Perry Lefko

Perry Lefko keeps you connected to all the news in the CFL on Sportsnet.ca.

Bart Andrus' juggling of the quarterback situation in Toronto led to his downfall.

It should come as no surprise that Bart Andrus was fired as head coach of the Toronto Argonauts on Monday.

It simply had to be done for the current ownership to move forward either in finding a replacement as quickly as possible, or to allow any new owner to choose its own person.

The latter, of course, is a whole different matter.

Will David Cynamon and Howard Sokolowski continue as the owners of the team, or will they divest themselves of the franchise they took over at the end of the 2003 season? Will B.C. Lions' owner David Braley take over the team through some kind of transfer? He told Sportsnet's Giulio Caravatta at the Grey Cup that he has no intention of selling the Lions. That doesn't mean Braley's son, Rob, wouldn't somehow emerge as the Argos' owner.

A new owner wouldn't want to be on the hook for Andrus' salary, which reportedly topped all coaches at $475,000 per season. He should have received no more than $250,000, so if his stipend indeed almost doubled that, the Argos' grossly overpaid for his services. And there is still debate over who made the hiring. Was this an ownership move from the get-go, or was it a recommendation by general manager Adam Rita and his assistant, Greg Mohns?

That's the thing about the Andrus firing: it really creates more questions than answers.

Are Rita and Mohns safe? The team has won only seven of 36 games the past two years. In such situations, it wouldn't just be the head coach who is fired.

Andrus finished with a 3-15 record in his first and only season in the Canadian Football League. Heralded as somewhat of an offensive genius after some success in the National Football League as the quarterbacks coach with the Tennessee Titans, he had spent most of this decade as a head coach in NFL Europe.

Many compared Andrus' hiring to Montreal's hiring of Marc Trestman, a veteran assistant in the NFL and U.S. college ranks, in 2008. All Trestman has done is lead the Als to two Grey Cups, winning one. His offensive ideas have taken the Als, and in particular quarterback Anthony Calvillo, to new levels.

Andrus did well in Europe, but he was an absolute bust in Canada. His 3-15 record actually fell one game short of the Argos' disastrous 4-14 record the previous season, which saw Rich Stubler fired after a 4-6 record, followed by Don Matthews, plucked out of retirement. Matthews resigned after the season in which he failed to win in eight games.

So the Argos did an exhaustive search, interviewing candidates north and south of the border, settling on Andrus, who apparently was the leading candidate all along. That said, Mike Benevides, the B.C. Lions' respected defensive co-ordinator, verbally agreed to the job, then got cold feet. Don't expect him to move because he is the heir apparent to Wally Buono in B.C.

So along comes Andrus, promising to install an exciting offence, throwing the ball deep and making use of the CFL's various rules, such as motion to the line. Andrus never put that into play. He personally cost the team at least two games with mental mistakes, alienated some key players, notably receiver Arland Bruce and cornerback Byron Parker, both of whom were traded. It had been widely known that Andrus and quarterback Kerry Joseph didn't see eye to eye. Joseph has failed miserably in two seasons with the Argos after being voted the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in 2007.

Andrus had plans to bring in an offensive co-ordinator and had a prospect in mind from the CFL, but apparently the team decided to pull the plug.

Whomever the Argos hire as head coach, one thing is certain: he will have serious CFL experience.

But here's another scenario to consider. The Argos might not make a move until after Eric Tillman has his sexual assault hearing early in the new year in Regina. During the recent Grey Cup, rumours were rampant that Tillman, the current GM of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, could find himself returning to the Argos. He won a Grey Cup with the Argos as GM in 1997 and returned to the team in 1999. Even if Tillman is found innocent of the summary charge - and he's maintained his innocence in the only public statement he has made about this - the question is whether the Riders' will bring him back. He has guided the team to a Grey Cup win, a Grey Cup finish and its first West Division title since 1976 in 2009. Tillman has a close relationship with Argo president Bob Nicholson, while Tillman met his wife in Toronto. If you really want to speculate on this whole scenario, the Argos might start to do their due diligence for a head coach, but wait until after the Tillman trial to consider a move to bring him to Toronto in some capacity. The trial is not expected to last more than a few days.

But here's a look at the coaching landscape:

George Cortez: Calgary's offensive co-ordinator had an interview with the Argos last year, but backed out when the team wouldn't give him the control he wanted. He might be interested if given more control.

Scott Milanovich: Montreal offensive co-ordinator, quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach, is a bright, young prospect. He has some brief CFL experience as a player, but has really honed his knowledge with Montreal. He lacks proven experience as a head coach, but is an excellent prospect.

Matt Dunigan: Has tons of experience playing in and analyzing the CFL. He had a disastrous trial as a rookie head coach in 2004 with the Calgary Stampeders, winning only four of 18 games (notwithstanding one loss that was directly attributable to a mistake by the referee). Dunigan had way too much control of the operations in a turbulent time in the Stampeders' tenure. It says here he will have learned considerably from the experience and will benefit if surrounded with management to help him in matters such as player acquisition and administration. The hiring of Dunigan, who quarterbacked the Argos to a Grey Cup win in 1991 and is one of the most popular players in team history, would generate excitement. It's really a question of whether the Argos would be interested in him and whether he'd like to try coaching again.

Danny Barrett: Just finished his third season at the University at Buffalo and was recently named interim head coach, replacing one-time CFL player Turner Gill. Barrett has told people he is happy in Buffalo, and it's been suggested he will align himself with the certainty of U.S. college football and the many perks associated with it, notably benefits. Barrett coached for seven seasons in Saskatchewan.

Paul LaPolice: Saskatchewan offensive co-ordinator is another bright, young mind in the CFL. He came into the CFL as part of the staff of John Huard, arguably the worst head coach in Argo history. He was gone after a 1-6-1 record, leading to the hiring of Pinball Clemons, who by the way wants no part of returning to the sidelines. LaPolice is the only member of Huard's staff still actively involved in football in a meaningful way. Lack of head coaching experience is a liability.

Chris Jones: Calgary Stampeders' defensive co-ordinator is another young head-coaching prospect, but lacks experience at this level.

Greg Marshall: Defensive co-ordinator of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats has long been a bridesmaid for head-coaching hirings in the CFL. It's likely now or never.

Damon Allen: CFL legend would like to be a head coach and was interviewed for the job this year and reportedly did well, but lost out in the running to Andrus.