Jim Barker

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Jim Barker is the former General Manager of the Calgary Stampeders.

Barker's CFL coaching career began in 1996 as a member of the Montreal Alouettes coaching staff. The Alouettes set a team record for wins, but lost in the Eastern Division Finals to the Toronto Argonauts. In 1997, he was named the Argonauts Co-Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach and was instrumental in guiding one of the best offenses in CFL history. In 1999 he replaced the departing Don Matthews as head coach of the Argonauts, becoming the youngest head coach in the CFL.

In 2000 he moved back to the United States and coached the Los Angeles Xtreme to the XFL Championship. His work with quarterback Tommy Maddox is well recognized as Maddox went on to win the XFL Player of the Year award and later was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In 2002, Barker was hired to sere as an in-studio analyst on the America One's CFL telecasts [1], but instead joined old boss Don Matthews as Offensive Coordinator and Quarterback Coach of the Montreal Alouettes, leading them to their first Grey Cup in over 20 years. Quarterback Anthony Calvillo enjoyed his finest season as a pro and was the Terry Evanshen Trophy winner as Eastern Division Player of the Year.

He moved to Calgary in 2003 where he served as the Head Coach of the Calgary Stampeders. He was fired after a 5-13 season and was replaced by Matt Dunigan.

Jim rejoined the Stampeders in 2005 as General Manager. He acquired several big components, including Henry Burris, Jeremaine Copeland, Rahim Abdullah, and Sandro DeAngelis. He also played a big role in the 2005 CFL Draft, selecting players such as John Comiskey, Brett Ralph, and 1st overall pick Miguel Robede. These changes helped turned the Stampeders record from 4-14 to 11-7. In 2006, the Stampeders finished 10-8 and lost to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Division Semifinals 30-21. Barker was replaced as general manager by John Hufnagel after the 2007 season. He was reassigned to the posistion of Senior Vice-President of Football Operations and Director of Player Personnel.

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