SportsCage and TSN analyst Glen Suitor does not like the lack of urgency in the CFL's search for its next commissioner.
"I keep working on this, and I keep coming up with a big fat zero," Suitor explained on The SportsCage. "I hate to admit that because it seems so quiet."
Current CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie announced in late October that he would retire in 2025, but he will stay on until the board of governors can find a replacement. Ambrosie started his tenure in July 2017 when he took over for Jeffrey Orridge.
An important offseason event for the CFL is the league's annual combine, which starts on March 21 and continues through March 23rd in Regina.
"This is where I think the CFL really needs to be stepping up from the league office and promote the combine. Not just for the people in Regina that will actually be able to go and see it, but promoting it from a young prospects angle -- let's get those names out there," Suitor said. "Let's get them on talk radio and everything else so that we can start talking about the future stars. We do a really good job of it in this country in hockey."
One testing drill Suitor would like to change in the combine is the 40-yard dash.
"It doesn't make any sense to me that we are putting so much emphasis on how fast a guy runs in a 40. What I would rather see is you test defensive backs backpedalling, turning and then catching up to a receiver. What is their makeup time? How fast they are on the field?" Suitor questioned
"I know what they're doing. They want to see what type of athletic power these guys have, their quickness, their speed, and those kinds of things. I think there's way too much emphasis on 40 times."
According to Suitor, the CFL should capitalize on the current political tension between Canada and the United States.
"I know what's going on in the world right now and how patriotic we have all become, for a lot of different reasons. I would love to see the Canadian Football League office start to take advantage of that. I don't mean it in a facetious or a negative way." Suitor detailed.
"Start to promote how Canadian our game really is. The Canadian combine is an excellent starting point for that. These are young adults getting a chance to play pro football in their backyard with their team in a league that's been around for 120 years without an active working commissioner. It's hard for any of those sorts of initiatives to get kick-started."
