Saskatchewan Roughriders
If there is a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders who has likely seen it all while wearing Green and White, it’s Richie Hall.
He’s been to the top as part of a championship team, and has been to the bottom, as part of a three-win season. Through it all, Hall has perfected the art of consistency and staying power, something he’s been working on since he first joined the team as a player in 1988.
| Riders’ D Flying |
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 Roughriders Defensive Leaders » Tackles: Abraham Kromah – 12 » Interceptions: Craig Butler – 1 » Sacks: 9 tied with 1 |
He transitioned from player to coach to coordinator and has been able to survive numerous head coaching changes.
This off-season was no different when Corey Chamblin was putting together his first staff as a head coach. Despite a difference in defensive philosophy, Chamblin still believed Hall was the best man for the job.
“Richie’s huge. I brought some added techniques but it’s still Richie’s defence. It’s still the core and the terms are the same. We just mixed in some things I’m used to doing. It’s 80 percent Richie and 20 percent me,” said Chamblin.
“Richie’s been a staple in this league for a long time. You have up and down seasons but I’ve seen Richie’s structure since I came in this league and I’m good with his structure. I just added some techniques to enhance what he does.”
Hall was thankful that Chamblin was able to see past the inflated stats and losses that were piled against his defence last season.
“I think I’m an alright football coach,” said Hall.
“I think I have something to offer a team and organization. I go out there and try to work and try to do the best that I can and hopefully I’m able to influence some people around me and hopefully they can see the production that we’re doing on the football field.”
Right now, there’s no one questioning the defence’s production. Through two games this season, the combination of Hall’s structure and Chamblin’s aggressive style have allowed the Riders to give up just 17 points. The team considers their effort last week against the Eskimos to be a shutout, considering all they allowed was a punt single.
Regardless of their Week 2 performance, Hall recognizes the fact that there is a lot of work to be done.
Hall, Chamblin and the rest of the defensive coaching staff are also working out the kinks that can occur with a new relationship. Hall acknowledges he and Chamblin may not see eye to eye on everything but those differences can also be beneficial.
“If you want to be successful at anything you have to be open-minded. I’m very grateful for Corey’s personality. His attitude is that he doesn’t have all the answers and I don’t have all the answers but collectively we can find what the best answer is for our football team.”
As much as the defensive philosophies differ, Hall sees a lot of himself in his new boss.
“He’s got a personality and the players enjoy playing hard for him. He has high demands and he’s been a winner whereever he’s been so I think that’s rubbing off on our organization,” said Hall. “It’s exciting and it’s a lot of fun and the guys are buying into what he’s saying. Is it easy? No. But as he would say ‘if it was easy everyone would be successful’.”
Veteran linebacker Mike McCullough has also seen Hall grow since he came to Saskatchewan in 2003. And he continues to see one of the most successful defensive coordinators change and adjust with what can be thrown his way.
Working under Chamblin has added another twist to a very familiar defence.
“It’s a new way of thinking of things. They’re both DBs and DB coaches and worked their way up through the ranks so you have two D-coordinators looking at it from the same angle but also a different angle at times so we definitely have a few ways of thinking about things,” said McCullough.
“It’s kind of a mix of the old and the new and it’s doing pretty well.”
If two heads are better than one, the combination of Hall and Chamblin may give opposing offensive coordinators headaches all season long.
