Jason Maas returns to where his CFL success began in Edmonton
Eskimos looking to repeat as Grey Cup champions with new coach
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 last December to replace Chris Jones, who left to become the Saskatchewan Roughriders' head coach and general manager. 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 teams that won the Grey Cup.
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 in 2009-10 and just the second since the Toronto Argonauts did so in 1996-97.
New home for Argos
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 spending seasons at the domed Rogers Centre.
BMO Field will also stage the Grey Cup game on Nov. 27. The Argos won the last CFL championship held in Toronto at the 100th Grey Cup in 2012.
Elsewhere in the CFL, there are many new faces in the coaching ranks.
In Saskatchewan, Jones is dealing with a rebuilding Riders team coming off a league-worst 3-15 record.
Dave Dickenson took over as Calgary's head coach when John Hufnagel stepped down after eight seasons to concentrate on his duties as general manager. Hufnagel later added the president's title to his resume.
Buono back coaching
In B.C., general manager Wally Buono returns to the sidelines for the first time since leading the Lions to the 2011 Grey Cup title.
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."
The sideline turnover leaves Toronto's Scott Milanovich, entering fifth CFL season, as the league's longest-tenured head coach.
