Reilly raring to lead Lions to Cup
Newly signed quarterback reunited with GM Hervey, who shares his vision to create a dynasty
Somewhere between Oahu and Maui, Mike Reilly had a vision.
It wasn’t his vision, but one that had been put in his head — twice, in fact — by one man: Ed Hervey.
A player who was one of the most coveted players to hit CFL free agency in arguably a decade, Reilly had his choice of suitors. He could stay in Edmonton, or follow the dollars to a more lucrative — if less successful — destination.
The decision wasn’t an easy one for Reilly, nor was it a quick one.
A vacation to Hawaii with his wife Emily and two young daughters — Cadence and Brooklyn — gave the 34-year-old a chance to let the stress dissipate, the disappointment of missing the playoffs with the Edmonton Eskimos fade, and a chance to clear his head.
“I’d committed to myself, me and Emily were going to do our due diligence, to speak with the teams we wanted to speak with, and Edmonton, and we weren’t going to make any snap decisions. We said we were going to wait it out and talk through everything,” said Reilly.
“But during that trip it became pretty evident to us what direction we wanted to go. We enjoyed our vacation, but there was a good portion of every day that was spent with us talking about everything, and what we wanted the future to hold.
“The deciding factor was when I had a chance to sit down with them and speak with Ed (Hervey) and DeVone (Claybrooks) about their vision — and how they were going to go about and do it. How they wanted to implement me. … If I didn’t leave that conversation feeling how I did, we would not be in B.C.
“I felt like coming to B.C. was going to give me the best chance to win as many championships as I could for the remainder of my career.”
Reilly was already the league’s highest-paid player last year at more than $500,000, but he got a substantial raise on Tuesday at the start of CFL free agency when he inked a four-year, $2.9-million deal with the B.C. Lions, a move that reunited him with the general manager who first took a chance on him in 2013.
Hervey, then the Eskimos’ GM, acquired the three-year backup and depth quarterback with the Lions that year for the princely sum of two second-round draft picks. After a 4-14 season, the Esks won the Grey Cup in 2015, with Reilly earning MVP honours in that game. He has cracked the 5,000-yard passing mark for three straight years, including a 2017 campaign where he had 5,830 yards and 30 touchdowns, earning the Most Outstanding Player award.
The Grey Cup win is the one professional accomplishment Reilly values above all else, and it was the motivating factor in his move to B.C.
When Edmonton granted the Leos and the rest of the CFL permission to talk with Reilly, his discussion with Hervey and Claybrooks, the new head coach, took him back to 2013 when Hervey first pitched him on coming to Alberta.
“It was a reminder of 2013 when we had those discussions. And knowing that in ’15, we won the championship and Ed built it exactly how he said he would,” said Reilly, whose family has ties to Seattle.
“(The discussions) lit that fire again and reminded me what it was all about. The family location made me excited, as did my history with Ed … but I wouldn’t walk away from everything I tried to build in Edmonton just to be closer to my family.
“For Ed, it’s not about trying to build some crazy roster that you can’t maintain … and it all gets blown up and you’re in the cellar for five, six years. We’ve all seen that in this league. That’s not his process. He wants to build for sustained success and be that dynasty team,” added Reilly, who plans on finishing his career in B.C. — even after his new four-year deal is up — with the intention of playing until he’s 40.
“I want to be in contention for championships every single year, because nothing has fulfilled me like winning a Grey Cup. None of that other stuff, all that fluff, it’s empty. It feels great for a second, and then it’s gone.”
Hervey calls Reilly “one of the greatest leaders” he’s ever seen, and remembered seeing in him the potential to transform an Edmonton franchise that was in the doldrums. He thinks Reilly can be part of the same process in B.C.
“I remember saying to Mike after we traded for him that he could come to Edmonton and make a name for himself. (Quarterback) was one of the areas we needed to be resurrected. … We needed a new face, a fresh face. And everything he did after he came in, he delivered. He became a model franchise player,” Hervey said.
“This is now Phase 2. Now we need to impact one of the larger markets in the CFL. We have to inject life into a fanbase that, some may be skeptical of this organization or some may be playing wait and see. I believe that today … we have put our money where our mouths are.”