Storybook ’07 season ranks at the top for Joseph
One former Saskatchewan Roughriders passer marvels at the passage of time.
Kerry Joseph cannot believe how quickly a decade has elapsed since he helped the Roughriders capture the third Grey Cup championship in franchise history.
“I was actually in my house, cleaning out some drawers, and I came across a stack of DVDs from the 2007 season,” Joseph says. “It was actually all the TV cuts from the season, so I’ve got every game.
“I just pulled them out and it was, ‘Wow.’ It’s 10 years. It doesn’t seem that way, but it has passed by.”
The Roughriders of 2007 enjoyed a storybook season with Joseph, first-year head coach Kent Austin and then-general manager Eric Tillman leading the way.
Saskatchewan posted an 11-7 record and staged its first home playoff game since 1988. The 2007 Roughriders won all three of their post-season contests, culminating with a 23-19 CFL-championship victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Toronto.
Three days before the Grey Cup victory, Joseph was named the CFL’s most outstanding player. The highlight reel at the awards presentations showed one of the signature plays from that season.
In the Labour Day Classic, Joseph scored from 27 yards away on a quarterback draw in the final seconds to give Saskatchewan a 31-26 comeback victory over Winnipeg.
“I think the turning point was the Labour Day game,” Joseph says. “After that, we didn’t expect to lose.”
The season before, when Joseph was a first-year Rider, Saskatchewan had posted its third consecutive 9-9 record under head coach Danny Barrett.
Barrett was succeeded by Austin in December of 2006. Roy Shivers, who was named the Riders’ general manager in late December of 1999, was replaced by Tillman in August of 2006.
“If you really look at that team, Danny and Roy had a lot to do with that football team and putting the guys in place,” Joseph says. “Then you bring in Kent Austin and Eric Tillman and they tweak a few things and add a few pieces here and there. Then we take off.
“With what Kent brought in there with the attitude and the coaches, I think everything just gelled together. Everybody had that one word, and that was to ‘believe.’ Regardless of what happened, we always stuck with that one word — believe. And that’s what’s in the inside of our Grey Cup rings — BELIEVE.”
Tillman agrees that the mindset was crucial.
“So many factors contributed to our success, but, one of the biggest was simply creating an expectation of success,’’ the current Hamilton Tiger-Cats GM says.
“We preached positivity from Day 1, championship goals and aspirations, and, everyone bought in — from the board, to (presidentCEO) Jim Hopson, to Kent, his coaches, to people in every facet of our organization.
“Those expectations, though, were never clearer than on the opening night of training camp when Kent spoke to the team for the first time. You could hear it in his voice and see it in the players’ eyes. You could have heard a pin drop. And, when the players walked out of that first team meeting, they knew it was the beginning of something very special.”
A decade later, there is a special feeling when Tillman recalls that season.
“It’s important to remember championships are always a collective effort,”w’’ he says. “There were several players on that 2007 team that Al Ford and Roy Shivers brought to Saskatchewan.
“And, remember, Kent and I wouldn’t have been with the club without being given the opportunity by Jim Hopson and (former chairman of the board) Graham Barker, and without having total support from the entire board (which was chaired by Rob Pletch).
“All of those people, and others throughout the organization, played significant roles in our championship run. Certainly, that includes people like Tony Playter, Ivan Gutfriend, Normie Fong, Joe Womack, Cheryl McLean-Keil and a ton of people on the business and marketing sides, and our ticketoffice staff, too.
“We won it together as an organization, and, looking back, we should give due credit to everyone, including those who came before us, like Al, Roy and Danny.”
Considerable credit should also go to Joseph, who enjoyed his finest CFL season in 2007.
“Even with my years in the NFL and my years in the CFL, 2007 has to rank at the top,’’ says Joseph, who is now the wide receivers coach and co-offensive co-ordinator at his alma mater, McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La.
“Every time I look up at my TV at home, my MVP trophy is sitting right there. I still wear the Grey Cup ring, especially when I’m out recruiting, because I try to show people — especially where I’m coaching — and encourage these young men that, ‘You can make it anywhere. I have a championship right from this place here.’
“In my office, you see the plaque of me holding up the Grey Cup with my teammates. So it’s at the top — definitely at the top.”