For Jason Maas, it’s the perfect match.
The 40-year-old begins his first CFL season as a head coach on June 25, when his Edmonton Eskimos squad hosts Ottawa in a rematch of last year’s Grey Cup. Not only are the Eskimos the defending champions after rallying for an exciting 26-20 win in the 2015 final, but Maas is eager for redemption after serving as the Redblacks’ offensive co-ordinator last season.
“When you look up at the clock and have five minutes to go in the game and you’re leading the Grey Cup and then it just doesn’t happen, that’s very disappointing,” Maas said. “And then to come to this team that’s just won, I think it’s a good match.
“It’s a team that’s confident, that knows how to win with a coach who wants to win even more now.”
Maas returned to Edmonton in December to replace Chris Jones, who left to become the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ head coach/GM. It was a homecoming for Maas, a Wisconsin native who spent 10 of his 12 CFL seasons as a quarterback with the Eskimos and was part of two Grey Cup-winning teams.
READ MORE: Former Edmonton Eskimos QB Jason Maas named new head coach
Maas takes over an Edmonton squad that won its final 10 games last season and is looking to become the first repeat Grey Cup champion since Montreal (2009-10) and just the second since the Toronto Argonauts did so in 1996-97.
The 2016 season kicks off June 23 with Toronto hosting the arch-rival Hamilton Tiger-Cats at BMO Field. The Argos are moving into the refurbished outdoor stadium after 27 seasons at the domed Rogers Centre.
BMO Field will also stage the Grey Cup game Nov. 27. The Argos won the last CFL championship held in Toronto, that being the historic 100th Grey Cup in 2012 at Rogers Centre.
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Maas isn’t the CFL’s lone new head coach this year.
Jones faces rebuilding a Riders team coming off a league-worst 3-15 record. And in B.C., GM Wally Buono returns to the sidelines for the first time since leading the Lions to the 2011 Grey Cup title.
Dave Dickenson took over as Calgary’s head coach when John Hufnagel stepped down after eight seasons to concentrate on his GM duties. Hufnagel later added the president’s title to his resume.
The sideline turnover leaves Toronto’s Scott Milanovich, entering fifth CFL season, as the league’s longest-tenured head coach.
Buono, 66, holds the CFL record for wins as a head coach with 254. He’s captured five Grey Cup titles and four times has been named the league’s top coach.
Buono, also the Lions vice-president of football operations, replaces Jeff Tedford, who led B.C. to a 7-11 record and third-place finish in the West Division last year before resigning.
“He’s a coach that just wants to win,” Lions defensive back Steven Clarke said of Buono. “He’s always going to push us and challenge us.
“We’ve just got to answer the call.”
Other CFL storylines this season include:
— Can veteran quarterback Henry Burris continue fending off Father Time? The 41-year-old was the CFL’s outstanding player last season after leading Ottawa (12-6) to the Grey Cup in just its second season. Burris was the lone quarterback to start all 18 regular-season games, but the Redblacks signed former Argo Trevor Harris in free agency.
— Several other teams open the season with questions at quarterback. Veteran Darian Durant returns as Saskatchewan’s starter, but he’s coming off two injury-plagued seasons. Ricky Ray’s healthy return in Toronto from shoulder woes is pivotal with Harris moving on to Ottawa. Winnipeg’s hopes bank on a big year from injury-prone Drew Willy. And in Hamilton, the Ticats open the season minus starter Zach Collaros, who continues to recover from last year’s season-ending knee injury.
— There will be drug testing in the CFL this year. There was none in 2015 after the league severed its partnership with the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports, which resumes its role of conducting the tests. The number of tests performed will be equal to 100 per cent of the players in the league. Those testing positive face a two-game suspension for a first violation. It will increase to nine games for a second and a one-year ban for a third. A fourth offence results in a lifetime ban.
— Toronto returns to Exhibition Place after 27 seasons at Rogers Centre. It spent 30 years at Exhibition Stadium before moving into the domed stadium in ’89. After missing four home dates last year due to the Pan-Am Games and baseball playoffs, the Argos can look forward to a stable, cozier outdoor venue. They’re the latest CFL club to move into a refurbished/ new stadium after B.C. (2011), Winnipeg (2013), Ottawa and Hamilton (2014). Next year, Saskatchewan is scheduled to play at the new Mosaic Stadium.
— The CFL adopted 10 rule changes this off-season, including the addition of a video official to address errors not covered by replay challenges. Also, coaches will be allowed to challenge offensive pass interference, illegal contact, illegal interference, no yards, called illegal blocks on kick plays, roughing the passer and kicker and illegal interference at the point of reception on kickoff attempts. Unsuccessful two-point converts will be automatically reviewed by the replay official.
— Over 140 players hit the free-agent market in February. Among those changing teams were running back Andrew Harris, kicker-punter Justin Medlock, centre Jeff Keeping and defensive lineman Euclid Cummings (all with Winnipeg), receivers Weston Dressler (Winnipeg), Chad Owens (Hamilton) and Chris Getzlaf (Edmonton), defensive back Keon Raymond, defensive linemen Brian Bulcke, Bryan Hall and Justin Hickman and tackle Josh Bourke (all Toronto).
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