It’s not what we’re used to seeing in pro football.

What we’ve seen, traditionally, is a single defensive coordinator in place on a team, a guru who designs, commands and oversees the defence, with assistants doing that coordinator’s bidding, executing a singular vision.

But that’s not the Toronto Argonauts. Not in 2024, anyway.

The Argos raised some eyebrows during the off-season when they opted to replace their departing defensive coordinator, Corey Mace, with not one coordinator, but two.

Will Fields and Kevin Eiben have been in charge of the Toronto defence as co-coordinators, this season, and to the surprise of skeptics everywhere, the unconventional set-up has worked out just fine.

Eiben, the former Argos linebacker who won a Grey Cup with the team in 2004 and Fields, the former defensive back who won a cup with Calgary in 2001, have been on the Argos staff together since 2022, when they were assistants on a Mace defence that helped lead the team to a championship win over Winnipeg.

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Toronto’s defence might not be the stingiest of units when it comes to giving up yards to the opposition, but it is one of the best and most aggressive when it comes to things like getting to the quarterback and creating turnovers, things that have been on prominent display during the late stages of the season and on into the playoffs.

It’s a bit perplexing to some. How can two guys be in charge at the same time?

Turns out that’s easy enough when the two guys have a history and they like each other quite a lot.

“We were friends before with Mace, right?” said Eiben, with Fields nodding in agreement. “So, we talked about it and figured out the best way of doing it, and you know what? It’s got us to this point.”

Fields shares the defensive coordinator duties with Eiben for the Argonauts (Thomas Skrlj/CFL.ca)

‘To this point’ is another date with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Grey Cup Sunday, after Eiben and Fields’ defence came up with a big time effort in the Eastern Final. The unit pounced all over the Montreal Alouettes’ offence, recovering four fumbles and picking off two passes (both by defensive back Benjie Franklin) on the way to a 30-28 upset at Percival Molson Stadium.

Not only that, it might be prudent to add that the Argos defence did a pretty masterful job of stifling the offence of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2024, winning two games; one by a score of 16-14 and one by a score of 14-11. That latter win was particularly impressive, coming in Winnipeg just over a month ago, with the Toronto defence totalling seven sacks and creating two turnovers.

What is the key to success with an unusual set-up like this?

“I think we’ve got a good defensive staff,” explained Eiben, “with (defensive line coach) Demetrious Maxie and (secondary coach) Myron Lewis. The four of us, we all have our own strengths, and we all have our own little input that makes it work.”

“To piggyback on what he said,” Fields chimed in, “when Corey was the defensive coordinator, we all did everything as a collective. And we continue that same thing with Maxi and Myron. “We still do everything as a collective. We use everyone’s strength, and that’s how we usually come up with it with a game plan.”

That makes sense. What might be harder to comprehend is just how co-coordinators decide who is making calls when a game is on. I mean, how does that work, exactly?

Both Eiben and Fields laugh. They’ve heard it before and they seem to delight in the mystery that their unconventional co-coordinators relationship fosters.

“Everybody wants to know that, huh?” said a grinning Eiben, with Fields smiling too. “Actually, on the bus ride over here, I said ‘you know what question they’re gonna ask.’”

But Fields and Eiben are keeping their in-game decision-making process a tightly-guarded secret and they figure that does more than just create amusement for themselves over the head-scratching the media does. It can, they believe, also keep the opposition on edge.

“That’s what’s great about it,” said Eiben. “OCs (offensive coordinators) don’t know who’s calling it. And we both have different mindsets. It’s actually pretty neat.”

“The game is never the same,” added Fields.

So far in 2024, two heads have been better than just the one we’re used to seeing in the coordinator’s position. Fields and Eiben are hoping they can continue to defy precedence with another impressive display by their defence come Sunday.