As the 2026 season approaches, CFL.ca is here to catch you up with the 5 Things To Know series. Each article will look at key storylines facing each team this season, while examining off-season movement and where your team might stand in 2026.
The Toronto Argonauts are one of the most intriguing teams heading into 2026.
The Argos went from Grey Cup Champions to a five-win campaign, and we all knew that would come with some major changes over the off-season.
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Then there was major movement within the roster as general manager Michael Clemons and company try to rebuild a roster that can contend in a much stronger East Division with the improvements in Ottawa and All-CFL quarterback play in Montreal and Hamilton.
There is definitely plenty to know ahead of the Argonauts’ 2026 season.
So let’s dig into the five things you need to know about the Toronto Argonauts before CFL Kickoff.
1. NEW BOSS
Mike Miller steps into the head coaching office as Ryan Dinwiddie heads to Ottawa.
What should you expect from Mike Miller as the head coach? How are we to know? Miller has never been a head coach despite a lengthy coaching career that goes from university to the NFL and through the CFL.
But don’t sleep on a veteran coach with little head coaching experience. I’ll reference back to another Miller that I got to cover closely in Saskatchewan. Ken Miller took over for a Grey Cup champion head coach in Saskatchewan as a bit of an underwhelming hire. Many, at the time, questioned how you follow up Kent Austin with a career assistant, but the late Miller proved to be the solid steady head coach they needed. They would appear in back-to-back Grey Cups and start a core group of players that would eventually win the 2013 Grey Cup, two years after Miller’s retirement.
So don’t sleep on Mike Miller being the steady force the Argos need after a tumultuous off-season. He’s got a great resume of working with quarterbacks to career seasons like McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Chad Kelly and Nick Arbuckle.
Miller has seen it all in football so nothing should rattle him. His toughest challenge will be building a culture that can return the Argonauts to their championship ways with a remade roster.
2. THE RETURN OF CHAD
You probably thought I’d start here.
Chad Kelly IS BACK!
After a CFL Most Outstanding Player Award it has been a rough ride for Kelly. There has been a suspension and significant injury, so Chad Kelly has missed more games than played over the last two seasons, including all of 2025.
But now Toronto has their franchise quarterback behind centre this season. I do believe it’s a legitimate question to ponder what Kelly is going to look like after that serious leg injury and all the time away from football.
He’ll still be able to make the throws, but will he be able to move around and extend plays, which was a big part of his brilliance three seasons ago?
There is a tonne of pressure on Chad Kelly to perform. All eyes will be focused on him to help lift this team back to relevance in 2026.
3. OLD FRIENDS FOR A NEW HOPE
I’m going off the field again with the people working with Michael Clemons to rebuild the Argonauts.
In come John Hufnagel and Jim Barker.
Hufnagel was the architect of the Calgary Stampeders near dynasty from 2008 through 2019. Hufnagel brought in so much talent and if you look at the coaching staffs around the CFL, you might notice a few Calgary Stampeder connections; Dave Dickenson, Corey Mace, Ryan Dinwiddie and Mark Kilam were all under the tutelage of Huf in Calgary and three of the four have Grey Cup championships as head coaches, while Kilam enters just his second season in Edmonton.
Jim Barker has won five Grey Cups as a coach or in football operations and will bring another level of expertise on team building for this Argonauts group.
Pinball Clemons knows one thing about winning. It’s more about the people around you than it is about yourself on any team, so he’s made sure he’s surrounding himself with championship people to help guide Toronto into a new era with Mike Miller on the sideline.
4. REBUILT LINEBACKERS
DENIED!
Adarius Pickett holds things down with a big time sack!#CFLGameday
📅: Blue Bombers vs. @REDBLACKS LIVE NOW
🇨🇦: TSN, CTV, RDS
🌎: CFL+ pic.twitter.com/JeIJNr0Qj1— CFL (@CFL) September 20, 2025
Wynton McManis is gone to Hamilton, which will be hard to watch for those who loved watching him wear the Double Blue, but the team made sure Cameron Judge got some help in the linebacking corps.
Adarius Pickett and Robert Priester return to Toronto after a visit to Ottawa, as they’ll be battling for playing time at coverage linebacker but will also have versatility to line up in multiple areas.
The bonus for the Argonauts is Isaac Darkangelo has played considerable snaps due to injuries and piled up 60 tackles last season and continued his aggressive play with 22 special teams tackles. Darkangelo has the nose to find ball carriers. He also forced four fumbles in 2025, so he’ll have a chance to shine without McManis in front of him on the depth chart.
This group does need to be better as they were the second-worst run defence in the league as too many teams were able to run on the Argos.
5. RUN THE ROCK!
If you look at one part of this roster at training camp, you notice it is a wide open competition to find offensive linemen to best protect Chad Kelly and open up holes in the run game.
The Argos averaged just 51.6 yards per game in rushing. That’s over 30 yards per game lower than the next lowest. That was just not good enough.
So, in come some new blood to push the veterans.
I’m most intrigued by the impact Dakoda Shepley will have for this offensive line. The 31-year-old was the fifth overall selection of the Roughriders in 2018. He played one year for the Riders and was the team’s nominee for Most Outstanding Rookie and then it was off to the NFL for the next six seasons. He didn’t get to play a lot but was going up against some tough talent to stick for that long down south.
He’ll bolster the interior of the line and then on the outside they have brought in numerous tackles to improve the group.
This all comes at a time during an open competition at running back for the Argonauts. They’ve already released the incumbent Spencer Brown, so they’ll have a new running back to showcase and need to find a new star to help ease the pressure we’ve already discussed on Chad Kelly.
