Als look to Durant’s former mentor to get offence back on track
In their seemingly never-ending quest to get Darian Durant to perform to his capabilities, the Alouettes are hoping a friendly and familiar voice, and face, might provide the solution with time running out on their Canadian Football League season.
But former Saskatchewan head coach Ken Miller, whose hiring as an offensive consultant was announced on Sunday, said he doesn’t have a magic powder.
“Hopefully, I can work with him a little bit and help him regain the confidence and performance level he has experienced in the past,” Miller said following Wednesday’s practice — his and the team’s first full workout following Sunday’s loss to Ottawa.
“The fact he has struggled is part of the problem. I hope I have some influence on that,” said Miller, who turns 76 on Oct. 15. “It would be great if we could get Darian to play up to his potential, the way he has played in the past. And exceed that.”
Miller was the Roughriders’ head coach from 2008-10, guiding the team to a 32-21-1 record. He remained vice-president (of football operations) after handing the coaching reins to Greg Marshall in 2011. But when the Riders lost seven of their initial eight games, Marshall was fired and replaced by Miller with 10 games remaining. Saskatchewan went 4-6 and Miller resigned.
Despite his age, Miller has remained active. He coached the offensive line at Southern Utah University in 2014 and just returned from a five-month coaching stint in northern Italy. He and Kavis Reed, the Als’ general manager and interim head coach, served together on the Riders’ staff in 2009.
Reed was instrumental in bringing Miller back to the league, specifically to work with Durant and new offensive co-ordinator Anthony Calvillo, while trying to jumpstart an anemic offence that’s been held to 23 touchdowns through 12 games, scoring an average 18.3 points per contest.
The Als lead only Hamilton in both categories.
“Darian celebrated a lot of success with Miller. You have to think outside the box,” Reed said. “What stimulates players to be their best? Darian Durant had similar situations in 2009 when we were together. Coach Miller had the formula to push the right buttons and get us to the Grey Cup.”
Time certainly doesn’t appear to be working for the Als. Montreal is 3-9 and has lost five straight heading into Saturday night’s game at Toronto. The Als almost certainly will have no chance of qualifying for the playoffs should they lose to the Argonauts.
Durant, meanwhile, failed to complete any of his six passes against the Redblacks and was replaced by Drew Willy in the second quarter. Reed said after Sunday’s game he was sticking with Durant as the Als’ starter.
Durant has passed for 2,784 yards this season, completing 67.2 per cent of his throws. He has 14 touchdowns while being intercepted 11 times. When the Als and Argos met on Aug. 19 at BMO Field, Durant was held to 93 yards passing and was intercepted once as Montreal failed to score an offensive touchdown.
Durant complained his footwork and fundamentals were off against Ottawa, but Miller believes he might also be struggling with a lack of confidence. Miller said Durant is strong-armed, agile, has a strong work ethic and is a leader who’s always prepared.
“I don’t think he has lived up to his capabilities in many of those areas,” Miller said. “His performance against Ottawa wasn’t acceptable. And it’s not acceptable from any quarterback.
“I’ve seen him hold the ball a little too long. Maybe he doesn’t have a lot of confidence in his decisionmaking, so he holds the ball, gets sacked and his fundamentals break down a little bit.”
While Durant said he welcomes Miller’s arrival, he denied he’s lost confidence.
“It’s tough. You hate losing, especially when you’re a leader who felt you could have done more to help the team . ... It’s a bit frustrating. But I’m not going to jump off a building,” Durant said.
“Miller’s a good voice to have. He’s a guy who has seen me grow and worked with my mechanics since Day 1. It’ll be good to have (that voice) consistently in my head and ear.”