Monday Morning Sentimonies: Welcoming the Enemy

Its not often that the hiring of a running backs coach will be big news. For the older readers amongst you we might call that page 4 news. For the younger crowd who have no concept of newspapers I had to ask my son to give me a relevant comparison. He came up with “It is definitely not sigma”. He also shook his head at me for my lame attempts at connecting with a younger audience. 

Anyway, the Riders’ choice of RB coach was front page, trending, etc… Longtime Rider enemy Andrew Harris now an employee. You might remember Andrew Harris from such things as being a hated member of the Bombers for 5 years, ripping a Rider player’s helmet off and not getting penalized, and being suspended for a failed drug test. This wasn’t just a “we don’t like him because he’s good and beats us” scenario. That was definitely part of it but there was some general hatred above and beyond that and I’m sure it went both ways. So its certainly weird to see Harris in Green and White.

That said, I think it’s a great hire. He’s one of the best to ever do it and he’s proven winner at ever step of his football career. That’s the kind of people we want leading our team. When the hiring was announced some people commented that Rider fans must be scrubbing their timelines of all the awful things they said. Not me. I’m doubling down. Being a Rider doesn’t absolve him from my snarky commentary. In fact, I will go so far as to allege that Harris is only here as part of his ongoing investigation into who tainted his supplement. He’s going undercover to find the evidence he needs to finally prove the Riders did it. OJ never finished his investigation, but Harris just may. 

On the player front, the Riders have been keeping steadily busy as free agency approaches:

-        On the negative side, we released Ajou squared so he could sign with the Indy Colts. Great opportunity for him and I hope he crushes it but another loss for us.

-        Can you recall the last time that two Rider rookies got NFL looks? Our scouting is bringing in talent. Also, the success of Reid and Ajou should further help our scouts sell other players on trying their luck here.

-        On a more positive note, we re-signed Trevon Tate. I was honestly not expecting much when we signed a Stampeder castoff midseason. But Tate was very solid to the point that despite losing Reid, I feel OK with Tate and Hardrick on the tackles. After bouncing around most of the East Division in addition to the Stampeders, Tate may have finally found place where he fits perfectly. We’ve certainly come a long way from the days of Na’ty Rogers.

-        Speaking of Hardrick both he and Ouelette had their contracts reworked this past week. I imagine it resulted in a reduction (though likely a small one) or a shifting of guaranteed money to incentives. Either way I think it’s positive that both opted to stay. I believe both had an impact on the culture in the locker room that goes far beyond what the stat sheet would tell you.

-        On a less positive note, Nelson Lokombo was extended. Look, I get why. We need Canadian depth and he is a starter… in theory. Now you can choose to side with Coach Mace on this. He is a noted defensive genius who is actually employed in the business of football at a pro level. He obviously sees something in Lokombo and believes he will continue to improve. Of you can side with the guy making smart ass commentary from his couch while hiding behind a robe and beard. I think Lokombo may have his uses in run stopping but in the pass defense he’s always late and stress inducing… so much so that my new nickname for him is Unplanned Pregnancy. I guess my hope now is that we find someone better who can win the starting job in camp and move him to a back-up.

-        Is it wrong that I would OK with Harris giving Lokombo some “nutritional” coaching?