The Toronto Argonauts named Jim Barker the new director of player personnel on Monday. This will be his fourth stop in Toronto.
“Coming back to the Argos feels like coming home, ” said Barker. “This organization means a great deal to me, and I’m excited for the opportunity to help guide it forward. We have the pieces to accomplish something special, and I’m eager to get to work.”
Jim Barker is 69 years old and is from Pasadena, California. Barker began his coaching career in 1978 at San Francisco State University. He also had stops at Occidental, New Mexico State, and Pomona-Pitzer. In 1996, Barker was named an assistant coach for the Montreal Alouettes. A year later, he was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the Toronto Argonauts. During his first stint in Toronto, the Argonauts won the Grey Cup in 1997 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders 47-23.
In 1999, Barker led the Argonauts to a 9-9 record, losing to Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Eastern Semi-Final. Barker left the CFL after the 1999 season. In 2001, he was the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Xtreme of the original XFL, helping them win the XFL Championship.
In 2002, he returned to the CFL, this time as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Montreal Alouettes. The Alouettes would go on to win the Grey Cup over the Edmonton Eskimos.
A year later, he would become the head coach of the Calgary Stampeders. He lasted one season as the team went 5-13 and was fired. He returned to Calgary two years later as the team’s general manager in 2005 and later the vice president and director of player personnel. During that time, Barker acquired future Hall of Fame quarterback Henry Burris and wide receiver Jeremaine Copeland. The Stampeders saw a turnaround, going on to win the 96th Grey Cup over the Montreal Alouettes.
In 2010, Barker returned to the sidelines as the head coach of the Toronto Argonauts, taking home the CFL’s Coach of the Year honors. After the 2011 season, Barker was named general manager, hiring Scott Milanovich as the head coach.
On December 2, 2011, Barker helped acquire quarterback Ricky Ray from the Edmonton Eskimos for quarterback Steven Jyles, placekicker Grant Shaw, and a 2012 first-round draft pick. That trade paid off as Ray led the Argonauts to win the 100th Grey Cup over the Calgary Stampeders. Barker would be the Argonauts’ general manager until 2017 and became a consultant to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2019.
He returned to Toronto in 2022 as a senior advisor, helping them win the Grey Cup over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. In addition, Barker was a CFL analyst on TSN from 2023 to 2025. He was also a frequent guest on the Rod Pedersen Show.
