Cone of Silence at Rider Camp Start of Massive Reload

George Cortez had a good gig in Riderville. He could run the offense as he saw fit, probably made more money than Rider Head Coach Cory Chamblin and picked up a Grey Cup ring last year at the expense of the team that dumped him; The Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Two weeks ago the rumors started making the rounds that Cortez would not be returning. Most people assume that it was due to the failure to adapt after Darian Durant went down with an elbow injury in the Banjo Bowl. But now it seems that Weston Dressler was not inclined to come back here if Cortez was back – and if Dressler left, there would be a riot.

As of Tuesday morning, the Riders had not confirmed Cortez would not be coming back. Most of the team management attending the Grey Cup only came back yesterday and during Grey Cup week it came out that Richie Hall, Baron Miles and Bob Dyce would not be returning as coaches – again as an unconfirmed rumor.

Dyce is said to be interviewing for the position of head coach of the University of Regina Rams, and was said to be up for the position of offensive coordinator in Ottawa, but that job just went to Jason Maas. More eyebrows were lifted at the thought of Richie Hall leaving. The Rider defense slid into the abyss in the second half of the 2014 season after Durant went down with an injury. You could see it coming as the defense got wore out on the field because the offense could not maintain a drive.

I’m not sure if any schemes would have helped in those circumstances but Chamblin is a defensive coach and he plays more of a role in that end of the field than on offense. Sharing with Hall might have been difficult, but here is the thing; Chamblin wasn’t that good as a defensive coordinator in Hamilton. If he wants to be the sole guy in command of the defense, it may be the results of seeing Chris Jones operate in Edmonton.

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I was in favor of retaining Cortez until I heard that Dressler would not be back if Cortez was. Looking at Dressler’s stats, you can see his point to some degree because his stats this year were really nothing special. But that begs the question – is that coaching or the players and their inability to mesh.

Firing coordinators while retaining the head coach is a little different in the CFL. But when you consider that Chamblin was tutored by Pittsburgh Head Coach Mike Tomlin, it makes a lot of sense. A couple of years ago, Tomlin fired Steeler offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, who went to Indianapolis to help out with Andrew Luck. Arians took over the reins when the Colt head coach went down with a cancer diagnosis, held the team together and ended up being named co-coach of the year. Arians is now head coach in Arizona and their record is 9-3.

Chamblin knows the pressure is on to rebound this season. Since arriving in Saskatchewan, Chamblin has brought in a number of NFL style practises including closing a practice. Watch a news conference with him and he has mastered the art of not saying anything. The quiet around the Rider offices fits with the minimal information you get out of NFL teams. If there is a culture change, it is moving towards the NFL model.

So with Cortez gone, as seems to be widely accepted by now, who might come in? Paul LaPolice is said to be a favorite, he has been here before, but he has a nice TV gig and his time in Winnipeg was hindered by the stupidity of the Blue Bomber management, so he may be looking for redemption in another head coaching position. The problem in BC is Wally Buono who tends to micromanage things, but considering Wally was considered a defensive coach, maybe that might not happen again as it did with Mike Benevedes.

LaPolice may bring in Cortez as offensive coordinator, signalling that Khari Jones one year try-out at the position is over and out. BC has a major question mark at quarterback with whether Travis Lulay ever comes back after shoulder surgery. That might bring LaPolice back to Saskatchewan where Durant should be fully recovered from his elbow surgery.

If not LaPolice, apparently the Riders are interested in Jacques Chapdelaine, former BC offensive coordinator who is working with Simon Fraser University after being let go last year. Chapdelaine may be discussed in the Rider offices, but the general consensus is thumbs down, especially by BC Lions fans who complained about unimaginative offensive game plans. Sound familiar?

Jones is probably gone from BC, but might he be tempted back to Saskatchewan? I don’t know if offensive coordinator would be a good landing spot for him as yet, a lot of people of felt Jones needed more seasoning working as a quarterback coach before unveiling his offensive game designs and the Lions offense showed that this year, although they too were ravaged by injuries.

People have suggested Jeff Garcia, but Rider GM Brendan Taman thought Turk Schonert did more with Montreal quarterbacks than Garcia did. There is also Ryan Dinwiddie, who was boosted to the offensive coordinator position last year after Rick Worman showed up with a drink. But Dinwiddie, while smart, is in the same boat as Jones. He probably needs more experience before being handed the keys to an offense.

People are wondering why Hall would be let go, considering how the defense was trying to do the job of two units, especially after Durant went down. One reason may be lack of a middle linebacker which made the Riders easy to run on. But that failure could be pinned on scouting, which we will address shortly.

But if Chamblin is feeling the heat, he may want to do the Chris Jones thing and run the defensive unit, while getting a strong coach to handle the offense. While that may suggest a desire to prove his NFL credentials, depending on the future of Marc Trestman, it may be more likely if Chamblin goes to the NFL, it will be as a positional coach. NFL teams may look at Chamblin and wonder exactly what did he do in Saskatchewan?

If Chamblin doesn’t take over the defense, who would step in? One candidate might be Mike Benevedes, who was the defensive coach in BC, but also special teams coach. The Riders may choose to hire Richard Sinclair, who used to be Rider coach before going back to the NFL with Chicago, who let him go. Baron Miles was said to be leaving as well, but unless he wanted to, I can’t see it happening after he signed a two-year extension this past year. Is he ready to step up to defensive coordinator? That is a good question.

Bob Dyce is fishing for jobs elsewhere, but again, considering what the Riders fielded for special teams coverage as a result of injuries, it is hard to blame him for the special teams letdowns this year. But if he goes, Benevedes does make sense here bringing instant credibility to the Riders special teams. Now all they need is kickers. Maybe a returner if one of the biggest questions marks around the team can be settled.

That question mark is at scouting. It is hard to evaluate the Rider coaching performance without noting the players on the field – a lot of whom failed to live up to expectations. Injuries crippled the club not just at quarterback, but in terms of Canadian content where Canadians make up a majority of special teams.

You can blame the expansion draft for diluting the Canadian content, but the Riders are thin on Canadian and American talent. The Riders never really replaced Kory Sheets, although Anthony Allen ran for almost 1,000 yards, the Riders used a revolving door of running backs before settling on one and gave up on him whenever he fumbled.

The Riders did not replace Weston Dressler and did not use him properly when he returned from the NFL. The receivers they brought in from the NFL were bigger, but no one scared the opposing defenses. Taj Smith with his legal problems and then broken clavicle was not a factor and while Rob Bagg has tremendous heart, for him to be the leading receiver when he is logically the fourth is not what you want out of your offense.

The Riders scouting failed to bring in players and it can be argued the Rider coaches failed in developing those players to their fullest potential. There is no excuse for the Riders not to spend money in scouting. They have a tremendous video library of every football player, but there are things that you learn from seeing players on a regular basis. Calgary did an excellent job of bringing players in this past season because of injuries and the Riders did not. Either the structure or the personnel in the Riders scouting department needs to be changed to address the challenges from other teams.

The Riders need to bring in a QB coach and a kicking coach. Depending on free-lance instructor Don Sweet to phone Chris Milo is no way to run a football team, especially when a kicker is like a golfer and everything is about rhythm and timing. A daily coach can work with an experienced kicker or help bring along a young kicker because a 70 per cent success rate in field goals is not good enough. The Riders have the cash, they need the commitment.

If the Rider culture is moving more to an NFL style, where secrecy is the way of life, this will have an impact on fans. We are the owners of the team, and while our passion gets us carried away at times, this team has operated through taxpayer dollars and breaks and for this team to continue to operate at the highest levels, it needs buy in from across the province, not just Regina.

If there is a plan, and it makes sense, the fans will buy into it and let the team operate. But the Riders cannot exist in their cone of silence when the rest of the province already knows what the team plans to do. The end result of the cone of silence is not the Riders tuning out the distractions of Rider Nation; it will be Rider Nation tuning out the Saskatchewan Roughriders.