So it feels like spring outside. The water and puddles in the street make it feel like it should be April and maybe that's what has me all pumped for the 2012 season of Roughrider football still six months away... sigh...
Or maybe it has something to do with the average age of our coaching staff dropping by like 15 years since November.
That's right. Coach Chamblin has finally released the names of his coordinators and coaches. (With the exception of special teams, but it is expected Craig Dickenson will be back. The details in the contract extension are just being worked out. Booyah!)
You can read the Riderville press releases here and here for all the details.
The exciting thing about finally having a coaching staff is the youth Coach Chamblin attracted to our fine organization. We even snagged Barron Miles from the... (oh this pains me)... Grey Cup Champion B.C. Lions (ahem). Before taking on coaching duties in B.C., Miles had played for 12 yeras in the CFL - seven in Montreal and five as a Lion. He'll be the defensive backs coach. This is a major coup for the Riders and I'm impressed.
Of course, after last season, I'd be impressed if the coach could answer a question with something other than, "I don't know, you tell me."
Oh how I shudder to think of where we were a year ago. On the cusp of a disastrously laughable season with a clueless headcoach. The more I think back to that time, the more I wonder how Coach Marshall wasn't run out of town with pitchforks instead of given the microphone for a presser after he was fired. Seriously. Dude.
Anyway, kind of got off on a tangent. Getting back to brighter days and speaking of coups for the rookie head coach... Netting Khari Jones as quarterbacks coach will make an impact I'm not sure we can calculate at this point. It definitely seemed like Darian Durant needed someone or something to fend off his heavy case of the mediocres last year. And how Coach Chamblin convinced Jones to come here, I have no idea, since he gave up the title of offensive coordinator in Hamilton to join the Green and White. Props to coach!
Another great hire is Jason Tucker as receivers coach. To be frank, I never even knew we had a receivers coach before. (I'm going to assume that's an oversight on my part and not the fault of the coach.)
And Kris Sweet will join Riderville as run game coordinator and offensive line coach. Dear heavens above, does this man have his work cut out for him! He comes from the Stamps and from all appearances (okay, the couple dozen or so Tweets I saw) he looks like he'll be a good addition and definitely will fit in with Chamblin's vision of an aggressive and fast Roughrider team.
As the season ended the average age of Rider coaches was somewhere in area of 59 years. (Thanks to Jamie Nye for posting this!) Currently, the average of Rider coaches is 44. Crickey! They are but babes!
All of the guys are experienced, yet haven't rattled around the league for decades like the leftover screw you always seem to have when you finish putting together your furniture from Ikea but you keep in the kitchen drawer just in case you need it for something...
And that says a lot. Not just of the quality of the hire (way to go GM Taman!), but also of the quality of our organization. Maybe we all forgot just a little of the prestige that comes with the Green and White. I mean firing our coach mid-season just six months into a three year contract, firing our offensive coordinator, not to mention our less than stellar on field performance... well, it did make us seem like we couldn't find our butt cheeks with both hands and guide.
Fast forward a few months and we've got a head coach that is clearly prepared for this gig. And the preparation is ongoing. AND he's even attracted an all-star cast to back him up. How cool is that!?
I can tell you this... the CFL 2012 is going to look a lot different than CFL 2011. And every single team winced when they saw the stellar coaches Saskatchewan just hired. I'll bet Tillman just popped an antacid.
Cheer long. Cheer loud. Go GREEN!
