Same old losing story for Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders, who were winless at the six-game mark in 2015, have a CFL-worst 1-5 record this time around.
They’re just one game better after overhauling the football operations department and the roster.
How much more progress can the league’s best fans withstand?
Roughriders president and CEO Craig Reynolds didn’t hire Chris Jones as the head coach, general manager and vice-president of football operations with an expectation the team would once again occupy the cellar.
But the defence, choreographed by Jones, is regularly surrendering upwards of 30 points per game.
There are some empty seats at Mosaic Stadium, even with this being The Farewell Season.
There are pleas for patience. Nobody can simply wave a magic wand and repair everything.
Also worth noting is the fact that Don Matthews, one of the elite head coaches in CFL history, barely had a winning record (2524, including the post-season) in 2 1/2 years with Saskatchewan and never won a playoff game here.
It was Matthews who, in 2002, as the Montreal Alouettes’ bench boss, gave Jones his first professional coaching job. Jones earned Grey Cup rings as a defensive line coach (in 2002 with Montreal) and a defensive co-ordinator (in 2008 with the Calgary Stampeders and in 2012 with the Toronto Argonauts) before celebrating his first championship as a head coach (with the Edmonton Eskimos on Nov. 29).
Eight days later, the hiring of Jones was announced by Reynolds. Jones inherited a 3-15 team and is on pace to finish at 3-15.
The one victory to date was impressive. On July 22, the Roughriders defeated the previously unbeaten Ottawa Redblacks 30-29 on Taylor Field.
Saskatchewan won that game even though starting quarterback Darian Durant was sidelined with a sprained left ankle. His replacement, Mitchell Gale, threw for 354 yards in his first CFL start.
Since that rare conquest, Saskatchewan has been outscored 76-18 over a two-game span.
The Jones-led defence is far too passive. While rarely disrupting the opposing passer, the Roughriders are picked apart more than one would expect when the architect of the defence has such a glittering resume.
Jones is responsible for player personnel as general manager and vice-president of football operations. His first major hire was John Murphy as assistant vice-president of football operations and player personnel.
Under Jones and Murphy, the Riders greatly expanded the scouting staff and evaluated a few thousand players during the off-season. So where are the results? With Durant at the controls, and with the defence bending but not breaking, the Roughriders were in the thick of things on Thursday — before Calgary scored the game’s final 19 points and won 35-15.
For more than 50 minutes, the Roughriders hung in with the CFL’s best team. Ultimately, though, they suffered their 27th in the past 33 meaningful games.