SportsCage analyst Glen Suitor previously evaluated the West Division coaching staffs in the CFL, now he turns to the East Division, starting with the Montreal Alouettes.

“Davis Alexander, of course, is the key to that, and he and Jason Maas are tight, they think the same way. Noel Thorpe still creates, I think, the most confusing defensive looks for any team in the league,” Suitor said on The SportsCage.

“Corey Mace has a different philosophy. Noel Thorpe, his show blitz, who’s coming, who’s not coming, who’s gonna blitz, who’s not blitzing, why are they lined up in that abstract one-on-one D or two defensive lineman formation? There are all these kinds of different looks that give even veteran quarterbacks some trouble.”

In 2025, the Als finished second in the East with a 10-8 record. Montreal defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 42-33 in the East Semi-Final, then beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 19-16 in the East Final, but lost the Saskatchewan Roughriders 25-17 in the 112th Grey Cup.

Moving to Hamilton, Suitor stuck with the theme regarding quarterbacks and complemented the chemistry between head coach Scott Milanovich and quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell.

“Last year, it was teaching an old dog some new tricks with Bo Levi Mitchell. Over the last couple of years, that has taken a little bit of time to execute. It’s done, now we saw Bo back at his peak midway through last year and in the back half of the season. I thought Bo was right back in rhythm, exactly the way we saw him in Calgary during his best years,” Suitor said.

“That took some time, though, for Scott Milanovich to make that happen and to sort of fight through Bo. I won’t say fighting back, but it’s hard to get out of some of your old habits when you’ve been doing it for a long, long time. That’s all gone now, they’re on the same page, they look great. They always look great out there, so they should have an advantage.”

Mitchell played 18 regular season games for the Ticats in 2025, he threw for 5,296 yards and a career-high 36 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. His previous single-season best for passing touchdowns came in 2018 with the Stampeders when he recorded 35. Hamilton finished first in the East with an 11-7 record, but were defeated by the Alouettes in the East Final 19-16.

The next team Suitor wanted to discuss was the Toronto Argonauts, led by new head coach Mike Miller.

“In Toronto, Mike Miller was there as a quarterback coach with a great relationship with [Chad] Kelly. Now there’s a different quarterback coach Chris Miller, who is no relation to Mike. They have worked together before, they worked together in the NFL with Arizona,” Suitor recalled.

“You’re gonna have a new quarterback coach. Mike Miller’s new job as the head coach might be at times to make the decision that if Chad Kelly is having issues throwing picks, doesn’t look completely healthy physically, does he have to pull him? The quarterback coach is sort of always in the quarterbacks’ camp and making the argument in the coaches’ room with the head coach that either this guy should stay on the field, or it’s time to make a change and hat role has now changed.”

Toronto did not make the playoffs last season and finished 5-13. In the off-season, the Argonauts previous head coach Ryan Dinwiddie, accepted a general manager and head coach position with the Ottawa Redblacks. Dinwiddie is a former CFL quarterback and Suitor wonders how that will help him for the upcoming season with the Redblacks.

“Who’s gonna be the quarterback of that team? And what does Ryan Dinwiddie go in and do with that position? He’s a former quarterback, he understands the dynamic. He understands the sensibility with the position and is going to take Dru Brown to the next level. Is he gonna be the next guy? Which we’ve been saying for a couple of years, but potential only gets you so far.” Suitor detailed.

“Some coaches will tell you it can get you fired when you believe a guy can be the guy, he doesn’t turn out that way, and hold on. I’m super intrigued with Ottawa and what Ryan can do. I remember he’s not been a head coach for all that long, it’s been what five or six years? And two of the last four, he put Grey Cup rings (2022 and 2024) on his finger and led that team to championships, so he knows the formula for lots of changes.”

Ottawa finished last in the East Division with a 4-14 record last year, so in the off-season, the Redblacks let go of their previous head coach, Bob Dyce and brought in Dinwiddie.