Article content continued

“But, it’s really tough to sell a team when you’re at the bottom of the standings,” Manning said.

That argument doesn’t entirely square with MLSE’s other franchises, as all of the Raptors, Maple Leafs and Toronto FC have experience with bad teams that still did well at the gate. But it is true that the Argonauts have not fielded the kind of consistent winner that would help the team slowly lure fans back to a stadium that offers what should be a pleasant game-day experience.

The team was a dismal 5-13 in its first year at BMO Field, and even the Grey Cup season was an out-of-nowhere experience. The Argos were a middling 7-9 before winning a couple of games to clinch top seed in a weak East, then all of a sudden they were champions. They city didn’t have time to catch Grey Cup fever; it barely managed the Grey Cup mild shivers.

And so, could an Argos team that is consistently competitive improve the off-field side of the business? Three years in at BMO Field, there hasn’t been enough evidence of the former to provide an answer to the latter.

Chamblin, thanks to his recent time here, knows he has some pieces with which to get started. He’s also familiar with most of the coaches left from Trestman’s staff, which was essential since the CFL’s new non-player salary cap meant that cleaning house and bringing in a whole new staff was a non-starter.

But there is also much to do. Chamblin will run the defence, but he will need help on the offensive side of the ball and has not much cap space left to fill those positions. He has two young quarterbacks in James Franklin and McLeod Bethel-Thompson, neither of whom could seize the starting job last season, and veteran Ricky Ray is more likely to retire than return. Chamblin and Popp will have to evaluate their own guys while keeping an eye on the free-agent market at a time when there could be a large crop of available veterans, and uncertainty over a new collective bargaining agreement.

There are, in short, many questions to be answered between now and June. But for the Toronto Argonauts, questions about the future are nothing new.