Coach Milanovich staying with the Alouettes

Left at the altar again.

For the second straight year the Toronto Argonauts have apparently had their No. 1 candidate for head coach tell them he'd rather be an assistant somewhere else.

Scott Milanovich, whom multiple sources on Saturday reported was offered the chance to run the Double Blue, released a statement on Sunday saying he was staying with the Montreal Alouettes.

In his fourth year as an assistant with the Grey Cup champions, Milanovich for the last three has been the offensive co-ordinator on a club that has dominated the attacking stats in the Canadian Football League.

"We are thrilled with Scott's decision to stay in our family," GM Jim Popp said. "With all the enthusiasm coming from our 2009 championship, we're looking forward to starting the 2010 season."

It was just a year ago that Mike Benevides, defensive co-ordinator of the B.C. Lions, told the Argos thanks, but no thanks, choosing to stay on the West Coast where many believe he'll take over the club when head coach Wally Buono retires.

Instead, the Argos went with long-time National Football League assistant Bart Andrus, who won just three games this past season.

Toronto continues to struggle toward answers for a number of questions, including who will coach the team, whether general manager Adam Rita keeps his job after another horrible year, and most importantly, who will own the club.

George Cortez, offensive genius in Calgary, was also reported to be on Toronto's list, but it appears he may be joining the NFL's Buffalo Bills.

Another name bandied about has been Doug Berry, former head coach with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who also previously had been an offensive co-ordinator with Montreal.