KHARI JONES LEAVES FOR B.C.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders expect to address their vacancy at quarterbacks coach by having offensive co-ordinator George Cortez assume an expanded role for the 2014 CFL season.
“I can tell you right now that the quarterbacks coach will be George Cortez,’’ Roughriders head coach Corey Chamblin stated on Monday.
That was the word from Chamblin shortly after Khari Jones, who was the Roughriders’ quarterbacks coach in 2012 and 2013, was named the B.C. Lions’ offensive co-ordinator.
“I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT NOW THAT THE QUARTERBACKS COACH WILL BE GEORGE CORTEZ.” COREY CHAMBLIN
In Cortez’s first season as the Roughriders’ offensive co-ordinator, he helped the team win the 2013 Grey Cup championship. He was the Buffalo Bills’ quarterbacks coach in 2010 and 2011 before spending the 2012 season as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ head coach and director of football operations.
In Hamilton, Cortez worked closely with future Hall of Fame quarterback Henry Burris. Cortez is also noted for his association with Doug Flutie, Dave Dickenson and Jeff Garcia when they were running high-powered offences with the Calgary Stampeders.
Cortez’s expansive resume also includes four seasons as the quarterbacks coach and offensive co-ordinator at the University of CaliforniaBerkeley. While in Berkeley, Cortez groomed future NFL quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Boller, both of whom were first-round draft picks. Rodgers went on to become a franchise player, and a Super Bowl champion, with the Green Bay Packers.
So, with such an accomplished tutor of quarterbacks in his midst, Chamblin did not have to look very far to fill the void created by Jones’ departure for Vancouver. Cortez will assume a dual role on Saskatchewan’s coaching staff.
“We’ll add some guys to the staff, but George will move to quarterbacks,’’ Chamblin said. “I think he has done a phenomenal job with the quarterbacks where he has been in the past so, unless he leaves, George will do the quarterbacks. That’s something we pretty much had in place if Khari left.
“George has coached some big-time quarterbacks and he has helped them in their progression along the way.’’
Chamblin noted that he expects most of his assistant coaches to return next year. That includes all three co-ordinators — Cortez (offence), Richie Hall (defence) and Bob Dyce (special teams).
“For the most part, I see all the guys coming back,’’ said Chamblin, who pointed out that vacancies in the CFL, NFL or NCAA could always alter the equation.
Cortez had been contacted by B.C. about becoming the offensive co-ordinator, but declined the opportunity, as did former Roughriders assistant Paul LaPolice (who is now an analyst with TSN).
Earlier in the off-season, Cortez was a finalist for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ head-coaching job, which went to Mike O’Shea.
“George wants to be on a good team and he’s not used to making a lateral move,’’ Chamblin said. “George really loves Regina and Saskatchewan, so it would have surprised me if he had made a move to another team. It’s not the money (with Cortez). “It would have to be someone that he thought would win a championship, and that’s one of the reasons he came to us. If anything, I was more worried about him being a head coach than a co-ordinator somewhere else.’’
Cortez was hired last January after being fired by the Tiger-Cats. His arrival in Regina bumped Dyce from his offensive portfolio to special teams. Continuity was a consideration in planning to have Cortez work even more closely with the quarterbacks, principally starter Darian Durant.
“It will be a (dual role) and then we’ll do a little bit of reshaping,’’ Chamblin said. “We’re looking at the second year of a very positive system and we don’t want to change the way we read things.
“George is the best fit. He knows how to read the offence because it’s his offence, and he just did a very good job with the quarterbacks.’’
That was hardly surprising, considering Cortez’s resume.
“George knows what he’s doing when it comes to quarterbacks,’’ Chamblin said.
“I know that everybody says that Marc (Trestman, the Chicago Bears’ head coach) is the quarterback whisperer. George has been the CFL quarterback whisperer, so we’ll just let him whisper on.’’