TORONTO (CP) - Doug Flutie was back at the Rogers Centre on Friday.
But it wasn't to announce details of a comeback with the Toronto Argonauts, the team he led to consecutive Grey Cup titles in 1996-97 before returning to the NFL. The former CFL star, now a U.S. college football commentator with ESPN, was on hand to promote the 2007 International Bowl, which will be played here Jan. 6.
And even though Flutie's last game here was the '97 East final, it didn't take long for his competitive juices to get flowing once again.
"Walking back into the building and into a locker-room with game jerseys all hung up, that really stirs the juices for me," Flutie said. "It's really a neat feeling for me to be back in this building.
"Boy, I wish I could stick around and watch the game."
On Saturday, the Argos will face the Montreal Alouettes at Rogers Centre (3 p.m. ET), with the winner taking first and home-field advantage in the East Division final. It's a scenario very familiar to Flutie, who led Toronto past Montreal in both the '96 and '97 conference championship games before returning to the NFL, signing with the Buffalo Bills.
Flutie, who turned 44 earlier this week, headed to the broadcast booth in May after announcing his retirement to end an illustrious 21-year pro career that spanned three different leagues (USFL, CFL and NFL). Two months later, though, Flutie considered returning to Canada and suiting up with the Argos after injuries sidelined both starting quarterback Damon Allen and backup Spergon Wynn.
Flutie's brother, Darren, a football analyst with CBC, said during a CFL telecast that Doug Flutie came within a whisker of boarding a plane bound for Toronto in July before having a change of heart. Doug Flutie admitted he contemplated returning to the Argos for a few weeks while Allen recovered from injury, but was never really close to coming back to Canada.
"The bottom line was Pinner and I are good friends and I didn't want him to start out 1-and-whatever," Flutie said. "When it became a situation where maybe I could bridge the gap to get Damon back on the field, that's when I actually said, 'Well, what's your situation?' and we talked about it a little bit.
"But it never did get to the point where I was going to jump on a plane. It kind of peaked my interest a little bit because if I could help Pinball and the team out, then I would consider it. But it just didn't make sense for me at that time. I was preparing for the college football season. There's a lot of work involved."
Something Flutie said he wasn't aware of initially.
"It has been pretty smooth for me, I feel very comfortable," Flutie said of his transition to broadcasting. "The problem for me was research and knowledge, catching up.
"I really hadn't watched a college game or stayed in close contact with it while I was playing."
Actually, Flutie might have found himself in the broadcast booth following the '97 season with Toronto. After leading the Argos to consecutive Grey Cups and earning numerous individual awards, Flutie actually contemplated retirement in the off-season, that is, until Buffalo came calling.
Flutie spent three years with Buffalo before signing with San Diego in 2001. He was released by the Chargers following the 2004 season and joined the New England Patriots. In the Patriots' regular-season finale against Miami on Jan. 1, 2006, Flutie recorded a successful drop kick, the first in the NFL since 1941.
"I felt I had done all I could do up here and I was ready to retire," Flutie said. "Then Buffalo came knocking and it like, 'You know what? I'll do it for two years, what the heck.'
"Two years became three, then became four and then whatever it became. It was a great move for me. The first year back I went to the Pro Bowl and led the team to the playoffs two consecutive years. I made a heck of a lot of money. I made more money after I left Toronto than I had my whole career. Yeah, it all worked out.
"But I'll tell you what, there's not a day goes by that I don't think about the days here in Toronto and how much fun I had and I miss it."
Flutie also has a soft spot for Don Matthews, the winningest head coach in CFL history who stepped down as Montreal Alouettes coach earlier this year due to health concerns. Matthews was Flutie's coach during his Grey Cup years with the Argos.
"When I first game into this league, I didn't know Don," Flutie said. "All I saw was this arrogant, brash guy on the sidelines.
"Then I got a chance to play for him. I'll tell you what, I loved playing for him and anyone who plays for him will tell you that.
"The great thing for me was he gave me ownership of the offence and allowed me to do my thing and allowed me to be successful."
To the media, Matthews was a chameleon, someone who could be engaging and charming, or abrasive and short tempered. But to his players, Flutie said Matthews is regarded as a player's coach.
"Don has a way of keeping guys relaxed and letting them play football," he said. "When we won our Grey Cups here, guys are dancing on the field and it drove me nuts because I'm a serious guy all the time.
"It kind of scared me to go out there on game day and Pin's got the guys dancing and singing. But that enabled guys to go out on the field and relax and play."
Flutie isn't surprised to see Clemons enjoying success as a CFL head coach. Since retiring as a player in 2000, Clemons has recorded 55 regular-season wins to stand second in club history behind Bob O'Billovich (89) and, in 2004, Clemons led Toronto to a Grey Cup title.
"He's a charismatic leader who you knew would do well in anything he does," Flutie said. "There was no doubt in my mind he would be a good head coach."
Flutie has thought about getting into coaching, but his interest is lukewarm, at best, because of the hours involved. If he ever did become a coach, though, Flutie could see it happening in the CFL rather than south of the border.
"My first reaction is to say I've seen the job, I don't like it because the hours are crazy," he said. "The hours up here aren't quite so crazy but I think I think I've got a real good thing going here with the broadcasting deal."
