SINCLAIR SIGNS ON
Riders name defensive coaches.
Corey Chamblin’s defensive roots were showing Friday.
The Saskat chewan Roughriders head coach announced that he had finalized his defensive coaching staff for the 2013 CFL season. Chamblin has added Mike Sinclair as the defensive line coach and assistant head coach and Richard Kent as a defensive backs coach. Returning for the 2013 season are defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall and defensive backs coach Barron Miles. Hall assumes the role of linebackers coach.
Chamblin had three vacancies to fill on his coaching staff after not renewing the contracts of offensive line coach Kris Sweet, defensive line coach Mike Walker and linebackers coach and assistant to the head coach Alex Smith. Chamblin addressed the defensive holes, but isn’t expected to hire an offensive line coach until January.
“I’m a little slow on that one,’’ Chamblin said during a media conference Friday at Mosaic Stadium. “I wanted to finish the defence and get them up to speed on where we are. I think I’m at a good point now where I don’t have to hire anyone today. This time last year, I was just getting into the building. I’ve done a pretty good job to this point.’’
Chamblin said he will probably wait until after the American Football Coaches’ Association national convention in Nashville (Jan. 6-9) before deciding on an offensive line coach. Chamblin plans to interview prospects during that time.
Chamblin, who spent all of his time on defence as a player, assistant coach and co-ordinator before being named the Riders’ head coach on Dec. 15, 2011, is pleased with the makeup of the defensive coaching staff.
“They are still older than me,’’ the 35-year-old Chamblin said with a chuckle. “There are some veteran coaches and some guys who have been in championship games as coaches. Richard (Kent) has been in plenty of them during his career in NFL Europe and Mike (Sinclair) has been in many championship games. They know how to coach to get you to those games and get you through them. Richie has been in them along with Barron. It brings us a good mix.’’
Sinclair joins the Riders after spending five seasons with the Montreal Alouettes, sharing in the 2009 and 2010 Grey Cup wins over the Roughriders. Sinclair, 44, resigned after the 2012 season despite having two years remaining on his contract. The Alouettes were fourth in the CFL last season with 42 sacks and were fifth in points allowed, with an average of 27.2 per game.
“Sometimes in your career you just want to grow,’’ said Sinclair, who spent 11 seasons with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks where he appeared in three consecutive Pro Bowls and recorded 73.5 sacks. “You want your wings to open up and get some air. I decided it was time for Mike Sinclair to grow his football and see where that takes him.’’
Sinclair and Kent both have experience in NFL Europe, where they became familiar with Chamblin. Sinclair was the defensive line coach with the Hamburg Sea Devils and shared in the 2008 NFL Europe Bowl championship before joining the Alouettes.
“Our backgrounds are similar in coaching,’’ Chamblin said. “(Sinclair) was obviously a better player than I was, but we’re cut from the same cloth as far as coaching goes.’’
Kent, who was a guest coach at the Riders’ 2012 training camp, spent the last two seasons with the United Football League’s Omaha Nighthawks. Kent won World Bowl titles as a defensive co-ordinator in 2002 with the Berlin Thunder and 2005 with the Amsterdam Admirals. He was also the defensive backs coach with the Toronto Argonauts in 2009.
“When I was a player in Europe, (Kent) was the coach and one of the best defensive co-ordinators in the league at the time,’’ said Chamblin, who was a player with the Rhein Fire (2004) and an assistant defensive backs coach with the Frankfurt Galaxy (2006) before joining the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2007. “He’s a phenomenal defensive backs guy and he knows the position.’’
Miles and Kent are to split their duties as defensive backs coaches. One coach will look after cornerbacks and safeties and the other will deal with defensive halfbacks. Chamblin wouldn’t disclose which coach would handle the different positions.
Sinclair was among the first names that surfaced as a possible defensive line coach when the vacancy opened with the Riders. Sinclair had also drawn interest from other teams, but felt the Riders provided the best fit.
“This is a pretty good organization and I figured that out when I first joined the league,’’ Sinclair said. “They have great fans and everyone in town knows about football.’’