THURSDAY COMMENTARY – RONNIE HAD IT RIGHT
(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 & Rock 98.5 FM)
For those lucky enough to know Ron Lancaster, consider yourself blessed.
The greatest Roughrider of ‘em all and CFL icon was a treasure chest of wisdom and advice, and is a guy I think of often.
One of his best gems was, “In Regina, if they haven’t heard a rumour by noon, they start one.”
So that’s been ringing in my ears a lot this week after spending a few days in the Wheat Province and hearing just about every rumour under the sun. Winter came early with the Riders missing the playoffs, so now the rumour mill is in overdrive with nothing better to discuss.
There’s only one I believe, and I’ll get to that at the end.
But one of the better rumours making the rounds is that the next head coach of the Green & White will be current Calgary Stampeders special teams coach Mark Kilam, and he’ll be bringing along Marc Mueller as offensive coordinator.
Marc, of course, is Ron Lancaster’s grandson which makes this fable all-the-more rich.
Whom would be the defensive coordinator on this Dream Team? Well none other than five-time Grey Cup champion Richie Hall I’m told, who must be sick of winning championships with Winnipeg and eager to go back to the team that fired him in 2014.
I can’t make this up.
An outlier of a rumour has Mike O’Shea coming to Saskatchewan to serve as head coach & GM. This hot one says O’Shea wants to be a GM in Winnipeg but it’s not vacant and since his contract is up after 2022, he’s free to go wherever he chooses.
Who wouldn’t want to go to the Riders?
It reminds me of a familiar mindset here in Calgary which says, “Who wouldn’t want to play for the Flames?”
Uh … ask Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk.
Anyway, I said there’s one rumour I believe and that’s the one that says Bo Levi Mitchell will be the Riders starting quarterback next season. Shoot, I was told he was looking at houses on the weekend in Regina. I’ve got more info on this, but I’m saving it for the weekend column. 😉
Reading the tea leaves, it all makes sense. Bo’s time in Calgary is up, and Saskatchewan is going to need a quarterback.
But like Ronnie said, it’s hard to decipher which of these rumours are true and which ones were made up after noon.
That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary
(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV and WQEE Radio. Call your cable provider to subscribe. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)
I sincerely hope Bo doesn’t come here. What a slap in the face! He’s been the biggest Rider hater since he came to the CFL.
I’m more concerned about him being washed up…….which he is.
If Bo Levi Mitchell comes here – then it’ll be akin to Darian Durant going to Winnipeg. It will not work out. With regards to Mark Kilan why would they hire him? They just hired a long time Special Teams Coordinator with no previous experience. Why would Mark Meueller come here? Why would Richie Hall even consider this place? He even lives here. The cream rises to the top and sorry this is not a destination. The CEO is tenuous, the GM IF he survives is on a short leash. It’s back to a garbage dump franchise. The Roughriders I’ll… Read more »
Your spot on about the key being organizational stability, resources, and a winning culture. If you follow that, the finances will take care of themselves eventually.
BLM becomes a Rider, as a llloooonnngggg time season ticket holder??
Then I’m out. Damaged goods, he’s done. Reaks of desperation.
agree, cannot agree more!!!! NO Bo!! He cant throw the ball anymore, look at why he was demoted in Calgary. He’s done!! The best option I think is Vernon Adams Jr, maybe even Fajardo. But VA Jr looks pretty darn good in BC. If he can control his stupid dumb a## throws where he tries to wedge the ball in where it doesnt belong then he will be good. He has matured, is elusive and can throw. Plus is a great scrambler.
need to get rid of Reynolds, lets start there. The guy says nothing, does nothing and his value is the same. Even when you listen to the few interviews he has had over his tenure, he stammers and stumbles over his thoughts and in the end says absolutely nothing, kinda like a bad politician. start there first. Fire Reynolds.
The problem there is it’s his audience and peer group in Board Room. Have you not watched Celebrity Apprentice? The people on that show who won were able to accentuate his/her individual accomplishment – as a Project Manager. In this case think John Rich or Piers Morgan. In the same breath are able to assign blame as to why the project failed. In this case think Penn Gillette vs. Gary Busey. Sadly, and it’s just the law of the jungle only the strong survive. Gary Busey, Flavour Flav, Osmarosa, Meat Loaf…..these people are soldiers who eventually serve a purpose and… Read more »