There was a time – and it doesn’t seem like it was that long ago – that the off-season in the Canadian Football League truly was just that.
“Off”.
However maybe we should consider renaming this six month period “outside” of the regular season something else. Because, aside from perhaps a day or two around Christmas and New Year’s, the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the CFL have been front page news and have dominated our talk shows.
Man oh man is that ever a good thing because we’re never at a loss for things to discuss. Let’s reflect:
– Shortly after the 2014 Grey Cup in Vancouver, the Roughriders announced they’d be making changes with their offensive and defensive coordinator roles. Offensive guru George Cortez would not return for a third season while long-time Defensive boss Richie Hall would be reshuffled within the organization. That set off weeks of speculation which ultimately ended with Jacques Chapdelaine and Greg Quick being hired to fill those respective roles in mid-December.
– On New Year’s Eve, news broke that Richie Hall would be joining the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as their Defensive Coordinator and while many Rider Priders were saddened to see him go, it was great to hear Richie say that he’s “rejuvenated” by the move to the Manitoba capital. He admitted it will be “strange” to walk into Mosaic Stadium as the visitor but he won’t have long to think about it. Winnipeg visits Saskatchewan in the 2015 Roughrider home-opener on Saturday, June 27 in an 8:00 pm kickoff.
– January and early-February were anything but quiet with the CFL Free Agency deadline looming on February 10. Although the Riders had a long list of pending free agents, The Big Three of those were SB Weston Dressler, S Tyron Brackenridge and OT Ben Heenan. Rider GM Brendan Taman said re-signing one of them would be a coup but in the end he was able to retain Dressler’s and Brackenridge’s services while Heenan signed a three-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts. Homerun there as far as Taman is concerned.
– Another interesting free agent was quarterback Tino Sunseri. The Pittsburgh product spent the past two seasons in Green & White and showed flashes of brilliance in a back-up role but struggled when thrust into the starter’s spotlight due to the injury to Darian Durant. Frankly, if the Riders were searching this winter for a back-up with some experience to support Durant, I felt there weren’t many arms out there with more experience/starts than Sunseri. However Tino could be forgiven if he felt he wasn’t given a fair shake in 2014, given the fact the club signed 41-year old pivot Kerry Joseph on October 9. In the end though, the Riders offered Sunseri a new deal and on February 13 he signed back with Saskatchewan. Methinks Tino did a quick search of what opportunities were out there post-February 10 and decided his best chance was with Saskatchewan.
– The CFL published a list of the Top 20 available free agents in 2015 and the group was headed by Edmonton REC/KR Kendial Lawrence. Frankly I felt the most intriguing of the bunch was 35-year old quarterback Kevin Glenn. He may not have been the most marquee or even the most talented in the group but given the fact he’s a Top 10 all-time CFL passer and has led two teams to the Grey Cup, Kevin certainly had a lot to offer. And then on February 19, Glenn came to terms with the Riders.
– It’s doubtful the Riders will keep both Sunseri and Glenn because the #3 spot is generally used as a development position (i.e. young guy). That makes the battle in training camp and preseason all the more interesting and it will make camp in Saskatoon must-see viewing.
– The 2015 CFL schedule was announced on February 13, which was by far the earliest date in my recollection. Much was made about the Riders’ schedule, given four of their first five games are at home while four of the last five are on the road. Truthfully the schedule never makes much difference to me since I’ll be at them all, even if they kicked off at midnight on a Tuesday. However one interesting factoid is that six of the Riders’ nine home regular season games are night affairs and their home preseason game is a Friday at 7:30 pm. The Riders are 22-8 in home night games since 2011 so that’s a good omen there.
– There are some keenly interesting things going on behind the scenes too. Roughrider President & CEO Jim Hopson will call it a career at the end of March and there will be a private dinner to celebrate his achievements in the coming weeks. That promises to be a very emotional evening and Hopson will be properly feted. In the meantime, new team President Craig Reynolds continues to settle into his new role.
– And for those of his who live in Regina and pass the new stadium site on a daily basis, the progress is evident day-by-day. I returned from a week in Mexico to discover a whole new level of the east side of the stadium had been erected. It seems the construction crews are working at a record pace however civic and Roughrider officials are hesitant to say they’re ahead of schedule. A stretch of bad weather could derail their efforts at any time but their progress has been astounding.
– And that brings us back to the old, or current, Mosaic Stadium. One Rider fan pointed out on social media recently that there are only 22 games left at the Grand Ol’ Lady if you factor in home playoff games in 2015 and 2016. Remarkably there are still citizens of this province who’ve never made it to a home Roughrider game, and part of the reason is because every home game has been televised within the province going back to 2006. So if you’ve never been, now’s the time!
– I’ve only occasionally allowed myself to think about what it will be like when the wrecking ball takes its first swing into Mosaic Stadium/Taylor Field. There won’t be a dry eye in the house and that’s nothing compared to what the build-up will be when we eventually get to the final game in the facility which dates back to 1910 when it was known as Park Hughes.
So all-in-all it’s been a fast-paced “off”-season for the Riders! It’s been a pleasure to follow and cover on a daily basis and I hope we can all agree that these truly are “the best of times”.
