Tuesday, August 22, 2000

Argos coach has to leave

By JIM HUNT

Some Tuesday morning musings on some of the things that amuse, confuse and even amaze a fellow in the wonderful world of fun and games. ARGOS SHOULD BE SO LUCKY: Now that Greg Mohns has bailed out on the B.C. Lions to go to the XFL, could John Huard be far behind?

Huard is kooky enough that he would be a perfect fit for the wrestlers' league. He has been a disaster as Argos coach and there's little reason to think he will get better. There are only three people in town who think Huard belongs as Argos coach: Huard himself, J.I. Albrecht, who hired him, and team owner Sherwood Schwarz. Albrecht is a stubborn coot who seldom will admit he's wrong. So he's not about to fire Huard unless ordered to do so by Schwarz. The owner might get the message if the Argos draw another crowd of 10,000 or so Thursday night when the Lions come to town with a new coach, Steve Buratto.

If the Argos can't win this one then Huard has to be toast. Lew Hayman, who coached both the Argos and Montreal Alouettes to Grey Cups, is one of the smartest football men I've ever known. He claimed that you could tell if a football team was ready to play by the way its special teams performed. The Argos have had four kicks blocked in their past two games, which is a sign of a badly coached team.

The luckiest guy in town is Paul Masotti, who retired. Huard coached him at Acadia. Maybe he knew something. Too bad Pinball Clemons wasn't as lucky.