GCn20

This is starting to have some eerie similarities to when we hired Mike Kelly, who btw, was an absolutely beloved hire before he flamed out miserably. Similarities: Both hailed as the saviour after a Taman regime Both abrasive and elusive with the media Both inexperienced in personnel management Both in multiple job positions at the same time Both known for their large egos. Both given unconditional control of football ops Kelly states in first presser " No one will handle the QBs but me" Jones states in first presser " No one will handle the defence but me" Are the Rider repeating history here? If Jones states that everything will be handled internally, I will lose my ****.

Floyd, you would seriously make Howell a QB coach over Buck?

Players love winning. It's why they play the game. Players don't love Austin in Hamilton. They love winning though and that's why many will re-sign back there. Players don't love Chris Jones, they love winning. That is why not many will follow him to year one of a rebuild. Having a chance to win a Grey Cup is big to a lot of players.

Prediction: 3 years (or less) from now Chris Jones will become the most hated man in Riders history when he jumps ship to another team. Once a merc always a merc. Chris Jones doesn't love the teams he's employed by, Chris Jones loves Chris Jones. I have zero doubt that the Riders are not the last stop on his magical mystery tour. I could see him jumping to US college as early as next year, and if not, I suspect small market Regina is not a big enough destination for him to call home for too long. I think he will do good things while he is there, but first chance he gets he will be in Toronto, or Vancouver etc.

Dr.CFL, expect the list of NATs entering FA to start dropping at a very rapid rate between now and FA...as they ALWAYS do.

There is nothing new about a zone read in Canadian football.

I'm begrudgingly willing to give Walters one more year because I believe a GM and scouting unit needs that to fully implement their plan. However, I will say that I am disappointed in the progress we have seen so far. He better knock it outta the park this offseason. No more farting around. FIX IT.

This is a big pressure hire for O'Shea. There are a few good candidates out there that will be a vast improvement to MB. I wouldn't be super stoked with a Khari hire but I'd be willing to give him a chance. I thought he did a pretty decent job with BC in 2014 considering he had no QBs to work with.

Did someone call for me? I don't pile on do I? LOL. Seriously though, I am about as neutral as one can get on this regime. My mind changes daily on whether we should fire them or not.

Harris wants to be the highest paid QB in the CFL. His agent said so a couple months ago. My how things change in the blink of an eye. I think he goes to Montreal, BC, or the Riders.

I'm sure Walter never thought of that. Lmao. When Walters DID ask MOS who we saw as his potential staff the answers he got were OC- Jason Maas and DC Rich Stubler. As we know, those were the guys that MOS wanted. Bellefeuille got pushed on him by Walters/Miller and Stubler rejected us after it looked like we were going to get him. The rest of the staff is irrelevant as the coordinators have heavy input into that.

I have a couple favorites I would like us to hire for OC. If my faves don't end up being the guy hired, I will still sleep well knowing Marcel Bellefeuille won't be the guy they hired.

Top rated by who Mark? Certainly not his last two employers. I think there are better candidates out there and they won't cost us a shot at Harris.

I don't want Chaps either. He is Marcel v2.0 imo. His offences only have a chance if there is an all star calibre OL.

Of course, the Bombers are going to ask Willy what his thoughts are on George Cortez. Why wouldn't they? He has carnal knowledge of Cortez's offence and would give an extremely valuable opinion on whether or not it would be successful here. It's done ALL the time TBurg. ALL the time. Franchise QBs are always asked for their opinion on former coaches before they are hired. Cortez is an excellent candidate. However, at the end of the day he has to be a good fit too. If Willy strongly objects to Cortez for some reason the Bombers have to respect that and move onto the next candidate. These two guys have to be able to work together. However, as I said earlier, Willy has always been complimentary of Cortez. I don't want Cortez though. It would take us out of the Harris running imo.

Not to mention, no Paul Jones or Ed Hervey or a pretty much ready made team just in need of tweaking to take over. Success has followed Jones around but he has also had the benefit of coaching under some pretty darn good football coaches/GMs. He's pretty good at picking up and going to teams on the verge of winning. Saskatchewan will be an entirely different story, That team needs a rebuild from the top down. This will truly be his first test as both a GM and taking over a team hopelessly devoid of talent.

Much ado about nothing really. Willy has spoken highly of Cortez in the past.

Personally, and maybe I'm in the minority, but I think a Jones to the Riders hiring would be a mistake by the Riders. I think he is a bit of an ass hat that I would be scared to give total control too. Will Jones the GM be able to separate his ego from Jones the coach if need be? Will he bolt to another team and leave the Riders high and dry the first chance he gets? Don't get me wrong, I would hire Jones as my HC in a heartbeat. I would be very apprehensive about giving him the keys to the entire organization though. It could turn out great, but it could also be very bad. He could be the next Hufnagel, but he could just as easily be the next Mike Kelly.

There is no coach at the professional level that would purposely tank his job because he was denied permission to talk to another team. NONE. They would never have gotten to this level if they weren't pros. I can't stand this sentiment that it is somehow wrong to ask someone to fulfill a contract that they signed. The club offered him their commitment in the form of a guaranteed contract for term. If they expect you to fulfill that you should do so with no ill will in the top manner you are capable of.

Despite the nice guy reputation he built while he was here, I think his actions show pretty clearly that he is a merc. He went for the money.

I feel the same way you do 17to85. I like some of the stuff they are doing and don't feel it has been total incompetence. We have had some bad luck as well so I am willing to give benefit of the doubt for the time being. However, had the Bombers decided to pull the plug on this regime this offseason, I would certainly have understood that too. I am open to giving these guys an extended look despite their record, however, I do want them on a short leash. I want Lapo here to take over for O'Shea if need be and I want us to have a backup plan at GM. I am comfortable letting them continue, but I want a plan B as well.

Yea. There is this misconception that guys have these things built into their contract which is not usually the case. Most of the time teams will, out of goodwill, allow guys under contract to talk to other teams about promotions. It is not, however, something they are absolutely obligated to do. There have been many examples of teams declining permission to other teams to talk to one of their coaches/management team.

At this point, I think this is getting blown out of proportion by the media. I don't think this realistically has the legs they are trying to give it. I would think the likelihood of Jones going to the Riders is slim. It would be insane for the Esks to let him go....and they don't have too.

Good signing....he came for free. At the end of the day I don't expect much from him though. Hopefully, he can add depth or make the PR.

From what I understand of the situation, newly hired wage negotiator for the union Brendan Taman paid the employees 50% upfront hoping it would help drive down final costs. When asked, Brendan just shrugged his shoulders and stated that it seemed like a good idea at the time. Darian Durant could not be reached for comment, but it is believed he fully endorsed this idea.