Cats Fire Bellefeuille

When teams fail to reach their potential, changes come. Today Marcel Bellefeuille was fired by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats because they did not reach their potential.

Bellefeuille took over from Charlie Taaffe on September 8, 2008 on an interim basis and had the interim tag removed in October of that year. In his three full seasons with the Tiger-Cats, Bellefeuille guided Hamilton to two second-place finishes and three playoff appearances, winning this year's East Division Semi-Final against Montreal.

I have already freely admitted that I was torn on whether the team should retain Bellefeuille. I felt that in winning the Semi-Final in Montreal he had done enough to warrant a fourth season as Head Coach, but I guess the Ti-Cats brass, and specifically General Manager Bob O'Billovich, did not feel the same way.

Two names have already been thrown around as potential replacements: Defensive Coordinator Corey Chamblin and Calgary Offensive Coordinator Dave Dickenson.

I don't really like either rumoured candidate. Both have exactly one year of Coordinator experience and would bring with them the same growing pains that all rookie coaches bring. They could both turn out to be excellent Head Coaches, but the same was thought of Bellefeuille when he was hired and now he's unemployed. Basically, when it comes to first-time Head Coaches, you just never know.

If the Cats made this move to take the next step – as O'Billovich said in his statement following the decision – then they must bring in an experienced coach, because that is the only way this move makes sense. I don't necessarily mean a coach with Head Coaching experience, but one that has more than a single year's experience would make sense. If the Cats choose to hire another young, up-and-coming Coordinator, that would be a lateral move. We don't even know if Dickenson or Chamblin are good at their current jobs, so a promotion might be premature.

One man I think the Tiger-Cats should seriously look at is Winnipeg Defensive Coordinator Tim Burke. Burke has been to the last four Grey Cups as a Defensive Coordinator (with Montreal in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and Winnipeg in 2011), winning with the Als in 2009 and 2010. He turned Winnipeg into arguably (and maybe inarguably) the best Defense in the CFL in 2011.

The expectations will be high for whomever the Tabbies pick as their next Head Coach. Those expectations were not in place when Bellefeuille took the job back in 2008. The team will need to be sure that the next man to lead the Cats is prepared to deal with sky-high expectations from Day 1. The talent is here, so a Grey Cup run in 2012 is not at all out of the question. Who will lead the team now is.

But let's not forget what Marcel Bellefeuille accomplished in Hamilton during his three-plus years as Head Coach. He took a terrible franchise – one that won 15 games in four seasons – and returned it to respectability. That, in itself, is something worth remembering.

The Bellefeuille Era did not result in a championship parade or even a division title, but it did result in pride being restored to Tiger-Cat football, pride not felt in a long time. Hamilton became a team to be feared and respected, and that wasn't the case before Bellefeuille took over.

His inability to take the Cats to the promised land ultimately cost him his job, but he did make Tiger-Cat football important again, and for that he should be thanked.

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

There has been a lot of talk about the Tiger-Cats' pitiful performance Sunday against the Alouettes, and surprisingly it hasn't focused on Marcel Bellefeuille or Kevin Glenn.

OK, not all of it has.

Scott Radley wrote a piece in the Hamilton Spectator comparing the Tiger-Cats to a John Grisham thriller and Forrest Gump's box of chocolates. His basic points were that the team is full of surprises and "you never know what you're going to get" from one week to the next.

Radley is right; the Ti-Cats have not been a consistent football team in 2011. What that means, I don't know. We'll have to wait and see.

Drew Edwards looked at the "two schools of thought" most fans are taking following the latest loss in Montreal.

There are people in one camp who believe the Bellefeuille-Glenn duo has taken this team as far as they can go. That with these two men, the Cats are destined to be nothing more than a .500 ball club who will never win a championship.

A Tiger-Cats loss – any Tiger-Cats loss – cannot be dissected without someone bringing up those two men. Regardless of what happens, it is somehow always their fault.

The second group sees the loss in Montreal as being part of a long season and not worth getting worked up about.

I reside very squarely in the second group.

The Cats put up a listless, disappointing effort on Sunday in Montreal, but this came just six days after the Als did the exact same thing against the Ti-Cats in Hamilton. An argument I have made numerous times is that every single CFL team has laid an egg or two.

Case in point:

• Winnipeg: lost 27-7 and 45-23 in back-to-back weeks against Saskatchewan
• Calgary: lost 35-7 to Edmonton
• Montreal: lost 44-23 to Hamilton
• Edmonton: lost 28-16 to Winnipeg; lost 27-4 to Montreal; lost 36-1 to BC
• BC: lost 33-17 to Edmonton; lost 30-17 to Winnipeg
• Saskatchewan: lost 42-28 to Edmonton; lost 33-3 to Hamilton; lost 24-11 to BC
• Toronto: lost 40-17 to Montreal; lost 29-16 and 28-6 in back-to-back weeks against BC

Heck, the Argos (the league's worst team) beat Calgary (maybe the league's best team) in Calgary in Week 1. Sure, the Stamps' Rob Maver missed three field goals because of an injury, but the result counts regardless.

Every team has at least one horrendous performance on their résumé this season. Hamilton has laid three such eggs: the Week 1 loss to Winnipeg (in which neither team played particularly well), the Week 2 loss to Edmonton and this past week against Montreal. The Ti-Cats' other two losses (to Winnipeg, 30-27, and Calgary, 32-20) were not the same as the other three. The Cats played very well against Winnipeg, and that game could have gone either way. Against Calgary, the team came out on fire and then lost it in the second half.

All this proves is that it is foolish to get too high or too low based on any given week's outcome.

Moving on from the past and looking into the future, I see a Tiger-Cat schedule that looks very promising.

Yes, the Tabbies will play five of these eight games away from Ivor Wynne Stadium, and they are an uninspiring 1-4 away from home so far this season. But these five games are not like the previous five games. The Cats play in Moncton against Calgary, in Toronto, in Montreal, in Saskatchewan and in Toronto again. The Montreal game is the only one where the Cats will be prohibitive underdogs. The best-case scenario is probably four wins; the worst-case is two.

At home, Hamilton faces Edmonton, Winnipeg and BC. Edmonton hasn't won in Hamilton since 2008. Winnipeg has already won in Hamilton and has beaten the Ti-Cats twice, and sweeping a team is never easy. BC has actually done fairly well in Hamilton in recent years and have won their last two games at Ivor Wynne Stadium. That said, I like the Cats to pull out victories in all three games.

Under the best-case scenario, the Cats will finish the regular season 12-6. Worst case, 10-8. I will say that 9-9 is possible, but that's only if they don't take care of business at home. There is no way they go 1-4 on the road, because Toronto will not beat them. I know I said that sweeping a team is never easy, but Toronto is everyone's whipping boy right now, and the Cats are 6-3 against Toronto in the last two regular seasons.

While nothing is set in stone, and anything can happen, things are set up nicely for the Tiger-Cats down the stretch.

Fire Sale: Everyone Must Go!

The Ti-Cats lost this weekend, so you know what that means: time to bench Kevin Glenn and fire Marcel Bellefeuille.

It's becoming a bit of a joke. Every time the team loses, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the loss, there is a vocal section of the fan base that calls for both Glenn and Bellefeuille's heads. Personally, I'm getting a little sick of hearing it because nothing new ever gets brought up. It's the same arguments over and over again and, frankly, it's a little tiresome.

With Glenn, the issue is he's not a winner. His regular-season record – which is an unimpressive 57-58-1 – gets brought up, as does the "can't win the big one" card. I can't defend Glenn's regular-season win-loss totals. But I also don't have access to all 116 games he's started, so I don't know in how many games his play was the main reason, or one of the main reasons, his team lost. I do know that this past week's loss was not his fault. Yes, he threw an interception that was taken back for a touchdown. He also threw two TDs of his own and passed for over 350 yards. There was also a plethora of mistakes made by his teammates, which Glenn is not responsible for. To say that the Cats lost this past week because of how Kevin Glenn performed is moronic.

But the one that really bugs me, and I just about tune out at this point, is the idea that he "can't win the big one." I've heard that about a lot of Quarterbacks over the years, but none more so in the CFL than Henry Burris. Burris was dogged for years by the same label that is now affixed to Glenn. Burris played great football in the regular season in 2005, 2006 and 2007, but was knocked out of the first round of the playoffs each year. (Sound familiar?) Then, finally, it all came together and Burris led the Stampeders to a Grey Cup championship in 2008. But prior to that, fans and media said that Burris didn't have it in him to lead a team to a championship. Then he did, and you don't hear people say Burris can't win, because he's won. In the NFL, the same was said of Steve Young and Peyton Manning (who was the poster boy for "can't win the big one" going back to his days at the University of Tennessee)... until they won. You only can't win the big one until you win the big one. Once Glenn wins a Grey Cup, this talk goes away. (I'd also make the argument about the 2007 Grey Cup, and how had he played he could have easily led the Bombers to a championship, but I've already made that point so often in the past that I'd begin to sound like the broken record.)

After Glenn (actually, more like "in tandem with Glenn"), fans call for the firing of Marcel Bellefeuille. Bellefeuille is 22-22 as the Ti-Cats Head Coach since taking over on a permanent basis, which is admittedly mediocre. But what needs to be taken into account is the dismal records of the coaches that preceded him (minus Ron Lancaster's interim stint in 2006). Charlie Taaffe was 5-23 in his one-and-a-half playoffless seasons with the Cats in 2007 and 2008, and Greg Marshall was 14-25-1 with one playoff appearance (an East Division Semi-Final loss in 2004 to the Argonauts) in his two-plus seasons at the helm. That playoff loss in 2004 was the high-water mark of the Bob Young era until Bellefeuille was named coach. Since then, the Ti-Cats have made two straight playoff appearances in 2009 and 2010 (and hosted both games), the first time the Cats have made the playoffs in back-to-back years since 2000 and 2001. And even if the Cats finish at 9-9 again this season, they are likely headed back to the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

However, this is where I might be convinced to join the group calling for Bellefeuille's head. Now I don't think he should be fired during the season – in my opinion, that is never a good idea – but if the Cats stumble to another .500 finish and first-round playoff exit, it might be time to make a coaching change. Sometimes a coach helps to get a team on track, but can't be the one to take them over the hump. Once again, I look to Calgary from 2005-2007 and then in 2008. For three seasons, Tom Higgins was the head man for the Stamps, and as talented as that team was, he couldn't get them out of the first round of the playoffs. So Higgins gets fired and is replaced by John Hufnagel. In Hufnagel's first season, he takes pretty much the same team Higgins had to the Grey Cup and wins it. A new voice in the locker room got the same group of players where they needed to be in order to take home the most coveted prize in their sport. The story of Tony Dungy and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is pretty similar. While Dungy is a great coach (and would win a Super Bowl with the previously mentioned former poster boy for "can't win the big one" Peyton Manning in Indianapolis), the Bucs needed a new voice to motivate them to excellence. Enter Jon Gruden and a Super Bowl victory.

Perhaps this is the same scenario that needs to play out for the Ti-Cats. Perhaps Bellefeuille has taken them as far as he can. Perhaps a new voice is needed. Perhaps.

Are Glenn and Bellefeuille the men to lead the Cats back to the top of the mountain? I don't know. But I do know that I'm not ready to give up on them yet. Unlike the louder members of the fan base, I don't believe it is time for a fire sale. Everyone doesn't have to go, especially the starting Quarterback and Head Coach.

More Thoughts on the Arland Bruce Trade

I know I stated some opinions in my original post on the Arland Bruce trade that went down this afternoon, but after reading the comments made by Head Coach Marcel Bellefeuille, this trade makes even less sense than it did a few hours ago.

First, we have this:

"I still think (Bruce) has some good football left in him and he's going to be a productive player in BC."

If Bellefeuille truly believes this statement, then why in the hell did the team trade him? You simply do not trade players that you think can still be productive, especially when all you get back is a couple of draft picks.

Bellefeuille then went on to say the following:

"We weren't shopping him. Other teams had inquired and we had turned other teams down prior to this."

What did other teams offer, a kick in the teeth? The best offer on the table was a third-round pick in 2012 and a conditional pick in 2013? That's the best you can get for a future Hall of Famer who, in Bellefeuille's own words, "still has some good football left in him"? And you take it? Why not say, "No thank you," and hang on to him? Were the Tabbies that eager to part with Bruce?

One could draw the conclusion that the team simply wanted Bruce off the team, but if that was the case, why did Bellefeuille say this:

"He was a consummate pro here – I've never had an issue with Arland since he's been here, not one."

I guess we can put to rest any idea that Bruce was a malcontent.

So why trade him for next to nothing if there was no urgent need to do so? I could understand if BC's offer was off the charts, but two draft picks is hardly what I would call a game-changing offer. In fact, it's less than what Hamilton gave up to get Bruce back in 2009.

Ah, yes, the halcyon days of 2009 when the Toronto Argonauts made arguably the worst trade in franchise history, dealing Arland Bruce to Hamilton. Remember the ridicule that they endured after making that deal? Well, this trade has the potential to be as bad for Hamilton as trading Bruce to Hamilton in 2009 was for Toronto.

My gut tells me that the Ti-Cats are going to regret making this trade. The team is now relying on players loaded with potential, but short on experience and results, to lead the receiving corps. What happens when these young guys hit the proverbial rookie wall? What happens if Maurice Mann never fully recovers from his foot injury? There are way too many questions in the receiving corps right now for this deal to have gone down.

When the curtain closes on the 2011 CFL season, this team better be hoisting the Grey Cup. If not, this trade will be scrutinized even more. Bruce is a guy you lean on during tough times; he's a guy you know you can rely on. Dealing him during the season was not a good decision.

Preaching Patience Pays Off

If you will permit me, I'd like for all of us to hop in my DeLorean and head back in time.

The date is July 10, 2011.

The day before, the Tiger-Cats had just lost to the Edmonton Eskimos in a listless effort that no one – fan, player or coach – was happy with. The Cats had started the season with much promise, yet they were behind the eight ball – again. The Cats were 0-2, and things were looking bad.

To a man, everyone on the team preached patience; they said that the wins would come. That didn't stop many fans from reacting with anger and hostility towards another slow start. Doom predictions were everywhere, and while there were rational fans calling for the same patience the team was preaching, they were shouted down by the outraged majority.

In case it has been forgotten, back on July 10, 2011 the following was "true" according to many fans:

• Kevin Glenn was a bum and should be replaced by Quinton Porter
• Marcel Bellefeuille was "Marcel Bellefool" and should be fired
• Khari Jones was over his head as Offensive Coordinator and should be fired
• Bob O'Billovich was over the hill and didn't care because he was thinking about his retirement

Remember those days?

Well, fast forward three weeks and this is what we have:

• Glenn, who is streaky, is back in top form
• Bellefeuille is showing why he is a good Head Coach
• Jones has gotten the Offense back on track
• Obie is being given major kudos for some shrewd moves he's made, especially the move that landed Receiver Chris Williams

So while those early-season struggles were frustrating, the proof is in the proverbial pudding: being patient pays off.

There will no doubt be a stretch in the future, maybe even again this season, when the team struggles. When that happens, remember the lessons learned in July 2011. Patience is a virtue, and I think we all learned why over the first five weeks of the 2011 CFL season.

There Should Be No Quarterback Controversy

No burying the lead here: there is no QB controversy in Hamilton. Kevin Glenn is the starter, period.

I think people, especially reporters like the National Post's Mark Masters, are reading way too much into the comments made after the game by Ti-Cat Head Coach Marcel Bellefeuille and Quarterback Kevin Glenn.

Bellefeuille said that he was going to "look at the tape" before deciding who will start next week in Edmonton.

Glenn said that he "felt disrespected" and that getting pulled in the first game was "like a smack in the face."

Both men have points, but when Bellefeuille looks at the tape he will likely see some bad throws by Glenn, but also a lot of dropped passes by the Receivers. I can think of at least five that hit the turf that we very catchable.

Glenn had a very poor game, but in his defense, he is coming off an MOP-caliber season and should be given more leeway than what the coach gave him. Despite Glenn and the team's poor play, the Cats were still in the game until the very end. I don't agree with the decision to bench your starter in the first game. Bellefeuille should have allowed Glenn to work through it. What was the worst that could happen? The team lost anyway, so they wouldn't have been in any worse position had Glenn played the whole game.

Throwing Porter out there was not the best decision either, as it put him in a tough, near-no-win situation. On the whole, the decision from nearly every angle was the wrong one.

But when Hamilton takes the field in Edmonton next week, Glenn will be under Centre, no two ways about it. Glenn has earned the right to pilot this ship, and he will do so once again in a week's time against the Eskimos. Any talk of a QB controversy is just that: talk. It's media hype and nothing more.

Everyone needs to sit back and take a deep breath. This is a hiccup, not a heart attack, and everyone needs to react as such.

Barker Wins Coach of the Year

Jim Barker Showing His True Colours (Photo courtesy of http://www.argos-suck.com/)

In what should come as a surprise to no one, Jim Barker has been named the CFL's Coach of the Year for 2010.

Barker took a moribund Argonaut team that had won seven games in the previous two seasons combined and took them to the East Division Final in 2010. He did it with unarguably the worst starting Quarterback in the CFL in Cleo Lemon. He made the Argos matter again. Barker beat out Marc Trestman of Montreal and Ken Miller of Saskatchewan.

That said, if everyone agrees that Barker won the award because of how he turned Toronto around, why was Marcel Bellefeuille denied the same recognition just last year? Bellefeuille ended up losing the award to Trestman. Ken Miller was again the other finalist.

Bellefeuille did everything Barker did in 2010, just one year earlier. The only differences are that the Tiger-Cats did not win a playoff game, and Bellefeuille had a better Quarterback.

But still, many say that the Coach of the Year award is given to the coach who did the most with the least or who ended up exceeding expectations. In 2010, that was easily Barker. In 2009, it was easily Bellefeuille. Yet Bellefeuille was passed over in favour of Trestman. Yes, Montreal had a phenomenal season, finishing 15-3 and winning the Grey Cup, but I believe, as I did a year ago, that Bellefeuille should have been given the award.

I take nothing away from Jim Barker; he absolutely deserved to win this award. Six wins was the over/under for the Argos in 2010 – with many taking the under – so to win nine and a playoff game went above and beyond. Congratulations to Jim Barker.

The Week in Review

The past week was a very busy one for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

We had the long-anticipated announcement of Khari Jones as Offensive Coordinator. Anyone who has read me before knows that I am 100% behind this appointment. As far back as mid-November I said that Jones should be the next OC.

I'm not trying to pat myself on the back. I am well aware that I miss way more than I hit (an example of that is coming shortly), but I nailed this one almost two months ago. Score one for me.

But when talking about all-time whiffs, this one ranks right up there. I said that I would be stunned if Richie Hall was not the Defensive Coordinator of the Tiger-Cats should he not get the top job in Saskatchewan. Well he didn't – Greg Marshall did – and yet Hall will still not be joining the Hamilton coaching staff. He's headed back to Saskatchewan to be the Defensive Coordinator under Marshall. "Welcome to Tigertown, Coach Hall" might just be my "Dewey Beats Truman." Score one for real writers.

The question now remains: who does Hamilton hire? With Marshall being named the Head Coach in Saskatchewan and Hall following him, that leaves two names that I keep reading and hearing about to fill the void: Gary Etcheverry and Brad Miller. Etcheverry was the DC in Riderland last year, and Miller is currently the Secondary coach with the Cats. I think Miller has the inside track based on Head Coach Marcel Bellefeuille always preaching continuity, but I wouldn't mind seeing what Etcheverry could do with the talent the Cats have on Defense. I'm sure we'll find out before too long.

There is the whole stadium fiasco, but I've already wasted too much time covering that. Wake me when a decision is made on February 1st.

Lastly, I have touched on it, but Greg Marshall is, finally, a CFL Head Coach. He has been the bridesmaid so many times that it felt like he'd never get the chance. Now he inherits the two-time CFL West champions with a good chance to be successful right away. Should be interesting to see those two Hamilton-Saskatchewan matchups in 2011.

Bellefeuille Won't Be Fired

Drew Edwards is reporting that Head Coach Marcel Bellefeuille will not be fired following yesterday's disappointing East Division Semi-Final loss to the Toronto Argonauts.

Edwards quotes an unnamed source in saying, "The reality is this: Obie and Marcel aren't going anywhere."

Good. Neither should lose their job over yesterday's outcome. Since both assumed full-time control two years ago, the Tiger-Cats have posted back-to-back 9-9 seasons and hosted a playoff game in each of them.

Yes, yesterday's loss is a tough pill to swallow. Despite the loss, I echo Stevie Baggs's sentiments when he says that the Tiger-Cats are a better team than the Argonauts. I believe that they are, but that the Argos were the better team on Sunday. That's sports, and the better team doesn't always win. If that were the case, there would be no point in playing the games.

There are a lot of things to address this off-season, but I'm glad that the status of the Head Coach and General Manager will not be one of them. Continuity is key, and while the Cats could be more consistent, I do think that the Obie-Marcel team can get this squad over the hump. I am glad that neither will be going anywhere.

Bellefeuille Extended

First it was the General Manager and now it's the Head Coach. Just days after the Ti-Cats signed GM Bob O'Billovich to a contract extension, the team has announced that they have signed Head Coach Marcel Bellefeuille to one as well.

Just like the Obie signing, I can't praise this enough. I'll admit that I was initially skeptical about Bellefeuille's credentials when he was named Head Coach in 2008, but I have since gotten on board.

The 2009 season helped establish Bellefeuille as one of the best coaches in the CFL. He was nominated for Coach of the Year (an award I believe he should have won) and helped lead the Tiger-Cats back to the playoffs.

I don't want to go overboard here. I felt the same way about former Head Coach Greg Marshall after he did the same thing in 2004 (except he won Coach of the Year), and it wasn't too long before he was fired.

I think the one key difference is O'Billovich. It seems that he and Bellefeuille trust each other completely, and it is that relationship that I think has the Cats poised for success in 2010 and beyond.

This off-season has produced nothing but great news for the Tabbies. I understand after last year expectations are running high, but I think with the way the team is currently assembled, from ownership on down to the ball boys, allows for our collective faith to be justified.

RELATED: In Obie We Trust

Coach of the Year

Today, the CFL announced that Montreal Alouettes Head Coach Marc Trestmann has won the 2009 CFL Coach of the Year Award. Ken Miller of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Marcel Bellefeuille of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were the other two finalists.

Ugh. The CFL got this one wrong. I don't want to take anything away from what Trestmann accomplished this season with the Als. They went 17-3 and won the Grey Cup, but they were also the favourites to do so, and for that reason Trestmann should not have won.

It may seem biased, but c'mon! This award should have gone to Bellefeuille. No one but the most delusional Ti-Cat fan out there would have thought that Cats would have gone 6-12, let alone 9-9. The Cats were once again expected to finish in the cellar of the CFL's East Division. They exceeded expectations far above what anyone reasonably thought.

I won't say that Bellefeuille was robbed, because Trestmann is a deserving winner. I just feel like Bellefeuille would have been a more deserving one.