Jim Barker is not about to name his starting quarterback just yet.
Ask him again in about 10 days when the dust has settled under centre at the conclusion of rookie camp and the Argonauts head coach should have a better idea.
The competition for the job got a little more intriguing on Wednesday afternoon when the Argos announced the signing of former NFLer Ken Dorsey, who most recently played for the Cleveland Browns in 2008.
Dorsey will compete with two other former NFL quarterbacks in Gibran Hamdan and Cleo Lemon, as well as Dalton Bell, who was acquired from the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and former Canadian collegian Danny Brannagan.
One of them will emerge as the No. 1 guy, as Barker doesn’t intend to start on July 1 in Calgary against the Stampeders with questions about who will take the initial snap.
“Any coach would prefer to have one step forward and take control of the team, and everybody lives happily ever after,” Barker said during a conference call. “We’ve worked them all out extensively and we have a very good idea of where they are and how they pick things up.
“When you’ve won seven games in two years it’s important to change the culture ... Bringing five quarterbacks to camp is the right thing to do.”
Most will stroke Brannagan off the list of serious contenders before all five men hit the gridiron next Wednesday for the first day of rookie camp. After all, Canadian quarterbacks and the Canadian Football League go together like Daniel Carcillo and sportsmanship.
But Barker maintained that Brannagan’s signing was not a publicity stunt. Given the short training camp, with just two pre-season games, Barker couldn’t afford to bring Brannagan in just for the heck of it.
“We signed Danny Brannagan to be a quarterback, not a Canadian quarterback,” Barker said.
“He is going to have to earn snaps. Nobody will be given snaps based on nationality.
“There is no agenda. We felt he could come in and compete, and there is nothing more to it than that.”
Well, don’t hold your breath. The odds are good that one of Hamdan, Lemon or Dorsey will be trotting on to the field in Calgary in five weeks.
Why didn’t Barker try to bring in one quarterback who had some measure CFL experience?
“I didn’t feel there was a (healthy) CFL guy who had proven he could take a team to the Grey Cup,” Barker said.
“It’s kind of fun to take guys from Square 1 and teach them the game.
“It’s a great challenge.”
Each prospective starting quarterback knows what will be expected of him.
“I haven’t coached (since 2003) but I can tell you we will have an offence based on getting the ball out and stretching the field,” Barker said, using words that must seem foreign to hardcore Argos fans. “We expect our quarterbacks to evolve through the year.”
In a sense, Barker has walked to a ledge and has no idea what he will see when he peers over. Will the Argos climb back to respectability with a revamped offence that also will include star receiver Jeremaine Copeland?
Or will they continue to sputter and miss the playoffs for the third year in a row, something that has not happened since the Argos were playoffs spectators from 1979-81?
Barker refused to say what specific goal he has in mind, whether it’s to win six games or get back to .500 or reach the playoffs.
“The realistic goal and what we expect is to compete to win every game,” Barker said.
“We expect to be able to compete each week. “I don’t worry about things like (how long it will take his offence to gel). I prepare them, and come July 1, there will be no excuses.”
