Coaches resume chess match as Jones brings Riders calling
The 2016 CFL season doesn’t officially kick off for another week, when the Edmonton Eskimos welcome the Ottawa Redblacks for the annual Grey Cup rematch.
But Saturday’s pre-season finale at Commonwealth Stadium will kick off a season series that’s even closer to the real thing for Eskimos head coach Jason Maas.
He was, after all, offensive coordinator for the Redblacks during the 26-20 loss to an Eskimos squad whose head coach and defensive co-ordinator was Chris Jones.
And while the backdrop has changed — along with the colours and job titles both coaches are sporting this year — they will once again match wits in a matchup of two of the best co-ordinators there are in the league right now.
“I’m not ever worried about the coach we face, other than the coordinator/co-ordinator matchup,” said Maas, who retains the duties of offensive co-ordinator in his new dual role with the Eskimos.
“Between Chris and I, if he’s the defensive co-ordinator and I’m the offensive co-ordinator, that’s where the chess match happens.
“But other than thinking any more into it than that, I don’t think anything more into it. It’s a team sport, it’s them versus us, and that’s the way I deal with things.”
If there is a lingering feeling of unfinished business left over from last year’s championship, it’s still lying within the offensive co-ordinator whose side held the lead with less than four minutes left to play.
But it’s far from the first thing on Maas’s mind at the moment.
“At the end of the day, we need (to be) ready to face Ottawa, this game is all about getting ready for that,” Maas said of the season-opener, set for June 25 (5 p.m., TSN, 630 CHED). “It’s a tune-up for us, we’ve got to be firing on all cylinders when they’re out there.
“I don’t want anybody thinking about anything other than the play they’re in.”
Including who happens to be coaching on the opposing sideline.
But chances are, the season series against his former green-and gold-clad club it’s the closest thing Jones will get to a rematch of November’s finale.
“I’ll leave that for y’all to decide,” he said, clad in his traditional black and sporting the 2015 Grey Cup ring that arrived in the mail over training camp.
“Me and Jason have known each other for years and he’s an outstanding football coach. He’s going to have his group prepared.
“We just want to show up and do our job and have fun while we do it.”
Winning is, after all, the name of the game, whether it’s over the championship in November or a skirmish to close out the pre-season.
And to some of those involved, Saturday could represent a little bit of both.
“It’s an exhibition game. It might be bigger to some folks, but we’re here for a reason,” said Jones, whose 85-player training camp roster contained 60 new names. “That’s to evaluate our players and win a football game. That’s why we’re here.”