TORONTO STEELHEADS
It was known that Toronto was making at least a change at Head Coach with the retirement of Ronald Martin, however, it became a wholesale change when GM Howard Stinton was also let go. The decision to move on from Stinton came after RB Max Tracy met with owner Jerry Anderson about his decision about the future. Tracy told Anderson, that he would not re-sign with the team and stated that the way that Stinton had run the team did not make him feel like they could win a championship anytime soon and he was not getting younger. Tracy’s statement along with several other players that had moved on in the last couple of years, finally woke Anderson up to the issue and he fired Stinton. Anderson is not the greatest football mind, hence why he trusted the previous regime so strongly, due to their previous success, but he understands people and has listened to them. With the new job opening, there would be several candidates that jumped at the opportunity. Many of the options were looking for a job, but there were 2 names that came from other GM positions in the NAAF. GM Reginald McMahon of the Buffalo Blue Wings and GM Jon Neal of the Ottawa Royals both threw their hat into the ring. Both GMs had previously come up through the Toronto Lakers system, having both jumped at opportunities in the NAAF. The two Toronto natives both desired the opportunity to take control of a team in a city they used to call home. It left Anderson with the best decision you could have between two GMs that have had plenty of success in the NAAF. After lots of negotiation, Anderson would select Reginald McMahon as the new GM of the Toronto Steelheads. McMahon would end up signing the largest executive contract in NAAF history, earning him $142,500 over 5 years. McMahon bring an established reputation to the Steelheads, with his massive success in building the Blue Wings into the NAAF’s most recent dynasty.
McMahon would not waste much time in looking to hire his new head coach. While some speculated that Blue Wings’ HC, Maurice Evanson, might follow McMahon to Toronto, Evanson ultimately re-signed with the Blue Wings. McMahon would go in a new direction and hire a coach who has been waiting patiently for an opportunity. He would hire Halifax Mariners’ DC, Phillip Little. Little had entered the NAAF out of his coaching position at West Mass State and has been with the Mariners’ organization since 1961. Little has slowly developed into a solid coordinator and defensive mind which McMahon hopes to capitalize on with the talent the Steelheads have on defence. The team would see a pair of new coordinators as well with Little hiring, Abraham Bachman as DC, a coach he had previously worked with and even played with. Bachman has a solid brain for defensive tactics and has been working with hybrid rules for several years now. As for OC, former Gold Stars OC Gregory Curtis would be hired. Curtis has a reputation to try new things and innovate offensively and if it catches on in Toronto could make for a dynamic offence.
LONDON TIGERS
A disappointing season for the Tigers does see the team make a change at the Head Coaching position. Dewey Doyle’s two seasons as head coach were underwhelming, and he just didn’t seem quite cut out to be a full-on head coach, so GM Joseph Johnson elected to move on. Johnson liked hiring people he knew and trusted, hence the decision to promote Dewey Doyle from the OC position with his previous head coaching hire. He would continue the pattern here by bringing on former Tigers’ captain and Hall of Fame LB, Aengus Lynch from his DC position in Ottawa. Lynch is a very smart defensive mind that should bring a brand new set of eyes to a young, developing defence. Lynch has shown what he can do with the very strong Royals’ defence and should be a strong hire for the Tigers. Lynch did elect to keep Clifford Jacobson as DC, the same DC that coached Lynch throughout his career but decided to let go of OC Charlie Sheppard in favour of OC Edward Hines. Hines had previously worked with the Steelheads for the last 7 years and has shown a solid ability to get the offence to work to their strengths.
OTTAWA ROYALS
While many expected GM Jon Neal to return to Ottawa after missing out on the opportunity in Toronto, that would not be the case. Neal was ready for a new opportunity after 14 seasons as the GM of the Royals and had told the team he would move on regardless of whether he got the job. Ottawa was okay with the decision and would promote their head of scouting, Shawn Lester, to be the team’s new GM. Lester has been quite the scout over the years helping the Royals consistently draft stellar talent. HC Jean Matieau would also make some changes in his staff. With DC Aengus Lynch heading to London, Matieau would bring on former teammate, DL Olaf Viktorsson as the team’s new DC. Viktorsson is a very strong motivator and could maybe help with conditioning on a defence that had a lot of key injuries last season. Matieau would also find a new OC, letting Wayne Ball go and bringing on Dewey Doyle. While Matieau continues to handle the offensive tactics, Doyle should provide some great development from players, something he was good at in London.
MONTREAL ROUGE
Montreal had another disappointing season and the team needed a major shake-up. So Owner, Alvon Martineau would clean house by firing GM Martin Gagneaux, HC Alfred Deniau, OC Louis Jonsson, and DC Jordan Sauveterre. He would end up being the one to hire Jon Neal as the new GM to take control of the team. Martineau hopes he can build on the roster and get the Rouge back to a consistent playoff team, similar to what he had done in Ottawa. As for the coaching position, Neal would end up giving Malachi Knowles a second crack at a coaching position. Knowles had previously had a 3-year stint in Louisville with a record of 10-25-1, which is not all that inspiring. However, Neal looked to both Soni Dionne of the Minnesota Serpents and Levi Bray of the Long Island Raiders as two coaches who had rough first jobs and then turned out to be two of the best coaches in the league last season. Neal hopes Knowles can learn from his first job and get the Rouge back on track. Knowles would get right to hiring the rest of his staff, bringing on DC Carrol Moss, a long-time friend and co-worker who was Knowles’ DC in Louisville, and then hiring former Rouge QB Andrew Glover to be the OC. Glover was the Rouge QB back when the team won their last McCallister Cup in 1953. He is a solid teacher and the Rouge are likely hoping he can help develop young QB Nathan Houle.
BUFFALO BLUE WINGS
With Reginal McMahon moving on to Toronto, the Blue Wings would turn to former Boston Independents GM, Earnest Bryan, to take on the role. Bryan is not looked at as a very strong GM, but he is still capable of keeping a team in a competitive spot which is all that the Blue Wings are looking for at this point. Bryan is also a former scout, which Buffalo hopes can translate into some youth amongst their aging core.
HALIFAX MARINERS
DC Phillip Little was hired away by Toronto, so the team had to fill his shoes. Former Steelheads’ DC, William Jennings would be tabbed for the new role. Jennings had done quite well with developing many of the talented young players on the Steelheads, and Halifax hopes that can be carried over as the team may begin a transition to a new era.
INDIANA VICTORS
The final hole to fill was with Indiana’s now vacant OC job, due to Malachi Knowles’ second departure from the Victors. Indiana would hire, former Rouge HC, Alfred Deniau for the job. Deniau had previously worked under current Victors’ HC Urick Wilkins, during his time in Halifax and should be a solid fit within the team.
CHANGES OVERVIEW
Buffalo
OUT
GM Reginald McMahon - Hired by TOR
IN
GM Earnest Bryan - from Scouting Department LI
Indiana
OUT
OC Malachi Knowles - Hired by MTL
IN
OC Alfred Deniau - From MTL HC
Halifax
OUT
DC Phillip Little - Hired by TOR
IN
DC William Jennings - From TOR DC
London
OUT
HC Dewey Doyle - Fired
OC Charlie Sheppard - Fired
IN
HC Aengus Lynch - From OTT DC
OC Edward Hines - From TOR OC
Montreal
OUT
GM Martin Gagneaux - Fired
HC Alfred Deniau - Fired
OC Louie Jonsson - Fired
DC Jordan Sauveterre - Fired
IN
GM Jon Neal - From OTT GM
HC Malachi Knowles - From IND OC
OC Andrew Glover - From Western New York OC
DC Carroll Moss - From Louisville State DC
Ottawa
OUT
GM Jon Neal - Hired by MTL
OC Wayne Ball - Fired
DC Aengus Lynch - Hired by LDN
IN
GM Shawn Lester - Promoted from Head of Scouting
OC Dewey Doyle - From LDN HC
DC Olaf Viktorsson - From Maine State DC
Toronto
OUT
GM Howard Stinton - Fired
HC Ronald Martin - Retirement
OC Edward Hines - Fired
DC William Jennings - Fired
IN
GM Reginal McMahon - From BUF GM
HC Phillip Little - From HFX DC
OC Gregory Curtis - From Rhode Island State OC
DC Abraham Bachman - From Haynes HC
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