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Riderville Report – Trick or Treat Edition

Nov 1, 2011 | 1:37 PM

It seems kind of appropriate that on Halloween, Ken Miller makes it official he is stepping down as head coach and vice-president of the Saskatchewan Roughriders after this season.

News of this before the game might well have boosted attendance with many people thinking, if the Riders are going to look like they don't care on the field, why should I?

The Riders 19-3 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats was nice in respect to showcasing Brandon West as the running back of the future, saying goodbye to Gene Makowsky and Jason Clermont and likely Jerrell Freeman, and seeing some younger guys on the o-line. It did nothing to say Ryan Dinwiddie adds something to the team at back-up, nor whether Cole Bergquist is a legitimate quarterback.

The end of Rider consecutive sell out streaks at 19 (although let's be honest, it probably was over at least a month or so ago, was a signal sent to the Rider board of directors that the lack of effort seen from this team this season will not be tolerated. I think that may have sped up the process where Miller announced he was stepping down.

Miller will go down as one of the most likeable and best transitional coaches in Rider history. Back to back Grey Cup appearances (should have been wins) and a first place finish showed Eric Tillman, while he didn't know babysitters, did know football people and talent.

Miller had established such a reputation for sound football judgment that Rider President Jim Hopson created a position for him so people nervous about Brendan Taman at GM (considering his record in Winnipeg) would feel better about Miller presumably putting the brakes on a Taman decision that might be somewhat crazy.

That decision by Hopson, and Miller's decision to accept, effectively doomed the 2011 season. Miller was invested with protecting his legacy, and hired Greg Marshall, who lost it with the players, sending us to a 1-7 start. Miller thought he could turn it around by taking charge, and did give us a sweep of Winnipeg and then a win over Toronto, before treating us to the most inept Rider offensive display in over 30 years.

The inability to score an offensive touchdown via the air, plus the handling of Darian Durant, raised a lot of questions people's minds about Ken Miller's judgment. That being said, being able to walk off the field Saturday afternoon with a win was a nice way to end his career here, and I think it's entirely possible the Riders will walk off of Commonwealth Stadium next week with another win.

The list of potential coaching candidates has already started with Scott Milanovich (Montreal offensive coordinator) the early favorite along with either Dave Dickenson or Craig Dickenson.

That is getting ahead of ourselves because Taman apparently will meet with Hopson and presumably the board of directors next week to review the role of the GM in the Rider organization.