When he pulled up to the border on the way to Nashville for league meetings the other day, the guard asked him what he did for a living.
When you’ve been called “Coach O” by everyone for so long, the answer is almost automatic. His job has been baked into his name. But his role changed after last season from coaching and president of football operations to merely the latter.
So how did he respond?
“I said, ‘Coach,’” Orlondo Steinauer says.
Old habits …
Either way, it was his new position that generated a splash of attention around here last week with the reworking of quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell’s contract that according to various sources (including TSN and 3DownNation) had been upwards of $500,000 a year but will now be worth roughly half that plus bonuses. Sounds like a big deal.
Is isn’t, Steinauer says.
“It’s not out of the norm at all,” he says.
This kind of thing happens commonly in the CFL, he explains. Yes, Mitchell is a big name and a big ticket, but this isn’t unusual. There are examples every year because of the salary cap. There’s really nothing to see here.
Whether that’s the case or not, it ultimately doesn’t matter. What matters is what this means. So let’s skip past that debate to the various reasons Ticats’ fans should feel good about this development.
The big one, of course, is money. In a salary cap world, every dollar a team has available to spend is important. Whether this goes to a free agent or simply to raises for players the team may now be able to retain, it’s helpful.
The Ticats were 0-8 against divisional rivals Montreal and Toronto last season. That’s a chasm that needs to be bridged to find success in 2024, but one that won’t be if you’re losing good players rather than adding them.
It especially doesn’t happen if you’re thin at quarterback.
Teams that hope to make noise in this league almost always need at least two QBs during the course of a season. Two good quarterbacks. Sometimes three.
No, Mitchell wasn’t great last year but he really didn’t have much chance to be. Two lengthy stints in the infirmary could only leave people wondering what if. Indeed, the fact that it’s been a few years since his last great season is largely the result of injuries.
Still, at 33 he isn’t an antique. He’ll surely get the chance to compete for the starting job and will be the favourite to earn that spot. If he can stay healthy — which would allow him to play consistently and presumably find some rhythm — maybe he can recapture the old magic. Or something close.
That’s what everyone hoped when he was lured here last off-season. And now can hope again. If that happens, the black and gold could be in a terrific spot at the most important position on the field.
Of course, there was some question a few weeks ago about whether he’d even want to return. You may recall things sounded a little ominous after Mitchell failed to start in the Ticats’ lone playoff game and was only inserted when it was too late to make a difference.
“Obviously, it’s fresh right now, (but) if you’re not playing your highest-paid player on this team in a playoff game, I don’t foresee myself being here,” he told TSN in the immediate aftermath.
Steinauer refuses to accept any credit for smoothing the waters after that expression of frustration. Because it just wasn’t a big problem, he says. It was a comment in the heat of the moment. There are no hard feelings.
“We spoke for half an hour the next day,” he says. “Everything’s fine.”
Even so, it says something about Steinauer’s rapport with his players that this blew over as quickly as it did. If a guy in his position wasn’t liked or respected, this could’ve become an issue. You have to give him credit for building relationships that can weather these bumps.
Frankly, it also says something about Mitchell that he’s willing to let that go — as well as probably swallowing a little pride — and restructure his deal.
With two Grey Cups, two Grey Cup most outstanding player nods, two CFL MVP honours and a collection of league records on his mantle, his resume already earns him respect in the locker room. Showing this kind of humility should only bolster that.
Of course, for any of all this to matter, that freed-up money has to be spent wisely and Mitchell has to contribute in 2024. But as a launching point for the year, it’s positive.
In the meantime, what will people call Steinauer now that he’s concentrating wholly on this kind of thing and not coaching? “Coach O” has just rolled off the tongue for so many people for so long.
“They’ll probably still call me Coach O,” he says.
Old habits.
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