Sometimes what you think is obvious, isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
When newly appointed Toronto Argonauts head coach Mike Miller named Greg Quick as his defensive coordinator and linebackers coach earlier month, the immediate thought was that these two CFL veteran coaches had been friends for years, had been on the same staff before, or quite often travelled in the same circles.<\/p>\n
Nope.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe extent of our relationship was a handshake once or twice at the 55-yard line,\u201d Quick told Argonauts.ca. \u201cReally, the first conversation we had was in the interview process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller has spoken about how much respect he has for not only Quick, but for Montreal\u2019s defence \u2013 where Quick has been the linebackers coach for the last five years \u2013 noting how well prepared the Alouettes always are. Miller has also expressed the respect he has for Quick; something not lost on the new Argo DC.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s humbling, it really is,\u201d said Quick, before explaining how surprised he was to have been contacted. \u201cDanny Maciocia and Jason Maas (Montreal\u2019s general manager and head coach respectively) are two of my dearest colleagues. I had just signed, in mid-December, a new two-year contract and was very pleased. I was working with (defensive coordinator) Noel Thorpe on the 2026 season and was ready to move forward. I got a text from Danny saying that Toronto had requested permission to speak and I should be hearing something soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot long after that I got a call from Mike and we had subsequent conversations over the next couple of days.\u201d<\/p>\n
It marks the third time in Toronto for the Cleveland native, who coached Argo linebackers in 2010-11, and again in 2018. Despite three stops in Montreal and another in Saskatchewan, Quick feels like Toronto is his CFL home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel comfortable here,\u201d said Miller. \u201cI understand the history. I understand the expectations that come with the traditions of the Argonauts and the banners that hang at BMO Field. I have a great respect for that, so I feel a great sense of responsibility not only to the city of Toronto, but to Mike Miller, Pinball (Argos general manager Michael Clemons), and the whole organization to put an elite defence on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s perhaps where reality will start to sink in.<\/p>\n
The 2025 Argonaut defence was decimated by free agency departure to both the CFL and NFL. The group never found its collective groove, ranking at or near the bottom of the league in several categories, including last in yards against per play (7.1) and offensive points against per game (28.8).<\/p>\n
Quick is not pessimistic about the group he has now, knowing even more talent will be added before the team opens training camp in Guelph, just under four months from now. He also doesn\u2019t see one area of the defence that needs to improve significantly more than any other.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not like it\u2019s a broken toy ready to be cast aside, I have great respect for the men that are coming back,\u201d explained the coach, before switching metaphors. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s how the ingredients are put in. You can put the same ingredients into a recipe, but if they\u2019re not put in at the right time, or cooked at the right heat, or stirred at the right time, it doesn\u2019t come out exactly the way you want it to.\u201d<\/p>\n
But now the head chef has to properly put the ingredients together and hope it turns out closer to five-star dining than one of those weird concoctions you\u2019d see served at the CNE.<\/p>\n
He certainly knows what he wants the result to look like.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to be smart, fast, and physical. There has to be competitive intelligence. We want to be known that way, that we understand the game, we understand the strategy of the game. What we want; we find speed, change of directions, dynamic movement, is not negotiable. And we need to play with a great passion, which is exemplified in our physicality. We are in the entertainment business, and we need to entertain the people in The 6ix.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quick likes being the underdog, which the Argos undoubtedly will be heading into the season. It\u2019s a role he\u2019s enjoyed in the past, with a recent season in Montreal providing the best example.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2023 we were picked to be ninth in the league,\u201d recalled Quick. \u201cA new owner, nobody gave us a shot, and we won the Grey Cup. My wife and I recently renovated a 150-year-old home, so our life both professionally and personally has been around restoration. We\u2019re going to restore this house and pay homage to the tradition of Argonaut football.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sometimes what you think is obvious, isn\u2019t. When newly appointed Toronto Argonauts head coach Mike Miller named Greg…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":439831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-439830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}