recent Argo mistakes that helped the Cats (Exhibit A: Bruce, Arland).

To sum it up, the Argos were in a playoff spot when Stubler was unnecessarily fired, and they have amassed a record of 3-23 since then. It's these decisions that turned a Grey Cup contender in 2007 into the worst team in the CFL the past two seasons.