Music: {allcanada} ARGONAUTS SIGN COACH MILANOVICH TO EXTENSION

Thursday, November 8, 2012

{allcanada} ARGONAUTS SIGN COACH MILANOVICH TO EXTENSION

TORONTO -- It seems Scott Milanovich has made quite an impression on the Toronto Argonauts.

The CFL club has re-signed the rookie head coach to a contract extension less than a year after hiring him.

"We are very excited to get this extension finalized to ensure that Scott Milanovich will be our head coach for the long-term," Argonauts general manager Jim Barker said in a statement. "He is one of the brightest young coaches I've ever been around and he commands respect from the players in the locker room. I know he will prepare this team to be a Grey Cup contender every year. I'm confident he will continue to grow from the experience he's gained this season to become one of the great coaches in the Canadian Football League."

Milanovich joined the Argos after five seasons as an assistant coach with the Montreal Alouettes and promptly led Toronto to a 9-9 record and second spot in the East Division.

Toronto hosts the Edmonton Eskimos in the conference semifinal Sunday, the club's first home playoff contest since 2007.

The extension is certainly a firm commitment by the Argos, who reportedly signed Milanovich to a three-year deal last December to assume coaching duties from Barker.

Barker stepped away from the sidelines to concentrate on being Toronto's full-time GM and one of his first jobs was to hand-pick Milanovich as his successor as head coach.

"I'm glad to extend my time in Toronto and I want to thank Jim Barker and the club for committing to what we've started here," Milanovich said. "Having this kind of endorsement from the organization allows me to continue to work closely with Jim to extend our plans for this football team further into the future. I believe the pieces are in place here to help my staff and me ensure this organization will compete for the Grey Cup year in and year out."

The Argos' decision to grant Milanovich an extension suggests Barker is also staying put with the CFL club despite speculation Eric Tillman, fired last week by Edmonton, would end up in Toronto this off-season.

Barker and Milanovich have long been considered a package deal and it wouldn't make sense for Toronto to commit further to Milanovich, then be on the hook to continue paying him longterm if a GM replacing Barker wanted to hire his own head coach.

Barker still has a year left on his current deal.