Hiring Jones still the right call
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are pursuing an elusive second victory amid an atmosphere of second-guessing.
Should they have hired Chris Jones?
Should they have given him such a lengthy job description?
Is he capable of reversing the CFL team’s protracted tailspin? Yes ... yes ... and yes. Jones — the Roughriders’ head coach, defensive co-ordinator, general manager and (deep breath) vice-president of football operations — has been liberally criticized in this space, and in other forums. Such is the climate when a team has a 1-7 record and a porous defence. The head coach, etc., etc., has a reputation as a defensive savant, which makes the Roughriders’ sorry start all the more shocking.
However, Jones’s impressive body of work should provide reassurance. His formula has worked so well in other places that the success should eventually be replicated in Saskatchewan.
Jones’s resume, which includes three Grey Cup championships as an assistant coach and a 2015 title as the Edmonton Eskimos’ field boss, was such that Roughriders president-CEO Craig Reynolds had a short list that essentially consisted of one individual.
Only eight days elapsed between the Eskimos’ 26-20 Grey Cup victory over the Ottawa Redblacks and the formal announcement that Jones — who was Edmonton’s head coach and defensive co-ordinator for two seasons — had bolted for Saskatchewan.
Shortly thereafter, Jones hired John Murphy as the assistant vice-president of football operations and player personnel. Murphy had played an integral role in stocking a series of top-drawer Calgary Stampeders teams.
The reaction to the Roughriders’ raid of West Division foes was, to the recollection of this scribbler, universally positive. Reynolds had boldly used his team’s financial might to add a championship-winning head coach — someone whose credentials left no doubt that a matador defence could be repaired — and a reputable personnel man.
The rapid-fire hirings of Jones and Murphy were repeatedly referred to here as a “coup.”
Recent appraisals have not been as laudatory. Many fans, frustrated with a 6-29 skid that dates back to mid-September of 2014, have questioned the entire process and wondered whether Jones has too much on his plate.
All aspects of the team warrant scrutiny, but it is a stretch to suggest that Jones is overburdened. And besides, what choice was there?
Jones has already demonstrated that he can handle the dual role of head coach and defensive co-ordinator, as evidenced by his 26-10 regular-season slate with Edmonton. The only way to pry him away from the Alberta capital was to provide an opportunity for professional advancement in the form of expanded responsibilities. Otherwise, it would have been a lateral move, and he would still be in Edmonton.
Jones arrived in Saskatchewan with experience in the field of personnel. Additionally, the presence of Murphy and Jeremy O’Day — the latter being the assistant vicepresident of football operations and administration — should ensure that Jones has sufficient time in which to concentrate on coaching and co-ordinating.
The problem, of course, is that it isn’t working — not yet, anyway.
As a result, there has been some second-guessing of Reynolds and his aggressive, expensive makeover. But put yourself in his shoes. What more could he have done once the Roughriders’ 2015 season mercifully concluded?
If Reynolds did make a questionable decision, it was to fire general manager and vicepresident of football operations Brendan Taman on Aug. 31, when head coach Corey Chamblin was also cashiered.
Taman deserved a chance to rebuild the team, as he had done so effectively after the 2011 season.
If the Roughriders had stuck with Taman — the architect of the 2013 Grey Cup-winning team — it is safe to surmise that contract renegotiations with defensive end John Chick (now of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and slotback Weston Dressler (Winnipeg Blue Bombers) would have been successful and devoid of rancour.
Moreover, Taman would have made it a priority to ensure that franchise quarterback Darian Durant was under contract beyond this season. That is a crucial consideration in light of the fact that the Roughriders are to move into an opulent new Mosaic Stadium in 2017.
That being said, consider the options at Reynolds’ disposal following the ouster of Taman and Chamblin.
Was there anyone available with more qualifications than Jones? John Hufnagel, perhaps, but he made it clear that he wanted to remain in Calgary.
Reynolds was not inclined toward a safe, easy, convenient, yawn-inducing status-quo hiring. He made a big play for Jones, one that reverberated throughout the CFL. It was the right choice. Now the onus is on Jones to make his boss look good.