Sign up for the paNOW newsletter

Riders Rock the CFL with Off-Season Moves

Dec 15, 2015 | 8:51 AM

Last week was without exception, one of the wildest weeks in Rider off-season history and one that will continue to impact the team and the CFL for years to come.

Not only did the Riders hire Chris Jones as VP of Football Operations, General Manager, Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator, but they got John Murphy of Calgary, who was also on their short list, to come over as a vice president and direct scouting . And, apparently, they will get the entire Edmonton Eskimo coaching staff for 2015 to come to Saskatchewan.

The bombshells off of those announcements were followed by whining from Edmonton that compensation was needed for Jones, although he left for a promotion that Edmonton could never provide. Edmonton hiring Jason Maas brought back the issue of compensation as Ottawa Redblacks asked for something from Edmonton for someone under contract to them.

The hilarity of Ottawa asking for compensation after getting a favorable expansion draft and salary cap room to go from 2-16 to a Grey Cup berth, makes one think of a certain Ed Hervey who agreed to a contract with the Ottawa Renegades but then reneged because while verbally agreeing, he did not sign any such contract.

 Ottawa was set up to succeed but they should not be surprised that having made the Cup final, they would somehow be immune to other teams raiding their coaching staff and free agents. The Redblacks want to play with the big boys; they should suck it up and just move on. Jacques Chapdelaine did a great job with the Riders and about five different quarterbacks and he is available.

 I see Bob Dyce has signed as a special team’s coach. Maybe the Riders should ask Ottawa for compensation? This sends a bad message to coaches that if you deal with Ottawa, you won’t be allowed to further your career without Ottawa demanding its pound of flesh. The NHL and NFL got rid of compensation for coaches, the CFL shouldn’t go there.

The Riders nabbing John Murphy of Calgary should be made public Tuesday, which is another major coup for the Riders.

Calgary has hardly blinked, bringing in Cole Hufnagel, formerly of the New York Jets who spent 13 years scouting for that organization. This means the Riders landed three of the four on their short list, Jones, Murphy, Jeremy O’Day but not Brock Sunderland. But maybe the Riders can think of something.

Jason Maas is probably a year or two away from being a legit head coach material, but if rumors of Mike Benevedes being named the DC and assistant head coach are true, Maas will have a valuable resource in the office. Moving from coordinator to head coach is not impossible, but usually a coordinator gets a few years under his belt and learns everything that is needed to run a team successfully. Maas is putting together a coaching staff from scratch as apparently all of Edmonton’s coaches are coming to the centre of the football universe.

Right now I would say the winners so far this off-season in the east are Toronto and Hamilton. Toronto because they got Rich Stubler (do they owe Calgary compensation for that move?) who is a massive upgrade over Casey Creehan and Hamilton gets to keep Orlando Steinhauer although the way Kent Austin has acted is moving him into douchebag territory although I personally like the way he coaches.

 I sat with a Bomber fan on the weekend (Christmas is the time of good will on earth) and after complimenting him on Paul La Police, he noted La Police left before as OC, and then got canned as coach and the question has to be asked, “How has La Police improved?” He complimented the Riders on their post season sweep which I knew had to hurt, especially since I was wearing a Rider signature jersey from the Rider locker room sale.

The jersey was that of Dan Clark, who wore this particular jersey when he reported as eligible for a pass and he actually caught a touchdown pass while wearing that jersey at a game I was at where I saw him running in with #77 on and yelled from the stands, throw it to the fat guy! When they did and they scored, the people sitting around me were confounded by my wisdom, but I stuck to the Mr. Lahey explanation of it was the liquor doing the talking. Anyway, when I came across this jersey, I had to have it for the story.

Unfortunately the Locker Room sale was limited to just Regina, but those in PA and area looking for some game worn stuff can contact the Riders store through the Riderville website and make a request. The Riders have lots of jerseys that were marked down from $300 to $100 but I think the remainder of the helmets may have been sent off already to be repainted for this upcoming season.

I did make the request to the sales staff about the sale being available to people north of Regina and through the Rider stores in Saskatoon. There may be another one in February and maybe that one will be extended to all Rider stores.

Look for Khari Jones to be the Lions OC, Wally wanted Jarious Jackson, but he took the Riders job, which speaks volumes to the loyalty that Chris Jones has developed. I don’t expect the Riders to scoop up many of the Esk free agents due to salary cap problems, but those could be solved by players either taking less or getting cut, so Chris Getzlaf better ask himself if he has a post football career ready.

The next stage after the coaching staffs becomes official will be what approach the Riders will use with free agency. Whether the Riders ask some players to take pay cuts to give the team more flexibility to attract talent is likely an option we will hear about – quietly – and there will be some names that will not be asked back.

I would expect the Riders to rebuild on the defensive side of the ball and leave the offense relatively alone for the time being. I can also see the Riders make a move towards signing Shawnd Chambers of Edmonton to add one more Canadian receiver. The Riders may look at drafting a Canadian receiver or more likely a defensive lineman. 

I would expect to see a physical and well-disciplined defense, especially after hearing Jones’ work habit of starting at 3 a.m. and ending at 7 p.m. The man lives and breathes football and it will be interesting to see if he is the guy who can bring us Grey Cup #5.