After the franchise was revitalized in the late 1970s, the Calgary Stampeders’ fortunes took a turn for the worse in 1981.

The Stamps had suffered just 15 losses over a three-year span from 1978-80 after losing 64 contests in the six previous seasons.

The 1981 Stamps featured CFL rushing leader James Sykes but the offence was nevertheless anemic, ultimately scoring just 306 points, 125 fewer than the second-worst team in the West Division.

With all four of the Stamps’ division rivals fielding solid squads — they would all ultimately finish above .500 — the Stamps were already struggling to keep their heads above water when they pulled into Toronto on Sept. 27 to face the 0-11 Argonauts.

When the Stamps fell 29-26 to the lowly Boatmen, speculation mounted that head coach Ardell Wiegandt would quickly follow in the footsteps of Willie Wood (Toronto) and Joe Scanella (Montreal) as coaches relieved of their duties during the 1981 season.

Wiegandt almost expected to get the bad news from Stamps general manager Jack Gotta.

“It’s tearing my guts out,” Wiegandt told reporters. “But if they were going to make a coaching change here, I know I could stay in coaching. The film room here looks just like a film room 2,000 miles away.”

But instead of getting the pink slip, Wiegandt was told his job was safe and that it was his duty to get the Stamps back on track. That vote of confidence lasted all of one week as Wiegandt was let go a week later after a loss to Montreal.

In retrospect, the promotion of Wiegandt from assistant to head coach prior to 1980 — replacing Gotta, who became full-time GM — was doomed for failure. Though the Stamps finished a respectable 9-7 in Wiegandt’s first season, there was talk that Stamps players struggled to cope with the ex-U.S. Marine’s unyielding approach, which was in stark contrast to Gotta’s colourful and easygoing manner.

Wiegandt’s prediction about finding new life as a coach proved true, however. He became an assistant under Joe Galat in Montreal and later was on staff with the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills and in the college ranks with Northern Iowa and Kansas.

The Stamps, meanwhile, regained their footing somewhat the following season as Gotta returned to the sidelines and guided the Stamps to a 9-6-1 record. However, it wasn’t until 1991 under Wally Buono that the franchise turned the corner by winning its first playoff game in 12 years.

The only other instances of a mid-season change at head coach in Calgary since that 1981 campaign took place in 1985 when Bud Riley took over for Steve Buratto after an 0-5 start and in 1987 when Lary Kuharich replaced Bob Vespaziani after the Stamps started the season 2-6.