Andrus tapped to coach in CFL
Bart Andrus, of Bigfork, has taken the position of head coach of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football league after spending the past NFL season as an offensive assistant coach for the Tennessee Titans.
“I’m excited about it,” Andrus said. “It’s a new adventure for me. I’ve never coached in the CFL before. They have some different rules and the game is a little different. I’m looking forward to it.”
The biggest differences between the CFL and the NFL are that the game is played with 12 men on the field rather than 11, the field is larger in Canada and they have three downs per possession rather than four.
“Learning how to apply what I do to their version of the game will take some work to get used to, but I’m confident that I will be able to do it,” Andrus said.
Now 50 years old, the former University of Montana quarterback has been coaching for 25 years. He was the Montana State University offensive coordinator from 1990 to 1991. In 1996 he was the head coach of the Rocky Mountain College team where he was honored with the NAIA coach of the year award. He left the Billings college to serve as the Titans’ quarterbacks coach for his first stint with the team from 1997 through the 1999 season, when Tennessee played in the Super Bowl. From 2001 to 2007 he was the head coach of the Amsterdam Admirals in NFL Europe, which no longer exists. The Admirals won a World Bowl championship in 2005 and took second in 2006. He was named NFL Europe’s coach of the year in 2005.
Part of Andrus’ excitement about his new position comes from his new team’s history. At 136 years old, the Toronto team is the oldest professional team in North America and he will be the 40th head coach in club history.
“I’m going into a franchise that is so rich in history,” Andrus said. “I’m honored to get to be their head coach.”
The Argonauts’ owners originally approached Andrus about the position in November. After a few meetings he said everything just seemed to fit.
“I decided that I would rather be a head coach,” Andrus said about his choice to leave his position as offensive assistant coach for the Titans. “There are 40 head coaches between the CFL and NFL so these opportunities don’t come along very often. I’m really happy that it worked out. I’m really looking forward to it.”
The new coach will be inheriting a few problems, as the Argos finished with a 4-14 record last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001. He will be taking over for Don Matthews, the CFL’s winningest head coach, who resigned after acquiring an 0-8 record since replacing Rich Stubler as coach in September
“It leaves a lot of room for improvement,” Andrus said. “Really the only direction to go is up. Our goal is to get them to where they’re in every game and making regular playoff appearances.”
Andrus and his wife Karen plan on keeping their home in Bigfork, as they have done while he coached elsewhere. They have a son, Travis, who is a senior football standout at Flathead High School. The couple’s daughter, Brooke, was a standout runner for Bigfork High School, and now runs for the University of Montana.
Although training camp doesn’t start until the first week of June, Andrus is already splitting his time between the U.S. and Toronto as he works on building his coaching staff. The CFL’s season runs from July to October and playoffs are held in November.
Despite having not participated in the CFL, Andrus is familiar with the league. He said that as a coach he watches as much football, of any kind, that he can get his eyes on. This has included the CFL, especially as Americans get drafted onto the league, like former UM quarterback Dave Dickenson.
“I’ve always been interested in that league and been supportive of the league,” Andrus said. “I’m supportive of any professional league and want to see them succeed because it gives coaches and players more places to go.”