Thursday, January 17, 2019

Chris Jones: He Gone


There are 5 stages of grief they say. Tuesday I had only two and I went through them in a matter of seconds: 1) shock and awe… as in aww S#&$!!!!! 2) grave concern… and by concern and mean we are screwed (only screwed wasn’t the word I was using).

It was a bomb that went off across the prairies when the news broke that Chris Jones was leaving to accept a coaching job with the Cleveland Browns. Look anyone who has paid any attention to Chris Jones’ career path cannot be completely surprised by his sudden departure. He bolted for Toronto while still under contract to Calgary. He bolted from Edmonton for the before the last speck of confetti had fallen in the Grey Cup. Deep down we all knew this wasn’t likely to be a long term relationship but the timing of this all is devastating. We just parted with our assistant GM (who would sure come in handy about now). We are now a month past when every other team was hiring coaches. We are month away from free agency with no GM, Head coach or defensive coordinator. Chris Jones leaving is a real steamer… a Cleveland steamer if you will (I’m sorry… I really that I was better than this but I’m not).

Many will point a finger at Craig Reynolds and blame him for the out clause in the most recent contract extension that allowed Jones to bolt. Look, the fact is that out clause was likely in his contract prior to the extension and is pretty standard. Side note: Chris Jones’ new title “Senior Defensive Specialist” is clearly a made up title meant to comply with the wording of the out clause. My guess is that the wording was such that he could have an out for a head coach, coordinator or other equivalent senior coaching opportunity. So I don’t fault Reynolds for the out clause. The lesson learned here though is that if one man is essentially 75% of your football operations that maybe there needs to be stricter parameters around the timing of exercising the out to avoid having to replace 3 key positions at a time when the best candidates have already been poached by your competitors. But its too late now. He gone. I don’t fault him for wanting to make a jump to the NFL and as much as some people love to hate him, he did a hell of lot to turn a shitty football team (circa 2015) into a contender during his tenure. Of all his roles I truly think we will miss Chris Jones the D Coordinator most. He’s one of the best in the league and won’t be easy to replace (plus its not like we can expect our offensive to compensate for a drop in defensive performance at this point).

Where too from here? Well that’s where it gets complicated.

At GM, likely O’Day gets promoted and with Paul Jones as assistant we are in pretty good hands. We could try to poach John Murphy back from the Argos before he officially inks his contract there but that’s highly unlikely at this point.

Coaching is complicated for 3 reasons. #1 the cap on coaching salary and positions. The max is 11 coaches and we have 10 on staff still. Short of additional firings at least one the HC or DC roles will need to be filled internally. #2 Timing. We missed the coaching hiring frenzy and this late in the offseason getting permission to speak to other coaches is no guarantee. #3 Current staff. Fact is Steve McAdoo is still here. Much to the chagrin of many he wasn’t a package deal with Jones to Cleveland. So hiring an offensive head coach (such as Marc Trestman and Paul LaPolice who top the speculation list) is difficult because they will bring their own offensive philosophies that likely won’t jive with McAdoo’s (whatever that is). So do you fire him and try and find an entire new coaching staff this late in the offseason? Can you afford it from a cap perspective?   So the general gist of all this is that we are screwed.

Here (in no particular order) are options out there for us to consider:
As head coach
·       Promote Craig Dickenson to Head Coach and hire a new DC. Dickenson has been in the consideration for other HC spots so its not a stretch. He brings continuity.
·       Marc Trestman. Obviously a multi-time Grey Cup champ who is currently unemployed should warrant consideration. But Trestman is currently on a paid vacation thanks to Argos and after a tough personal year may decide to stay that way. Plus the above mentioned complication regarding our current offensive staff.
·       Paul LaPolice. LaPo has been closely linked to O’Day as his candidate of choice if/when he becomes a GM. The Bombers have said they won’t stand in his way. He’d be a great choice but there would need to be some serious thought as to how our current offensive staff would fit into his philosophies and what he would do for a DC.
·       Noel Thorpe. Not sure if Ottawa would give permission but he’s a top tier D Coordinator and ready to be a head coach. It’s worth at least exploring.
·       Steve McAdoo. Can you imagine how much the province would explode?!? Can you imagine how much I would explode?!?! Seriously let’s all pray that despite him being the Assistant Head coach that he’s not even on the short list.

As D Coordinator:
·       Promote Jason Shivers. No one is really able to fill the big shoes (and wide array of black Rider paraphernalia) left behind by Jones but Shivers would be the most logical if looking internally given how long he has been working under Jones. Jones himself thinks Shivers is ready.
·       Mike Benevides. You’ll note I did not mention him in the HC discussion despite his previous experience. That’s intentional. Benevides as HC would be a step back but in terms of a late hire, he’s a pretty good DC option. That said his D in Edmonton was not that good (hence his current availability). But beggars can’t be choosers at this point.
·       Jerry Glanville. Did good things in Hamilton. He makes Paul McCallum seem young by comparison but still seems to have the energy of a man half his age.


Regardless of how this all shakes out it seriously downgrades the Riders’ prospects for 2019. The only ones coming out ahead in this deal (aside from the other West division teams) will be alcohol companies. Might take a lot to drink this season pretty. The Riders will need to move fast so we should have an idea very soon about where we stand.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a mess & not easily fixed. We can add a HC/OC, drop McAdoo & hire a DC. Best alternative. I think you get 1 freebee firing before the coaches salaries start counting against the CAP - can't confirm for sure. Probably stuck with the majority of the coaching staff where it gets complicated. Does Trestman, or anyone, want to be running the show with a coaching staff who's been together 3 years with their own ideas, probably of one accord should differences occur which is bound to happen? Likely if you bring a new guy in like Trestman/LaPolice they get a longer term deal with a free pass on year one if things go south as they can't get their own guys. Also hard to get who you want this late in the game. In other words, why come in now if you're new & high profile because this gig may be an interim 1 & done anyway. You can get an HC/DC like Glanville (too old) or Benevides. Benny had bottom 3 defences the past 3 years. He likes the 4 man rush, zone "play everyone off" defence which ultimately was why he's unemployed. So, a guy who's likely going to take the Ferrari & drive it like a Civic. You then keep McAdoo. Or you can promote from within which may be the best way to go for 2019 & then do a proper job in 2020 instead of jumping the gun now. I don't really see how any HC which is in demand would want to beat his brains out for a year trying to coach another guy's guys. Trestman is the complete opposite of Jones. He's the warm, fuzzy philosopher coach. Jones would never be mistaken for a box of balloons. Not sure how he'd mesh with the Jones' boys. LaPo is really the guy who makes the Bombers go & considering the massive changes in the other 4 Western clubs, has as good a chance to get a ring as anyone this year. They'd be beating down the doors for him next year & Riders would likely drop whomever they got to get him then. Hate to say it but with Jones gone, what happens to Jefferson? Jones may be able to get him a look in Cleveland. Lose him & then we're really screwed.

Rider Prophet said...

The more I think about it the more I think promoting internal guys to get through this year makes sense. If they surprise you and do good, great. If not then you blow it up in the off-season and give a head coach full control over the staff. Jefferson is a huge concern. No eguavoen and no Willie would not be good for a team relying on its d

Anonymous said...

Have to agree with you, Rider. Interesting that Durant's interested in returning. Much as Darian has done for the team, let's not beat that dead horse. Not blaming him for the lousy results in Jones' 1st year but he was part of it. Durant obviously thinks he's still a starter & there are lots of QB positions open this year. But can you see any team handing a starting job to Durant at this point? Sounds like it's still beneath him to back up. Don't disagree with him that lots of people still/always will love him in Regina. But that doesn't mean they want to see him behind centre in June, in my view.

Rider Prophet said...

I'm as big a Durant fan as there is but I don't want him back here. If he's willing to become Kevin Glenn 2.0 then jobs could open up for him but he doesn't yet sound like a guy who'd be happy as #2

Anonymous said...

Now that Ottawa refused contact by Riders we have the Bombers as well. You can probably count out any others currently on CFL teams as the trend has been set. Why release them at this late date? So, if not Dickenson or (perish the thought) McAdoo who IS the asst coach, then that leaves Trestman, Benevides & Glanville unless there is a team charitable enough to allow one of their staff to talk to the Riders. Somehow I don't think too many teams feel sorry for the Riders especially how they got Jones to begin with. But....we'll see. I'd put money on Dickenson especially since the McAdoo hire would be very unpopular.

Selfless said...

Irrespective of what aftereffect you buy, you get something agnate (but ACTUALLY,
Zaros made a accord with them...buy runescape gold osrs but ACTUALLY Seren failed too...but perhaps ACTUALLY Zaros understood about that and prevented it...followed from the bedrock accepting destroyed).

The big botheration truth is that the way it's introduced, it feels as though it's told in the design I did previously. You never watch annihilation corresponding to the bargains and fate afore they're brought up in endgame, most safe way to buy runescape money so if you're amphitheatre it to get the aboriginal period it feels bargain and from nowhere, even if it's in character.

smrtsmith said...

There are a lot of online gold coins that are cheap to shop, but it is not easy to find a safe and reliable store. You can see the seller's website by searching OSRS Mobile Gold on Google. Usually the homepage website is reliable and safe, you can choose it yourself. I usually use the Buy OSRS Gold on the MMOAH website, not only because it is cheap, but more importantly, it is safe, and the types of games are quite complete, and the customer service is very enthusiastic. Very satisfied with the purchase experience

MMOTBC said...

There are many interesting things about our current era, and exploring animals to cross new horizons is one of the things I think is interesting at the moment. Animal Crossing has a large number of fans, and everyone is fascinated by Animal Crossing: New Horizons. There are communities where decision-making is discussed, gardens for relaxation, mysterious islands waiting to be explored, and so on. Players can choose Buy ACNH Bells from the ACBellsBuy website to complete things that cannot be done in their current life. Players from all over the world form a virtual town, and now it seems that this is where all the interesting things happen!

When the player enters the island for the first time, a story unique to the player begins. Players can borrow bells from Tom Nook. He will lend you this money generously, and it is still an interest-free loan. Players can use this loan to do whatever the player wants. Such as holding birthday parties, giving gifts to friends, etc. If the player does not want to owe the loan, the player can also choose Buy Animal Crossing Bells to repay the loan. By operating the Dodo at the airport, players can invite players to become guests. In short, life here will be very easy and interesting.

MMOTBC said...

Although Path of Exile is indeed a free game, it is also very complicated. Character customization is the biggest attraction of Path of Exile. For the best role in the mind, players will choose Buy Exalted Orbs from mmoso.com to strengthen their combat effectiveness. Path of Exile has reached new heights, and the number of players in each new version has been increasing recently. Although the game will be different, the basic mechanics will remain the same.

Path of Exile has a unique item trading system, which is processed through the game website. Researching in advance what skills you should use and how you should choose your talents is almost a necessary condition for your initial game. We have hardly touched the surface of some deeper systems. Players choose Buy POE Orbs to go to MMOSO. If you want to get deeper into the game, this step is very important. So the road of exile in the future is still worth starting and looking forward to, and it should be a must-have game for any fan of the action RPG genre.

Anonymous said...

We specializes in custom cooler bags wholesalers, custom travel bags wholesalers, custom lunch bags