YORKTON - When it comes to the Canadian Football League, few have had the career of Anthony Calvillo.
While not having the most notable start in Las Vegas and Hamilton, the quarterback found his footing after arriving in Montreal in 1998.
Calvillo would go on to spend 20-years in the game, 16 with the Als, retiring as the CFL’s all-time passing leader with 79,816 yards. In Montreal he won three Grey Cups (2002, 2009, 2010), and he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
Now, Calvillo is back in the CFL with the Alouettes, having been named the team’s quarterback coach. He returns to the Montreal staff after having been on the staff from 2015 to 2017.
Calvillo has been with the Universite de Montreal Carabins, in a sense readying himself for a return to the pro ranks.
The long-time CFL star said his experience with the Carabins was an opportunity to grow as a coach.
“The thing that stands out for me ... is growing as a person,” said Calvillo in a recent interview.
It was a case of learning as a coach how “to get the best out of the athletes,” he said, adding that is often a case of being “a little bit more positive,” and taking the time to “listen to the player. To listen to what they are saying, to really absorb it.”
The experience of the player you are dealing with also impacts the approach you need to take reasoned Calvillo.
With the Carabins, Calvillo had Dimitri Morand was a veteran pivot.
“You could ask a little bit more out of him,” he said
By comparison Jonathon Senecal was young and just starting in the college ranks, you had to make sure what you asked of him didn’t overwhelm him as he learned the game at that level.
“The challenge was to try not to put too much on the plate,” said Calvillo.
There was also the self-recognition that just because Calvillo – with 20 years of pro experience might have done things with ease, not every quarterback he coaches has that experience or skill set.
“I think that’s a challenge every athlete has as they go from player to coaching,” said Calvillo, adding it is up to him to learn how to best communicate what he is trying to impart as a coach.
“In my mind it might seem very easy, very simple, but to the player it might not be easy,” he said, adding as he stepped into coaching “I’d get frustrated.”
But now, several years removed from throwing passes himself, and with experience growing on the sidelines he has learned patience.
“I’ve taken a step back to understand better where the athlete is,” he said, starting with the realization they will not have 20-years experience under their belt to draw upon.
“It’s OK to still have lots to learn,” he said, adding that is for himself as a coach and the players to remember. “That’s part of the process.”
Of course Calvillo’s resume as a player has its benefits now that he is coaching, starting with understanding the role of the quarterbacks he will work with.
“I can see the game through the eyes of my quarterbacks, to see what levels he’s at,” said Calvillo.
In Montreal that will mean seeing play through the eyes of Vernon Adams Jr. who was a CFL East All-Star in 2019 when he threw for 3,942 yards and 24 touchdowns. He played just eight games in 2021 due to injury.
“There is some history there,” noted Calvillo who was on the staff previously when Adams was too, as was the case with Matthew Shiltz too.
Quinten Dormady and Shea Patterson are on the Al’s depth chart too.
Calvillo said he has talked to three of the four already, and sees a busy time of meetings and reviewing film on the quarterbacks ahead of the start of CFL training camps.
Meetings will include those with head coach Khari Jones, himself a former QB.
“That’s going to be part of the process,” he said.
Calvillo said as head coach Jones will “set the tone” for the team and generally plan the offence. It will be his job to work with the quarterbacks on “how can we make it work.”
While not rushing things, Calvillo does hope the new position with the Als is a stepping stone.
“I want to continue to move up the (coaching) ranks,” he said, but quickly added, “Everything has to be earned.”
While he may hold greater aspirations on the future he said at present he is focused on one thing, making sure Montreal’s quarterbacks “play at a high level and help our football team win.”
