Regina Leader-Post

RIDERS’ JONES DESERVES ALL OF THE TITLES — AND MAYBE MORE

It’s hard to argue with success. and this guy brings a stacked resume with him

- MIKE ABOU-MECHREK I value your feedback at mike. Abou-Mechrek@InvestorsG­roup.com

Most if not all of the criticism out of Saskatchew­an regarding the recent Chris Jones hiring has to do with the CFL’s Roughrider­s apparently offering Jones absolute control of the football operations of the franchise with the titles of vice-president of football operations, general manager and head coach (who will soon officially appoint himself defensive coordinato­r).

I, for one, do not see a problem with this linear chain of command if it is the right person, and everything I have seen and heard about Chris Jones in the past eight days leads me to believe he is the right person for the province.

First and foremost, he is a defensive co-ordinator who keeps opposing coaches and players up all night watching film, wondering what he’s going to do next.

His schemes rely on pressuring the quarterbac­k with four defensive linemen. That allows the defence to drop eight players into coverage and clog up the passing lanes for the offence.

But just because, fundamenta­lly, Jones’ defences don’t need to bring blitzes to get home doesn’t mean he doesn’t blitz. He does — a lot.

Players will come from anywhere and everywhere — linebacker­s, safeties, cornerback­s too! He’ll even routinely drop a lineman into coverage if it will confuse the offensive blocking schemes and give the defence the advantage.

For offensive players, Jones is horrible to game plan against, but his defence must be fun to play in. He uses substituti­ons to play into his players’ strengths and put them in positions to succeed. He never asks too much or too little from a player and he helps them recognize the importance of the cog that they are in the grand scheme of the team.

Players love playing for him, and judging by his record as head coach, this is not limited to the defensive side of the ball.

In fact, that sentiment is not limited to players, either. If I am to believe my reliable sources, most of the 2015 Edmonton Eskimos coaching staff will be joining Jones on the Riders’ sideline — including Jarious Jackson, who reportedly turned down an offensive co-ordinator position to stay on with Jones as an assistant.

Having not only good coaches but a staff that shares the same vision and knows how to work with each other to achieve a goal puts the Riders months ahead of where they could have been if they had to piece together a coaching staff and start building a new culture before diving into free agency

The culture that Jones brings seems to be similar to the one that we had lost in Riderville. It is one of community, of everyone doing their share for the team to prosper.

It should be obvious the Riders’ head coach can’t play defensive back, and I doubt that Jones will remind us of that in 2016.

What he does seem good at is knowing his role and finding coaches and players who fit his systems.

The next few months will give us an idea of how he will do as a GM, but I’d say having half of the Grey Cup champions reportedly wanting to play for him is a pretty good start.

As for the vice-president of football operations title, I am not even sure what a “VP of football ops” does other than to be the GM’s boss and book the team’s flights and accommodat­ions on the road. In my brief conversati­on with Jones, I’m sure his ego won’t get in the way of him asking for help and delegating some of these important decisions to trusted assistants when his focus needs to be elsewhere.

When power is responsibl­y delegated, the collective contributi­on is always larger than the accumulati­on of its parts regardless of who holds what title.

 ??  ?? Newly signed general manager and head coach, Chris Jones
BRYAN SCHLOSSER/ REGINA LEADER-POST
Newly signed general manager and head coach, Chris Jones BRYAN SCHLOSSER/ REGINA LEADER-POST
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