First-year CFL head coaches Hufnagel, Trestman to meet in Grey Cup
Published Wednesday November 19th, 2008
MONTREAL - Clothes might make the man, but Marc Trestman and John Hufnagel proved Wednesday they don't always offer a glimpse into what makes them tick.
The two arrived at the Grey Cup coaches news conference at opposite ends of the fashion scale. Trestman, the Montreal Alouettes' head man, came in sporting a smart suit and tie while Hufnagel, the Calgary Stampeders' head coach and GM, was casually attired in sneakers, jeans and a sport coat.
But all that shows about the two coaches, whose teams meet in the Grey Cup on Sunday (6 p.m. ET) at Olympic Stadium, is one actually takes his spouse's fashion tips to heart.
"What it says is I don't listen to my wife," said Hufnagel, drawing laughter from the amassed media.
"And it says I do listen to my wife," countered Trestman. "And that's really the only difference.
"It's the only suit I own and is the second time I've worn it. It's not how you feel, it's how you look, right?"
However, there is a huge similarity between the two coaches. They've both led their teams to a Grey Cup berth in their first seasons as a CFL head coach.
Hufnagel led the Stampeders to a league-best 13-5 record and top spot in the West Division. Montreal, meanwhile, finished with an 11-7 record and atop the East Division under Trestman.
Montreal will attempt to become the first team since the '94 B.C. Lions to capture the Grey Cup as the host city. Calgary, on the other hand, is looking for its first CFL title since '01 when it beat Winnipeg at Olympic Stadium.
Hufnagel, 57, might be in his first season running the show in Calgary but he's a veteran of the CFL. He played 12 seasons in Canada (1976-1987) with Calgary, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg before serving as the Stampeders' offensive co-ordinator (1990-96). After serving two seasons as the head coach and GM in the Arena Football League, Hufnagel spent seven seasons as an assistant coach in the NFL with Cleveland, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, New England and the New York Giants before returning to Alberta following the '07 season.
The one constant throughout Hufnagel's coaching career has been his ability to communicate and work with some of pro football's best quarterbacks. He had Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia in Calgary, worked with Peyton Manning at Indianapolis, earned a Super Bowl ring with Tom Brady in New England in '03 and from '04-'06 played a role in Eli Manning's development as the Giants offensive co-ordinator. Even this year, Stampeders starter Henry Burris established career highs in passing yards (5,094) and touchdowns (39) under Hufnagel.
And Hufnagel is allowing his players to have fun this week, saying he won't be implementing a curfew until Friday night.
"One of the hurdles our team was able to overcome this year was the ability to win on the road," Hufnagel said, pointing to Calgary's league-best 6-3 road record this year. "They would have those same temptations during the regular season.
"I think with the importance of this football game they truly understand what's at stake, what they've worked so hard to try to attain. I'm allowing them to relax and have a few days where there will be no restrictions but come Friday and Saturday we'll have restrictions . . . and try to be at our best Sunday."
But if there's a knock against Hufnagel it's that he doesn't possess the gift of the gab. It's not that he doesn't make himself accessible or is difficult to work with, actually, quite the opposite. However, in his dealings with reporters Hufnagel comes off being very vanilla - or plain - and seems to be either reluctant or uncomfortable with revealing a side of his personality.
An example of that came when both coaches were asked the time-honoured question of whether they'd allow their players to engage in sex prior to the Grey Cup.
"What's your name," Hufnagel said to the reporter asking the question. "I'm too busy."
Trestman, on the other hand, embraced the moment.
"I've talked to our players specifically about that," Trestman said. "We always tell our players to have their plan for the week and we'll allow them to use their discretion in that manner.
"I've told the coaches the same thing."
It just added to Trestman's growing reputation of being a very cerebral and genuine individual.
On Wednesday, he talked about early in his coaching career feeling players were nothing more than chess pieces to be used in order to win football games and how recently he has taken the time to get to know them more as people and allow himself to care about their lives, on and off the field.
"I spent a lot of years not really thinking about anything but how we can get them (players) to the right place instead of thinking of them as people," Trestman said. "Over the last six or seven years, things have changed and I want to know more about the guys, I want to know where they're from, I want to be more involved in their lives. I just think winning goes much deeper than Xs and Os.
"But the process of getting to know the people and what they're about and building a locker-room with the right kind of guys and the right kind of character . . . and getting to know what these guys are all about has certainly helped the process."
While Calgary's decision to hire Hufnagel was met with much acceptance and praise throughout the CFL, the Alouettes certainly raised eyebrows with the appointment of Trestman, who had spent time coaching with eight NFL teams over 17 years, including four terms as an offensive co-ordinator, and came to Montreal with no previous coaching experience in Canada.
But Trestman, 52, who does possess a law degree, proved to be a quick study.
He designed a quick-release offence that veteran Anthony Calvillo has worked to near-perfection this season in being named the East Division's outstanding player nominee. Montreal lead the CFL this year in scoring (32.4 points per game), total yards (429 per game) and was second in passing yards (324).
And now, a year after Montreal posted a dismal 8-10 record and bowed out of the first round of the CFL playoffs, it finds itself playing in is sixth Grey Cup game in nine years but looking for just its second victory.
"I didn't go into the season with any expectations," Trestman said. "I had the opportunity to look at tape of our football team and I told the team at the first meeting that I didn't think there needed to be a major overhaul, just some tweaking and some things around the edges."
But both agree that as head coaches they had to broaden their outlook in their new jobs.
"The biggest difference was when I was an offensive co-ordinator or position coach was that you're primarily focused on what you need to do to get players at your position ready to play," Hufnagel said. "As a coach and GM, obviously your responsibilities are grander and I relish that."
Added Trestman: "It's football but it's more about people, I think, when you stand in these shoes. You're really in the people business and need to get to know the people to be able to operate within the framework of football and that's been the most fun part, that added level of responsibility of managing people."
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