Analysis: Former Argos O’Shea, Steinauer should top club’s head-coaching list

TORONTO — With the Toronto Argonauts looking for a head coach, two very familiar names should top general manager Mike (Pinball) Clemons’ wish list.

Clemons’ first moves should be calling the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats for permission to speak to Mike O’Shea and Orlondo Steinauer, respectively. Both are former Argos players who won a Grey Cup playing for then-head coach Clemons in 2004 and again as Toronto assistants in 2012 before blazing their own paths as CFL head coaches.

The Toronto job came open Wednesday when Ryan Dinwiddie left to become the Ottawa Redblacks head coach and GM, joining Calgary’s Dave Dickenson as the only league officials to hold both jobs.

Dinwiddie posted a 51-35 regular-season record over five seasons with Toronto, making the playoffs four times and finishing first in the East Division on three occasions. He led the Argos to Grey Cups in 2022 and ’24.

The ’25 campaign was a different story as the Argos missed the CFL playoffs with a 5-13 record. Still, they finished ahead of Ottawa (CFL-worst 4-14 mark) in the East Division.

Ottawa has made the playoffs just once (2024) since losing to Calgary in the 2018 Grey Cup. Dinwiddie earned his first CFL championship that year as a Stampeders assistant coach.

Consistency has been O’Shea’s legacy in Winnipeg. After missing the playoffs in his first two seasons in charge, the Bombers have not only made nine straight post-season appearances but registered double-digit wins each year, finishing first in the West four times.

The Bombers also played in five straight Grey Cups (2019, 2021-24) — winning the first two — before seeing that championship game run end Saturday in a 42-33 loss to the Montreal Alouettes in the East Division semifinal.

O’Shea has twice been named the CFL’s coach of the year (2021-22). He’s been part of six Grey Cup-winning teams — three as an Argos player, one as a Toronto assistant and two as Winnipeg’s head coach — and was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a player in 2017.

The 55-year-old from North Bay, Ont., spent 16 CFL seasons as a middle linebacker with Hamilton (1993-1995, 2000) and Toronto (1996-99, 2001-08), playing 271 career regular-season games, the most by a linebacker in league history. The former Guelph Gryphon was the league’s top rookie in 1993 and outstanding Canadian in 1999.

O’Shea amassed 1,151 career tackles — second-most in CFL history — and added 169 special-teams tackles with 30 sacks 22 interceptions and 11 fumble recoveries. He was named an All-Time Argo in 2007 and began his coaching career with the franchise in 2010 as special-teams co-ordinator, a post he held until being hired by Winnipeg.

O’Shea and Steinauer were Argos teammates from 2001 to ’08. Coincidentally, Toronto sent O’Shea to Hamilton for Steinauer and Canadian running back Eric Lapointe in 2000, with O’Shea re-signing with the Argos as a free agent in 2001.

Steinauer, a defensive back, began his CFL career in 1996 with Ottawa before joining the Ticats the following year. He became an Argo in 2000 and remained with the club until 2008.

Over his 13-year career, Steinauer was a seven-time East Division all-star and five times a CFL all-star. He won two Grey Cups (1999 with Hamilton, ’04 with Toronto) and ranks second in league history with 1,178 interception return yards.

Steinauer was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a player in 2021.

The 52-year-old Seattle native began his CFL coaching career with Toronto in 2010, serving as defensive backs coach and defensive co-ordinator through the ’12 season. Steinauer became Hamilton’s defensive co-ordinator in 2013 before being named Fresno State’s defensive co-ordinator in 2017.

He returned to Hamilton as assistant head coach to June Jones in 2018 and was promoted to head coach in 2019. Steinauer tied the league record for most wins by a rookie head coach that year (15) as the Ticats reached the Grey Cup, losing 33-12 to O’Shea and the Bombers.

Steinauer spent four seasons as Hamilton’s head coach, posting 39-29 regular-season record. The Ticats made the playoffs each year and returned to the Grey Cup in 2021, dropping a heartbreaking 35-33 overtime decision to Winnipeg at then Tim Hortons Field.

After the ’21 season, Steinauer added president of football operations to his job description. He relinquished coaching duties after the ’23 campaign to concentrate full-time on his front-office duties as the Ticats promoted senior assistant Scott Milanovich to head coach/offensive co-ordinator.

Undoubtedly, there will be other candidates for Clemons to consider and the Argos’ GM isn’t afraid to think outside the box. After all, he hired Dinwiddie in December 2019 despite Dinwiddie having never been a CFL co-ordinator, let alone head coach.

However, given the challenges Toronto faces in 2026 — most notably playing three home games on the road due to the FIFA World Cup — it really doesn’t have the luxury of a coach learning the ropes as he goes along. Hiring one with experience and an understanding of the market will not only quell the organization’s fanbase but give it credibility this off-season with prospective free agents as it looks to rebuild for the future.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2025.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press