1974 Staff Changes

BOSTON INDEPENDENTS
The Independents elected to part ways with HC Kenneth Chaney after 5 seasons with the team. Chaney has overall brought Boston back into being a consistent playoff contender with a 37-28-1 record. However, in those five years, they only made the playoffs twice and did not produce a win. While Boston’s performance has improved since their rocky stretch of seasons with several different coaches, the improvement hasn’t been enough for the team to be a true championship contender. Ben McMillan was the last coach to truly have success with the team. Notably, the defence has been the team’s weakness despite Chaney’s expertise in the defensive side of the ball, which was certainly frustrating QB Nathaniel Braddock, who was leading a top 4 offence last season.

In true Boston fashion, what is old is new again as the team elected to bring back Ben McMillan as Head Coach. McMillan’s time with Boston was quite successful, making the playoffs in all 6 seasons and winning a championship. McMillan stepped into a front office role with the Mariners last season after serving as their Head Coach for 5 seasons. When Boston approached him about hoping back into the driver’s seat, McMillan was interested due to still having the itch to coach. QB Nathaniel Braddock also met with McMillan personally and helped pull his old coach back to Boston. With McMillan in as Head Coach, the next step was to re-evaluate the coordinators. Due to the offence’s performance last season and Braddock’s familiarity with OC Theodore Ortiz, McMillan would not make a change at Offensive Coordinator. At Defensive Coordinator, however, McMillan would replace DC George Mitchell with Rickey Pickett. Pickett previously was the head coach at Louisville State, but had parted ways with the university earlier in 1973. He should provide a new angle for the defence and hopefully bring their play up to a point where Boston can get back to a McCallister Cup.

WINNIPEG FALCONS
As expected, after the team’s 3rd straight 4 or less win season, the Falcons are parting ways with HC Jay Nielson. Nielson took over the job 5 years ago and has been unable to show much progress. Ultimately, it was time for Winnipeg to hit the reset button; however, they are still happy with GM David Eaton’s performance in drafting players and building the team, so they are willing to maintain him.

The Falcons settled on Vancouver Wolves’ Offensive Coordinator, Tim Jennings, for the Head Coaching job. Jennings has been a great mind on the offence for the Wolves, conducting an offence that led to QB Kevin Westwood to win the MOP. Owner Ed Morrissette always respected and admired the culture that has been built in Vancouver and believes bringing in a coach from that organization can push the team in that direction. Jennings would bring in new coordinators as well, hiring Blacksmiths’ OC Frederick Quincy and then bringing in Calgary DC Daniel Lemon. Pittsburgh elected not to keep Quincy, so he moves to Winnipeg for a fresh start. Jennings hopes that his work with 2x MOP QB Louis Vaughn can help the Falcons’ young QB Mitchell Nash in his development. Lemon, on the other hand, decided to start fresh and declined an extension with Calgary. He previously worked as a DL Coach with the Wolves and had a good relationship with Jennings. When Jennings was hired, he was immediately in contact with the former colleague in hopes of a new opportunity. Jennings was happy to bring him on. Lemon does have a strength on the D-line, which is a place the Falcons have struggled with since joining the NAAF.

VANCOUVER WOLVES
With Tim Jennings heading to Winnipeg, the Wolves would need a new OC. The team would elect to promote from within, making QB Coach Jack Mann the new OC. Mann has worked well with QB Kevin Westwood and has a solid understanding of what Jennings did well with the team over the past several seasons. He should be able to keep the Wolves moving in a similar direction moving forward, which has been good, while also providing some new ideas.

PITTSBURGH BLACKSMITHS
The Blacksmiths re-evaluated their current staff this offseason, considering whether there needs to be a change after an okay 8-6 season. Ultimately, they decided to keep HC Ted McMahon, who has been the only coach in the team’s history. However, a change was still necessary, and the team would let go of OC Frederick Quincy, who headed to Winnipeg. To replace Quincy, the team would hire Gregory Curtis. Curtis has been an OC on two other occasions, spending 3 years in Providence under Garrett Boone and then a season in Toronto under Philip Little. Curtis is seen as an innovative mind, looking to create new plays and ways to win, but that can lead to him making risky plays. In both previous places, Curtis was the main offensive mind; however, in Pittsburgh, McMahon is the head of the offence, which may work best for Curtis, who can now support McMahon with ideas, while McMahon can rein in the risk-taking. It could be a very good fit for Pittsburgh and for Curtis.

BUFFALO BLUE WINGS
Last offseason, Buffalo made the switch to DC Matthew Carson in hopes of rejuvenating the defense. The experiment did not last long as Carson was fired midseason after a disastrous 0-7 start. DL Coach Lonnie Vincent took over and did better in the 2nd half, but the team believes he has still got some room to grow before being a full-time DC. So, the team set out to try again to find a DC to get the defence back up to speed. Ultimately, they chose Kenneth Chaney. Chaney, who was just the HC for Boston, is a very experienced and strong DC, having put together some of the best defences in the league’s history with the Raiders in the 1960s. The move makes sense for Chaney as Buffalo has previously taken in former Head Coaches as coordinators (Soni Dionne and Levi Bray), who have gone on to be more successful in their next job. As for Lonnie Vincent, he will return to his DL Coach position with a modest raise.

LONDON TIGERS
After a couple of seasons, the Tigers would decide to move on from DC Jordan Sauveterre. Sauveterre was fine in his time with the Tigers, but HC Aengus Lynch felt that in order to take the team to the next level, he needed a bit more help and experience to get the most out of the defence. So, George Mitchell enters as the new DC for the team. Mitchell is an experienced coach and has worked as a supportive coach under Kenneth Chaney in Boston. Lynch hopes Mitchell can help rally the troops as the Tigers hope to become a playoff regular moving forward.

CALGARY PREDATORS
With DC Daniel Lemon jumping ship to Winnipeg, the Predators needed to grab a new coordinator. The team felt that bringing in an experienced former NAAF coach would make the most sense. They would hire Carroll Moss as the new DC. Moss has coached for various teams as a DC and has a solid reputation as a fine coach. Some might be skeptical of Moss as he was fired by Montreal last offseason due to underperforming, and then watched as the Rouge went on to win the title. Regardless, the experience is there, and Moss should still be able to put together a solid defence this season.

Changes Overview

Boston Independents
OUT
HC Kenneth Chaney - Fired, hired by BUF
DC George Mitchell - Fired, hired by LDN
IN
HC Ben McMillian - Halifax Mariners Front Office
DC Rickey Picket - Louisville State HC (Parted Ways earlier this year)

Buffalo Blue Wings
OUT
DC Matthew Carson - Fired midseason
IN
DC Kenneth Chaney - From Boston HC
DL Coach Lonnie Vincent - Interim DC last season will return to his previous role

Calgary Predators
OUT
DC Daniel Lemon - Mutual Agreement to part ways
IN
DC Carroll Moss - From FA (previously MTL DC)

London Tigers
OUT
DC Jordan Sauveterre - Fired
IN
DC George Mitchell - From BOS DC

Pittsburgh Blacksmiths
OUT
OC Frederick Quincy - Fired
IN
OC Gregory Curtis - From FA (previously TOR OC)

Vancouver Wolves
OUT
OC Tim Jennings - Hired by WPG as HC
IN
OC Jack Mann - Promoted from QB Coach

Winnipeg Falcons
OUT
HC Jay Nielson - Fired
OC Jimmy Moison - Fired
DC Matthew Lowry - Fired
IN
HC Tim Jennings - From VAN OC
OC Frederick Quincy - From PIT OC
DC Daniel Lemon - From CGY DC