Ripper

You are right. I hate baseball. Do three quarters of those teams have any realistic chance to ever win the World Series? It remains to be seen if the Riders are the new Evil Empire. I doubt it but time will tell. We will never be the evil empire, because evil is not in us. Full credit to Rhodes and Hervey for not standing in the way of Jones. Very classy way to handle the situation. Same can't be said for the media and some of the fans, but upper Eskimo management has handled it the way its been handled many times in this league, with class.

Fill me in on how real sports fans conduct themselves?

What a ridiculous and childish post. You might be wise to remember that there is a very real possibility that the Bombers will be looking for a GM in the not so distant future and that Murphy will probably be at the top of that list. When that time comes, I can GUARANTEE that you will be here saying "the Bombers better get this done" as opposed to "Yeah, he's good. But I'd rather go with someone cheaper. We called out the Riders and their fans for spending money to get the best candidates last year. I really don't want to look like a hypocrite". no you missed the point. The point is let's all laugh at the hypocritical rider fans. Some of us remember the past and rider fans are acting like the people they once upon a time swore were the evil empire. If we are the new evil empire, I want a better name. How about " Team Alpha Super Awesome Cool Dynamite Wolf Squadron". Oh and we also get to win the next 5 consecutive grey cups.

What a ridiculous and childish post. You might be wise to remember that there is a very real possibility that the Bombers will be looking for a GM in the not so distant future and that Murphy will probably be at the top of that list. When that time comes, I can GUARANTEE that you will be here saying "the Bombers better get this done" as opposed to "Yeah, he's good. But I'd rather go with someone cheaper. We called out the Riders and their fans for spending money to get the best candidates last year. I really don't want to look like a hypocrite". The riders will not get the way of Murphy getting more money and a promotion to come to Winnipeg either. Last winter Hall was relieved of his duties as DC, he never lost his job. He was scheduled to stay on with the Riders, but the team allowed him to interview for Bomber DC job. They then never stood in his way to leave, just as we had done a few years earlier when he went to Edmonton to be a head coach. No hard feelings to a man trying to better himself. we welcomed him back when the HC gig didn't work out. Hating the riders over this is ridiculous IMO. Just hate us for the regular reasons you had before, because we kick your butt every labor day. (:

I'm curious if you know, or anyone else for that matter, how much Huff, Murphy, Petrie were making last season together? No one knows or probably even cared to ask until the riders made this move. For some reason it seems more like a big deal because its the Riders. I get it, its a bomber fan site, but still the question stands. Well, to be fair, who else could afford the "entirety" of those moves? I just asked about Calgary. Do you have a answer? Hamilton signed Austin for big money and Tillman while collecting welfare from the league and paying Cortez who they had fired, I'm sure that wasn't expensive. Wally and Tedford? Tedford came up to the cfl from the ncaa for pocket change? meanwhile they were paying Benevides who they fired. Who else can afford it? any team in the league that's who. Unless numbers can be provided that prove the riders have spent more money on coaches than anyone else in the league it is nothing more than sour grapes. One last thing, how is it that everyone is so sure O'Day is even going to have a job and be on staff when the season starts.

I'm curious if you know, or anyone else for that matter, how much Huff, Murphy, Petrie were making last season together? No one knows or probably even cared to ask until the riders made this move. For some reason it seems more like a big deal because its the Riders. I get it, its a bomber fan site, but still the question stands.

I realize you are spit balling numbers to just try to make the riders look bad. John Murphy's contract is up with the Stamps and he applied for GM job with the riders so we didn't exactly pull him away from the stamps. 400k is more than a head coach makes so highly doubt that number unless u can provide a link or proof. Even though Murphy wasn't hired as GM he has received a promotion here. As far as Jones at 600k, that's a great price for a coach/gm combo probably far less than the bombers are currently paying their 2 people in those positions. O'Day may be at 250k, likely going rate for a AGM. As far as Taman/ Chamblin, coaches get fired all the time and contracts have to be paid, how much did bombers pay Lapo to sit at home?? I think you're out of your mind if you think 600,00 is far less than what the BB are paying oshea and Walters. I'd be surprised it was more. Serious question, How much do you think O'shea makes and Walters make? O'Shea was a rookie head coach so likely 200-250. Walters 300-350. Thoughts?

Don't need any conscience clearing as you are not providing any proof that the Eskimos 'bought' their Grey Cups (I'm assuming the ones from 1978 to 1982). There was no free agency at the time so players were not able to shop themselves and go to the highest paying team. Take a look at the Eskimos' rosters of those years and tell me what stars they got from other teams? What time period would it be considered that the Eskimos were buying their way to success? The eskimo's had cash resources available and a big stadium built by taxpayers money. Obviously the rest of the league saw it was a problem or there wouldn't have been a SMS brought it. Can we at least agree on that? Buying cups simply refers to them being able to do things none of the other teams at that time could do. I don't expect you to acknowledge that because you are a Eskimo fan,but everyone else see's it as plain as day.

I realize you are spit balling numbers to just try to make the riders look bad. John Murphy's contract is up with the Stamps and he applied for GM job with the riders so we didn't exactly pull him away from the stamps. 400k is more than a head coach makes so highly doubt that number unless u can provide a link or proof. Even though Murphy wasn't hired as GM he has received a promotion here. As far as Jones at 600k, that's a great price for a coach/gm combo probably far less than the bombers are currently paying their 2 people in those positions. O'Day may be at 250k, likely going rate for a AGM. As far as Taman/ Chamblin, coaches get fired all the time and contracts have to be paid, how much did bombers pay Lapo to sit at home??

2007 Roughriders win the cup. Austin is let out of his contract to go to the NCAA. Now I guess not stolen by another cfl team but Austin used his success to vault himself into a promotion somewhere else, while still under contract to the riders. And believe me the fans in Regina were wild about him leaving. Many still hate Austin to this day for leaving. We lost all 3 starting linebackers that winter to free agency. Our team lost players because as it commonly happens in a cup year, everyone on team thinks they were the key reason why the team won and they need a big raise. I highly doubt many esk free agents end up in sask this year, if any. But make no mistake, Sewell, Grimes and others will garner interest around the league and the esks will have to pay up to try to keep the roster together, which I have doubts they will be able to do. It has nothing to do with the riders but more to do with winning, when you are a winner, everyone wants a piece of you. That's more what I was referring to with the Esks, they used to be able to afford the raises, but now they have a level playing field with everyone else and can't.

There was an interesting article (don't know if anyone has linked it here) that talked about the need to implement an "administrative cap" .. thought it was on point. I'll see if I can dig it up .. edit: here it is - http://3downnation.com/2015/12/08/its-time-again-for-a-cfl-spending-cap-it-saved-the-riders-once/ This reminds me of the days when Edmonton could 'buy' their way into the Grey Cup. The Bombers had some good teams back then, but not the same purse strings. Result? 5 Grey Cups in a row for Edmonton.Another result? The SMS. Saskatchewan probably threw a few TD passes with these hires, and everybody is stunned...and jealous. But could any other team have afforded these moves? I highly doubt it. Good or bad, it's moving forward... From 1973 the Eskimos went to the Grey Cup in nine out of ten years. Over half of that time playing out of Clarke Stadium. They then moved into the CFL's third largest stadium (Commonwealth) that had approximately 42,300 seats, with about 39,500 being sideline seats. The 70's were a good time to build a team as there was no free agency. If you found good players you basically got to keep them. If other teams, notably the BC Lions, were not good at evaluating talent you could pick up their castoffs (i.e. Tom Wilkinson, Bob Howes) or make trades for guys like Larry Highbaugh. 1972 was a great year for the Eskimos to pick up cast-offs since being the worst team in 1971 meant they got first crack at cuts. I also recall the Eskimos had a scout, Frankie Morris, evaluating Canadian talent. His wikipedia page states that he was a member of seven Grey Cup teams as a part of management (for people outside Edmonton, that means Grey Cup winning teams). He died in 2009 at 85 so it is fairly likely he wasn't involved with the Eskimos for the '05, '03 and '93 Cups. Safe to say 1975 was his first Grey Cup as a scout. Winnipeg stadium was as big as Clarke Stadium. I'm not sure other teams were scouting like the Eskimos back then. He was scouting before the Eskimos could possibly have any advantage over the other teams. When the Eskimos wanted Tommy Scott from the Bombers they couldn't wait until the end of the year for him to be a free agent and outbid the Bombers. They had to trade for him. How did that trade work out for the Bombers? I would say pretty well. Can you name any players the Eskimos got from other teams because that other team couldn't afford them? What can you point to to say the Eskimos bought that team? When did the SMS start? I've seen people say they bought Grey Cups but no one every seems to provide evidence. Your opinion doesn't surprise me because it is a common conscience clearing opinion most Eskimo fans have. There was no cap so they were free to spend as much as they wanted. They were destroying the league to a point where we almost didn't have one. The eskimoes are in unchartered waters this year however, as their roster will get raided at free agency. Back in the good old days before the pesky salary cap the esks could win year after year and not lose a single player because they could continue to pay them more than anyone else could. Now that the sms is in place, teams that win the cup commonly have a moderate turnover of their roster because free agents want more money to stay. That's why its harder to string cup wins together and sustain success in the modern CFL. Calgary being the benchmark recently for sustained success has relied heavily on great scouting to keep things going. I also think that is why the Edmonton media is sour about the Jones situation, they thought the glory years were back.

Absolutely right. No one wins every year. A lot of the over the top excitement with fans is just the steam blowing off from our horrible 3-15 season. I'm just hoping we can be a solid team, a team that is the hunt for the playoffs and be a contender every year. I think we will have that

Your post makes absolutely no sense at all. Dangerous precedent?? Coaches leave teams all the time for promotions. Its happened many times, only difference this time is the Esks crying about it. We let Ritchie Hall out of his contract to go to Edmonton to be the HC there. We let Kent Austin out of his contract right after we won the grey cup to go coach in the NCAA. Many examples where this has happened. Its pretty rare to see a HC with a contract leave for another team. Hall's move to Edmonton was from assistant to head coach. Austin was leaving the league. Neither of these are the situation Jones was in. Its considered a promotion because of the GM title and so that's why it was allowed, but employed head coaches moving to another team is actually pretty rare. Let me get this straight here. Going from Head Coach to VP of football operations/ General manager and HC is not a promotion in your books? Jones is accountable only to Rider President Craig Reynolds, he is in charge of everything. AND doubled his salary. In my mind I would say that qualifies as a promotion. Nowhere in his entire post does he say it's not a promotion. What I think he's saying (and what I'd agree with) is not that the Jones move should not be allowed, but that any moves like this in the future should at least be tied to some compensation going in the other direction. I understand your position but ask why is this any different than any of the other moves?

Your post makes absolutely no sense at all. Dangerous precedent?? Coaches leave teams all the time for promotions. Its happened many times, only difference this time is the Esks crying about it. We let Ritchie Hall out of his contract to go to Edmonton to be the HC there. We let Kent Austin out of his contract right after we won the grey cup to go coach in the NCAA. Many examples where this has happened. Its pretty rare to see a HC with a contract leave for another team. Hall's move to Edmonton was from assistant to head coach. Austin was leaving the league. Neither of these are the situation Jones was in. Its considered a promotion because of the GM title and so that's why it was allowed, but employed head coaches moving to another team is actually pretty rare. Let me get this straight here. Going from Head Coach to VP of football operations/ General manager and HC is not a promotion in your books? Jones is accountable only to Rider President Craig Reynolds, he is in charge of everything. AND doubled his salary. In my mind I would say that qualifies as a promotion.

Your post makes absolutely no sense at all. Dangerous precedent?? Coaches leave teams all the time for promotions. Its happened many times, only difference this time is the Esks crying about it. We let Ritchie Hall out of his contract to go to Edmonton to be the HC there. We let Kent Austin out of his contract right after we won the grey cup to go coach in the NCAA. Many examples where this has happened.

He likes Winnipeg, doesn't he still live there? That's got to speak to his commitment to doing a good job for the team IMHO.

Ritchie Hall isn't mean enough to be a head coach. Much like Bob Dyce, a good football man and co-ordinator, a team player. Lapo's first stint in the Peg was no different, not mean enough and didn't have upper management support. However now I believe lapo is ready to coach and the bombers have cleaned up front office and he will get that support. For the record I had zero problem with Lapo coming in here to coach the riders.

Im guessing the coaches want the multi year deals. It isnt often a coaching spot goes to open market for a team thats in a great situation. Usually those teams have a dickenson in the system or a specific target. Coaches have the worst job security in the world, im ok with them getting a golden parachute. It's not that bad if they get paid the entirety of their contract regardless and can pretty much pack up and leave for another job at anytime. Yeah, though i wouldnt mind seeing the parachute cut if the fired coach takes the same job or better with another team in the league. But even if not, most of them deserve it. JJ as well to sask they are putting together a solid coaching staff. guess this means KJ is looking for work Yup Jackson reported to be coming, 2 yr deal, same title as in Edmonton. as/per Farhan

delete

Isn't it the Bombers signing every player the Riders cut? Who have we signed lately from Edmonton? Besides Jones. I have no idea who he might bring in here. TBH, I don't want to much of a Eskimo presence on our team. Sewell is the only player they have that I would want. With your roster from last year, You should be eyeing more than Sewell I'm not totally disagreeing with your post, but don't want too many Eskimos on our roster. We do need a moderate overhaul. Contrary to what I think you guys believe, we aren't that bad talent wise.

I'm sure being on national tv has helped his confidence and swagger. I expect Lapo to do a good job

Isn't it the Bombers signing every player the Riders cut? Who have we signed lately from Edmonton? Besides Jones. I have no idea who he might bring in here. TBH, I don't want to much of a Eskimo presence on our team. Sewell is the only player they have that I would want.

Congrats guys. excellent move by the Bombers, always liked Lapo. His only fault is he is too nice and wasn't cut out to be HC at that time. Maybe he is ready now and this puts O'Shea on short leash. Nothing like having your replacement already on the payroll.

Lulay? I hope not

Why would I or any other Rider fan have any loyalty to the players or coaches? They are hired and paid to win games, simple as that. I've been a fan of the riders every second of my life and will be until my final day. The players come and go as do the coaches, but I'm a lifer. I've never understood fans getting too attached to the players. I definitely have my favorites from over the years but most of them were guys that were long time riders. I don't care what team you cheer for, if you are a lifer then you have my respect. Without the fans there is no CFL and that's something that means a lot to all of us no matter what color jersey we wear on game day.