Poll: Who Should be the Bombers' New DC?

[iso_55]

We need to desperately upgrade our DL & lb positions from last year. Ian Wilde, great player but would be better suited to OLB.

[rebusrankin]

We need to desperately upgrade our DL & lb positions from last year. Ian Wilde, great player but would be better suited to OLB.

Wild-Proper MLB-Sears would be nice.

[iso_55]

I like Benevides. Typically he's had a physical DL & athletic linebackers with size who were fast. Look at Bighill  & Elimimian who are mainstays on defense. Cam Wake before that on the DL. Although I'd be happy with Hall. I think Claybrooks is too inexperienced. Another year or two behind Stubler would do him good. We already have a lot of pieces in place. Bad coaching by Etch did us in.

[GCn20]

I like Hall as well. A true professional, former player, former HC who runs a good system. I will just come right out and address the elephant in the room as well. He is black. I say this without one iota of racism. Many young black males would gravitate towards him as a mentor/leader and given his other excellent traits how could that be a bad thing. Not saying it should be a big factor in who we select as our DC, but it should definitely not be a factor that's overlooked.

[iso_55]

The racism card. Nice. We have no Affirmative Action in the CFL as it isn't needed. I don't know about your room but there's no elephant in mine. I could care less if our DC is white, black, latino, mulatto or the Little Green Man From Mars. As long as he is the best coach for the job as well as a great coordinator no one cares about skin colour. 

[gbill2004]

The racism card. Nice. We have no Affirmative Action in the CFL as it isn't needed. I don't know about your room but there's no elephant in mine. I could care less if our DC is white, black, latino, mulatto or the Little Green Man From Mars. As long as he is the best coach for the job as well as a great coordinator no one cares about skin colour.

Discussing races does not = racism.

[Stickem]

Well said iso....Hall or Benevides would be my choice, as I view both bring a wealth of experience to the job.

[iso_55]

 

The racism card. Nice. We have no Affirmative Action in the CFL as it isn't needed. I don't know about your room but there's no elephant in mine. I could care less if our DC is white, black, latino, mulatto or the Little Green Man From Mars. As long as he is the best coach for the job as well as a great coordinator no one cares about skin colour.

Discussing races does not = racism.

 

Don't agree. How can it not be? Gcn11 thinks hiring a black DC will attract more black players. To me that's racism. Some black players may gravitate towards a black defensive coordinator, sure. But it could also be said that there are some white players who would gravitate towards a white defensive coordinator. If you asked the Bomber defensive players who'd they want as their new DC I'm thinking that most would say anyone as long as he is a good coach that gives them a much better chance to win. I think skin colour would be way down on the list of qualifications. At least I hope it would. And for the record, whenever I think of Ritchie Hall, I never think of his skin colour. I always think of him as a darned good defensive coordinator in this league for years first & foremost. 

What made you even think of mentioning racism gcn11? 

[iso_55]

Well said iso....Hall or Benevides would be my choice, as I view both bring a wealth of experience to the job.

And success.

[NotoriousBIG]

 

 

The racism card. Nice. We have no Affirmative Action in the CFL as it isn't needed. I don't know about your room but there's no elephant in mine. I could care less if our DC is white, black, latino, mulatto or the Little Green Man From Mars. As long as he is the best coach for the job as well as a great coordinator no one cares about skin colour.

Discussing races does not = racism.

 

Don't agree. How can it not be? Gcn11 thinks hiring a black DC will attract more black players. To me that's racism. Some black players may gravitate towards a black defensive coordinator, sure. But it could also be said that there are some white players who would gravitate towards a white defensive coordinator. If you asked the Bomber defensive players who'd they want as their new DC I'm thinking that most would say anyone as long as he is a good coach that gives them a much better chance to win. I think skin colour would be way down on the list of qualifications. At least I hope it would. And for the record, whenever I think of Ritchie Hall, I never think of his skin colour. I always think of him as a darned good defensive coordinator in this league for years first & foremost. 

What made you even think of mentioning racism gcn11? 

 

 

Actually, saying a black coach may appeal to black players isn't a racist statement. 

 

But I also don't think it's a correct statement. 

 

Part of Richard Harris's appeal to many of the young black players was that he was an absolute mammoth human being with a spirit to match, and the epitome of a father figure, something a lot of them didn't grow up with (according to the legendary Jim Brown). 

 

Those traits are far more important than skin tone. 

 

Now does Richie Hall have it? I don't know....

[iso_55]

Richard Harris was loved by almost everyone who played for him. Colour was secondary. 

[Doublezero]

I voted for Richie Hall.

[New_Earth_Mud]

 

 

 

The racism card. Nice. We have no Affirmative Action in the CFL as it isn't needed. I don't know about your room but there's no elephant in mine. I could care less if our DC is white, black, latino, mulatto or the Little Green Man From Mars. As long as he is the best coach for the job as well as a great coordinator no one cares about skin colour.

Discussing races does not = racism.

 

Don't agree. How can it not be? Gcn11 thinks hiring a black DC will attract more black players. To me that's racism. Some black players may gravitate towards a black defensive coordinator, sure. But it could also be said that there are some white players who would gravitate towards a white defensive coordinator. If you asked the Bomber defensive players who'd they want as their new DC I'm thinking that most would say anyone as long as he is a good coach that gives them a much better chance to win. I think skin colour would be way down on the list of qualifications. At least I hope it would. And for the record, whenever I think of Ritchie Hall, I never think of his skin colour. I always think of him as a darned good defensive coordinator in this league for years first & foremost. 

What made you even think of mentioning racism gcn11? 

 

 

Actually, saying a black coach may appeal to black players isn't a racist statement. 

 

But I also don't think it's a correct statement. 

 

Part of Richard Harris's appeal to many of the young black players was that he was an absolute mammoth human being with a spirit to match, and the epitome of a father figure, something a lot of them didn't grow up with (according to the legendary Jim Brown). 

 

Those traits are far more important than skin tone. 

 

Now does Richie Hall have it? I don't know....

 

 

 

So id ask if its racist for black players wanting to play for black coaches?

 

I really hope non of this matters 

[SPuDS]

Is not racist to suggest a black coach can connect to black players easier.. It's simply how it is.. More often then not anyway.. Realllllly good coaches can connect to all players of all races and ethnicities but it's the same as a European coach trying to coach North American players and vica versa.. It happens across the board in every sport.. Dominican coaches can connect best with South American players in baseball..

[Atomic]

We should hire a white coach so more white players will want to come here.

Racist?

[NotoriousBIG]

We should hire a white coach so more white players will want to come here.

Racist?

 

Nah. Just dumb. ;-)

 

We should hire Archie Manning so more Mannings want to come here. 

 

Except Cooper. 

[GCn20]

Couple things ISO, mentioning race is not racism. Also, I at no point suggested that we hire a black coach for recruitment purposes. Let me clarify. My belief that a black coach can benefit a team is not my own. I attended a coaching seminar about 10 years ago in which Herm Edwards was the keynote speaker. At this time, one of the hot button issues was the lack of black coaches at every level of football. He spoke at great length about how an increase of black coaches could benefit the NFL and other pro leagues because many of the black players came from backgrounds where racism was rampant and how he has seen many young black players "wash out" because they could not get past the racial barriers (his words not mine) that are prevalent in pro sports. He said that many young black men come from hard backgrounds and need guidance and will feel more trustful of a black coach they perceive as more understanding of their problems.

What's ironic is that there was a Q&A after his speech and one guy asked, " Isn't discussing this issue also racist. Isn't it wrong to look at the color of a persons skin when hiring someone?"

 

Herm's response was along these lines and I am quite sure that I am pretty close with his words because his speech that day really made me think differently, " In a perfect world we could all walk around and not notice race. This isn't a perfect world. Trust me....a young black man from Southern Alabama does not see the world the same way you do. That's just the reality. If a team is smart they will definitely look at a black coach as adding value to the dressing room if all things are equal....and no that's not racist."

 

Also, ISO you decided to put words in my mouth even though I had clearly qualified my statement. I said in my initial post on the matter that it should not be a big factor in our recruitment of coaches. Just one that shouldn't be ignored. You went off on some ridiculous diatribe accusing me of racism and suggesting that I advocated hiring Hall solely on the color of his skin. Both being grossly incorrect interpretations of my post. All I said is that it could be an added value if we were to go with Hall. I am not alone in that opinion. Many, many black athletes in all sports have advocated for more black coaches. I guess they are racist too.

 

Guess the outreach workers are racist when they send a native worker to a reserve, guess the police are racist when they send a Pakistani officer out to patrol Pakistani neighborhoods. Racism is rampant I tell you. There is no good reason other than bigotry to do such things.

 

You asked me why I brought up racism? I'll tell you why...because it's real and the effects of it exist....yes, even within the Bomber locker room.

[17to85]

Couple things ISO, mentioning race is not racism. Also, I at no point suggested that we hire a black coach for recruitment purposes. Let me clarify. My belief that a black coach can benefit a team is not my own. I attended a coaching seminar about 10 years ago in which Herm Edwards was the keynote speaker. At this time, one of the hot button issues was the lack of black coaches at every level of football. He spoke at great length about how an increase of black coaches could benefit the NFL and other pro leagues because many of the black players came from backgrounds where racism was rampant and how he has seen many young black players "wash out" because they could not get past the racial barriers (his words not mine) that are prevalent in pro sports. He said that many young black men come from hard backgrounds and need guidance and will feel more trustful of a black coach they perceive as more understanding of their problems.

 

 

Honestly I think it's less about racial barriers as socio-economic barriers. Now the fact that one demographic is over represented in the poor may make it seem like a racial issue but I really don't see it as one. Anyone from a poor background is going to have trouble getting past some of the barriers. A good coach is going to be able to get through to people from a wide range of backgrounds.

 

Here's the problem though, when there's an over abundance of one race that are poor they'll often be very racist themselves and blame someone else for their problems. That might be the racial barriers he talked about, but at the same time if you hired a black guy with a middle class upbringing he likely doesn't connect with those players from the lower class background anyway because that is where the biggest difference is. Just making it about race is a massive over simplification. 

[iso_55]

Like Will Smith influencing Kendrick Lamar.  Smith grew up in Wynnefield, PA a middle class suburb of Philadelphia. Lamar grew up in Compton, CA. I wonder if Lamar liked the Fresh Prince of Bel Air as a kid?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW3PFC86UNI

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZW7et3tPuQ

[GCn20]

Not sure how that relates in any way to the discussion at hand but it was entertaining.