Jack B. Bedell
CFL.ca
You know it’s a big-time football event when the opportunity to watch some of the best young players on the continent perform is only the gravy of the week. Star-gazing is the real fun of Senior Bowl week, and I’ve been soaking it up as much as possible during the practices.
If you can imagine a football-themed amusement park, you’d be pretty close to what Senior Bowl week is all about. While NFL coaching staffs put the all-star players through their paces on the practice field, the stands are hopping with coaches, scouts, and front office personnel from every pro league you can imagine.
You can’t turn your head without seeing some kind of football illuminati at work. There are huge NFL personalities like Bill Parcells, Sean Payton, and Norv Turner walking around checking out the talent on and off the field.
There are also pro power-players like super-agent Drew Rosenhaus blue-toothing his way through the stands. Not to mention player factories line Defensive Lines, Inc. in full effect drumming up new clients.
The highlight of my week, though, was getting to rub shoulders with some of the best minds in the CFL.
Being way down here in south Louisiana, it’s really rare that I get an opportunity to see CFL officials in person, and you can bet I was soaking it up all week in Mobile.
The first person I ran into in the hotel lobby was Milt Stegall, looking fully-recovered from off-season surgery and as fit as ever. Stegall was in town visiting with a friend in who’s a players’ rep and checking in with Blue Bombers’ brass getting some off-season appearances in line.
Milt has great hands, but I have to say his memories better. He recognized me right away from across the room, and I’d only met him once sharing the last courtesy shuttle back to the hotel after the Grey Cup in Winnipeg. That must be one heck of a filing system he has for a brain!
At the first practice I attended, I ran into Danny Maciocia soaking up some of the nice Alabama weather. Maciocia looked as relaxed as I’ve ever seen him, obviously enjoying his new role with the Eskimos. I had a great talk with him about the importance of logging in some research on Senior Bowl Players because that research will definitely pay dividends for clubs down the road, especially when it comes to forming negotiation lists.
Speaking of Eskimos in new roles, I was really happy to meet Richie Hall for the first time. Hall seemed eager to get to work after some time at home in the States. He was definitely enjoying the chance to meet in person with Maciocia and other members of the Eskimos’ brain trust in Mobile.
As Hall put it, “Working over the phone is great, but there’s nothing like sitting down in person for a week to discuss your vision for the team.”
If you ever wanted some insight into the kind of man Hall is, all you’d have to hear was what he said when I congratulated him on his well-deserved hiring—“It’s nothing I did. It’s really a tribute to the great players I’ve coached over the years and what they were able to accomplish.” That’s character right there, folks.
I could say the same about Alouettes’ head man Marc Trestman, who I was also privileged to meet for the first time in the stands at Senior Bowl practice. Everything you’ve ever heard about Trestman’s graciousness and courtesy is true, and then some. In a short conversation, his attentiveness and caring was very impressive, and he has my gratitude for both.
While I’ve got no scoop to provide on Coach Trestman’s future, he sure looked and sounded like a man ready to get to work in Montreal to make another run at the Grey Cup.
I probably spent the most time in the stands chatting with Calgary Stampeders’ defensive coordinator Chris Jones. Just hanging around him a bit in the stands, it didn’t take long for me to realize why Jones has been a successful coordinator in the CFL, and why he’ll no doubt be a fine head coach in the league one day.
Coach Jones is as hands-on as any coach could be, putting his own eyes on potential players and running his own stopwatch rather than relying on scouting reports. Having great schemes and being a good teacher are one thing, but it takes it to another level when you add the ability to evaluate personnel to the mix. My bet is he’ll be running the whole show for a team some day, and doing it well.
Jones probably put the whole week in perspective for me when it comes to what these CFL staffs are doing at Senior Bowl practices.
“These players all have NFL dollar signs in their eyes right now, and that’s good for them, but we have to know the ones with the skills to perform in the CFL, because those skills will lead them to us eventually.”
One such player would definitely be West Virginia’s Pat White, whose skills have CFL QB written all over them. So much so I spent all week watching White and trying to figure out who he reminded me of so much. Coach Jones nailed it right away, though—a young Nealon Greene. And with that skill-set, White could have a heck of a CFL career in his future.
And that’s really why Adam Rita, Jim Barker, Lyle Bauer, Bob O’Billovich, and Danny Maciocia are there. And that’s what coaches like Jones, Hall, Trestman, George Cortez, Bart Andrus, and Steff Kruck are watching at those practices.
In a couple of words: the future.
It was truly a privilege to meet and speak with so many CFL officials and coaches this past week at the Senior Bowl, and I definitely want to thank them all for their time and attention. I can’t wait for the chance to do it all again next year.
UP NEXT
The week in Mobile really has my off-season juices flowing, and I’m raring to dive into all the free-agent speculation. So check back in a few days for my take on the best players hitting the market this year. And I still have those off-season grades on the burner.
Until then, take care. And keep crossing those days off the calendar. E-camp’s here in no time!
Jack B. Bedell is a Professor of English at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana and has followed the CFL for nearly three decades.
