OUT OF THE TUNNEL: ONE YEAR LATER

BY: RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF

We are at the 1-year anniversary of a very important 10 days in the history of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The cascade of events that started on January 15, 2019 and ended on January 25 changed the direction, culture and potential future of the football club.

It all began on January 15 when then head coach, general manager and vice president of football operations, Chris Jones officially stepped down to take a job with the Cleveland Browns as a senior defensive assistant coach.

Jones took a big cut in salary to take the gig – his first in the NFL – and joined a team that was a media favourite in the off-season.

Well, things sure have changed in the Browns organization and potentially for Jones. Head coach Freddie Kitchens was let go at the end of the season after a miserable 6-10 campaign, then general manager John Dorsey was released from his duties two days later.

3DownNation reported that Jones was signed through the 2020 season and is still on the coaching staff, as are the rest of the remaining coaches from 2019. But that may be temporary.

New coach Kevin Stefanski will come with new ideas and will want to put his own staff in place. Currently the general manager position in Cleveland is still vacant. It’s be more than likely Jones will be looking for work in the next couple of months.

Jones was a polarizing figure in Rider Nation. Many loved how fast he brought the Green & White back to the top of the standings but there were many others who simply never warmed up to him. His legacy with the Riders will be interesting to look back on 20 years from now.

After Jones left the Roughriders didn’t need to look too far for their next general manager and vice president of football operations. Jones’ assistant and long-time Saskatchewan Roughrider Jeremy O’Day was named to take over the football side of the organization.

Many thought O’Day should have had the had the job when Brendan Taman was fired after the 2015 season but the three extra years of seasoning may have helped the now 45-year-old former offensive lineman.

He is a natural fit. Vast football knowledge, great connections, and he works very well with Roughriders president Craig Reynolds.

O’Day knows well the little things needed to succeed here, like living in the community and the importance of going to the odd small town rubber-chicken banquet. These things go a long way in these parts and create a ton of goodwill with the community and fans.

From a football operations point of view he has done almost everything right. His first and most important decision of hiring Craig Dickenson as head coach was his best. We will get to Dickenson in a bit.

O’Day didn’t make a rash decision and gut the whole operations staff. He kept most of the key components whom Chris Jones brought in. Many of his free agent signings were on-point with the best being quarterback Cody Fajardo.

The decision to bring Zach Collaros back was questioned amongst the many media members in Saskatchewan and the signing of Fajardo went pretty much under the radar. In the end the Riders found what potentially could be their quarterback of ‘now’ and into the future in Fajardo. Collaros won the Grey Cup as a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. If anyone had predicted these events one year ago, he’d have been committed to a madhouse.

Another place O’Day had a great impact is putting a greater emphasis on Canadian talent. It began with the 2019 CFL draft. Their first two picks – receivers Justin McInnis and Brayden Lenius – will take time to develop into solid receivers but there were flashes of great potential. The best pick may end up being fifth round selection defensive tackle Charbel Dabrire. It took some time for him to catch on but by the end of the season he was starting to turn into a potential starter in the interior of the defensive line.

Another great CFL draft and another good free agent season will set the Riders up very well in 2020.

Craig Dickenson was hired as head coach on January 25, 2019. He had been a special teams coordinator for the majority of his long coaching career. There were a few questions with the lack of head coaching experience, his never being an offensive or defensive coordinator, and for his easy-going demeanor.

Everything fell into place for the Roughriders with Dickenson. He held the line with O’Day in keeping the majority of the coaching staff so there was still a sense of calm and not a complete overhaul.

Being a special teams coordinator his whole working life may help Dickenson a lot in today’s CFL with the revolving door of players every year and even during the season.

His demeanor on and off the field was also very key to his success. The hellfire and brimstone coach of the past doesn’t work anymore. A head coach needs to be very even-keeled, calculated and somewhat easy-going to deal with today’s players and, maybe more importantly, the media.

It worked in Saskatchewan and also worked in Montreal with Khari Jones.

Dickenson was able to guide the Roughriders to a first-place finish, but unfortunately fell in the West Final to the eventual Grey Cup champions Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The past calendar year will be documented as one of the best non-Grey Cup winning seasons in franchise history.

The general manager, head coach and quarterback are all in place. This is incredibly important as the Riders are beginning to put the rest of the pieces in place for a 202 season that they, and the rest of Rider Nation hopes that ends with green and white confetti falling from the rafters of Mosaic Stadium in November.

(RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF)