RICHIE HALL TO ARGOS ??

Richie Hall the perfect candidate for the Argos
Rob Vanstone, The Leader-PostPublished: Thursday, November 27, 2008
The 2008 Toronto Argonauts were the CFL's runaway leaders in coaching chaos.
The abbreviated head-coaching tenures of Rich Stubler and Don Matthews were disasters. But what else should people expect from a team that in 2005 fired Kent Austin as offensive co-ordinator.
However, the Argos have a chance to atone for past gaffes by making an inspired choice. Opportunity knocked for all parties Tuesday when Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall was interviewed for the Argonauts' head-coaching position.

The Argonauts reportedly intend to interview 15 to 20 candidates to replace Don Matthews, who replaced Stubler, who succeeded Michael (Pinball) Clemons, who fired Austin.
According to Sportsnet's Perry Lefko, Hall is among a slate that includes (inhale) former New York Giants head coach Jim Fassel, erstwhile Roughriders bench boss Danny Barrett (who is now an assistant coach at the University of Buffalo), Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach Tom Clements, legendary quarterbacks Doug Flutie and Damon Allen, Fresno State offensive co-ordinator Doug Nussmeier, Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall and CFL warhorse Dave Ritchie (exhale).
The Argos can shop around all they want, but they will not find a better candidate -- or a better person -- than Hall.
Consider the classy manner in which Hall punctuated Tuesday's meeting with the Argos' brass -- general manager Adam Rita, assistant GM and director of player personnel Greg Mohns, director of Canadian scouting Nick Volpe and player personnel assistant Miles Gorrell.
"What I told them when I left was, 'Regardless of what happens from here on out, thank you for the opportunity, and it was an enjoyable experience,' " Hall said Wednesday at Mosaic Stadium.
Hall knows the routine. This is the sixth time in four years that he has been considered for a head-coaching position.
"Six?'' he said with a laugh. "Has it been six?''
1. The Edmonton Eskimos interviewed Hall after the 2004 season before hiring Danny Maciocia.
2. Hall was also interviewed by Winnipeg three years ago before Doug Berry was appointed. Berry was recently axed.
3. The Montreal Alouettes chose Marc Trestman last December after interviewing a list of candidates that included Hall.
4. Hall was on the Roughriders' short list before Austin was named the head coach in December of 2006. Austin received CFL coach-of-the-year honours after guiding Saskatchewan to the 2007 Grey Cup title.
5. Roughriders GM Eric Tillman also considered Hall after Austin left in January to become the offensive co-ordinator at the University of Mississippi.
6. Now the Argonauts are interested.
"Whether I get it or don't get it, the sun's still going to come up tomorrow and I'm still going to have a smile on my face,'' the perpetually pleasant Hall said. "Yeah, you experience disappointment, but life goes on. I guess it's a perspective that we have about things.''
Hall is blessed with a refreshing perspective. Too many football coaches are militaristic and paranoid. Hall is militaristic only in the sense that his father used to serve in the U.S. Air Force.

Any interview with Hall -- be it with the media or with a prospective employer -- quickly branches off into a conversation. He has that way with people, much like Clemons (who left the sidelines to become the Argos' CEO).
But football is not charm school. That is especially true on the defensive side of the ball, where an attack mentality is a prerequisite. Hall's congenial nature has not prevented him from masterminding one of the CFL's elite defences for a number of years.
What more does he have to do?

If anyone has earned a shot at a CFL head-coaching job, while possessed with the requisite attributes for prosperity in that role, it is Richie Hall.
"I'd love the opportunity to be a head coach,'' Hall said. "Do I feel that my career's not validated? No. If it happens, it's great. If it doesn't happen, it's good. That's the approach that I take. Maybe that's my defence mechanism to handle disappointment if it's still to come, but that's life.''