Chris Jones to Saskatchewan Roughriders confirmed

[GCn20]

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.

[JuranBoldenRules]

Edmonton doesn't even have to allow him to talk to the Riders, and why would they?

He could have a clause in his contract that states if he gets a higher position, i.e. GM, he can break the existing contract and accept the GM position. It wouldn't surprise me if he does have this clause.

It would surprise me if a team agreed to that clause for a head coach. They don't want those guys shopping themselves all the time. Assistants for sure.

[M.O.A.B.]

Once again...  where is the proof and why would Edmonton let him go to a division rival?

 

Of course, the Esks interest is to keep him... but that's not necessarily Chris Jones' personal interest.

[GCn20]

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.

[Jpan85]

I don't think Hervey gets enough credit. The pieces of that defense where mainly assembled before Jones got there.

[JohnnyOnTheSpot]

Well this already happened to Jones once.  When he was DC in Calgary he made a lateral move to the Argos with a year left on his contract.  The league fined the Argos a grand total of $5,000 for tampering.  If these are the penalties why would Sask give a rat's hind quarters? Give him a raise and pay the fine.

[NotoriousBIG]

Man, I hope we can get Walters inked to something long-term. Would hate to lose him to a bitter rival when we're so, so close to winning the big prize.

[M.O.A.B.]

If Chris Jones goes to the Riders will OC Stephen McAdoo follow him? I would like the Bombers to make a play for him too.

[JuranBoldenRules]

Well this already happened to Jones once. When he was DC in Calgary he made a lateral move to the Argos with a year left on his contract. The league fined the Argos a grand total of $5,000 for tampering. If these are the penalties why would Sask give a rat's hind quarters? Give him a raise and pay the fine.

Calgary could have cared less though. One assumes Edmonton would care a lot more and go even beyond the CFL to uphold the contract if it came down to that.

[JohnnyOnTheSpot]

 

Well this already happened to Jones once. When he was DC in Calgary he made a lateral move to the Argos with a year left on his contract. The league fined the Argos a grand total of $5,000 for tampering. If these are the penalties why would Sask give a rat's hind quarters? Give him a raise and pay the fine.

Calgary could have cared less though. One assumes Edmonton would care a lot more and go even beyond the CFL to uphold the contract if it came down to that.

 

Not true. Hufnagel was pretty pissed they went behind his back and he had to find someone with no forewarning. In addition Argos beat the Stamps that year in the cup with Jones defensive schemes against Cornish a huge part of it. He was familiar with Calgary's offense having practiced against it for four years. You could say it cost Calgary a Grey Cup if you wanted to spin it that way.

 

And Calgary did go to the league.  $5000 was the best they could get.  The league has no teeth and I think that is widely known.

[pigseye]

gary lawless ✔ @garylawless

GM Wally Buono refusing teams permission to speak with @BCLions staff. Uncertainty in BC right now, losing assistants would just add to it

 

What a **** show, so obviously the team can say no, especially if you are an ass like Wally, lol.

 

@garylawless 

Confirmed: @sskroughriders have asked, received permission to speak with @EdmontonEsks HC Chris Jones regarding Riders GM/HC position #cfl

 

Well done riders, big leg up on our sad sack bunch.

[Captain Blue]

Kind of surprised the Esks are even letting him talk with the Riders. For all the praise that the Riders are getting for moving aggressively for Jones, I think its a terrible decision by Edmonton to consider letting him go. Maybe it ends up being nothing, but I'm surprised that Sask has made it even to this point in their pursuit.

[Guest J5V]

Or you know it meant nothing and he just wanted to celebrate winning the grey cup. Pretty classless question to ask him 2 minutes after winning

Was gaining some respect for Lawless but... pretty much lost it with asking Jones that question. Steve Simmons is also a huge joke

It's hard to respect the media.

[Guest J5V]

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.

Do the Esks hate the Riders as much as we do?

[Guest J5V]

If Chris Jones goes to the Riders will OC Stephen McAdoo follow him? I would like the Bombers to make a play for him too.

I'd love to see McAdoo here as OC.

[Atomic]

Well this already happened to Jones once. When he was DC in Calgary he made a lateral move to the Argos with a year left on his contract. The league fined the Argos a grand total of $5,000 for tampering. If these are the penalties why would Sask give a rat's hind quarters? Give him a raise and pay the fine.

Calgary could have cared less though. One assumes Edmonton would care a lot more and go even beyond the CFL to uphold the contract if it came down to that.

What are you talking about? If I had a chance to move up to a far better position and my company wouldn't even let me talk to the competitor, what do you think would happen to my job performance? It would tank. And then what would happen when my contract is up? I would leave. And what would happen when the company tried to hire a new coach who is in high demand? Either they wouldn't come or they would make sure it was in their contract that they could leave for a better position. The team isn't in any position of power in this situation and trying to flex your legal muscles on your most valuable employee is never a good idea.

[JuranBoldenRules]

Well this already happened to Jones once. When he was DC in Calgary he made a lateral move to the Argos with a year left on his contract. The league fined the Argos a grand total of $5,000 for tampering. If these are the penalties why would Sask give a rat's hind quarters? Give him a raise and pay the fine.

Calgary could have cared less though. One assumes Edmonton would care a lot more and go even beyond the CFL to uphold the contract if it came down to that.

What are you talking about? If I had a chance to move up to a far better position and my company wouldn't even let me talk to the competitor, what do you think would happen to my job performance? It would tank. And then what would happen when my contract is up? I would leave. And what would happen when the company tried to hire a new coach who is in high demand? Either they wouldn't come or they would make sure it was in their contract that they could leave for a better position. The team isn't in any position of power in this situation and trying to flex your legal muscles on your most valuable employee is never a good idea.

Head coach is a pinnacle position. There's no reason why a team shouldn't expect their head coach under contract to be focused on their franchise. This isn't really like two companies competing, more like playing two McDonalds franchises off each other. There should be a level of respect and bottom line decorum. They are the same company.

All of the tanking performance stuff reflects far worse on the coach than anyone else. There's a huge difference between assistants moving up and head coaches shopping themselves while under contract. The only guy in CFL history who got away with that was Don Matthews. He also dated his players wives so not exactly a person of character.

[GCn20]

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. 

[GCn20]

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.

[Mark F]

I think he is a bit of an ass hat that I would be scared to give total control too.

 

 

 

why?

 

I don't understand the idea that to be successful a head coach of a football team should be modest and humble.

 

like.... Buono, or kindly Cal, or The Don, or Austin....

 

also, when the grey cup was presented the other day..... Jones stayed off the platform, we were told, as a credit to the players.

[TBURGESS]

I'd bet that there's a clause in Jones' contract that lets him get out if a better job is offered. As he's an HC, HC/GM would qualify. I read that Wally isn't giving permission to teams to talk to his coaches but Tedford's been getting some inquiries from down south and I'll bet his contract has an out for a better job too. 

[Atomic]

Well this already happened to Jones once. When he was DC in Calgary he made a lateral move to the Argos with a year left on his contract. The league fined the Argos a grand total of $5,000 for tampering. If these are the penalties why would Sask give a rat's hind quarters? Give him a raise and pay the fine.

Calgary could have cared less though. One assumes Edmonton would care a lot more and go even beyond the CFL to uphold the contract if it came down to that.

What are you talking about? If I had a chance to move up to a far better position and my company wouldn't even let me talk to the competitor, what do you think would happen to my job performance? It would tank. And then what would happen when my contract is up? I would leave. And what would happen when the company tried to hire a new coach who is in high demand? Either they wouldn't come or they would make sure it was in their contract that they could leave for a better position. The team isn't in any position of power in this situation and trying to flex your legal muscles on your most valuable employee is never a good idea.

Head coach is a pinnacle position. There's no reason why a team shouldn't expect their head coach under contract to be focused on their franchise. This isn't really like two companies competing, more like playing two McDonalds franchises off each other. There should be a level of respect and bottom line decorum. They are the same company.

All of the tanking performance stuff reflects far worse on the coach than anyone else. There's a huge difference between assistants moving up and head coaches shopping themselves while under contract. The only guy in CFL history who got away with that was Don Matthews. He also dated his players wives so not exactly a person of character.

It's not a lateral move though. It would be a move to head coach/GM which is a step up. Regardless, they received permission so obviously the Eskimos lean towards agreeing with my viewpoint.

[Atomic]

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.

It's not about purposely tanking, that's silly. The fact of the matter is that even pro coaches are human and job performance can't help but be affected by your attitude towards your employer. If you resent your boss, you aren't going to work as hard for them. It's just natural human tendency.

[bearpants]

looks like the steam is really picking up on twitter... Hervey had a comment along the lines of "we're not going to block someone from a good opportunity".... Milt Stegall is speculating O'Shea may be the only returning west coach next year... and Ryan Rishaug said he expects the situation to be settled by the end of the week... 

[M.O.A.B.]

I'm expecting most (if not all) of Jones' assistants will follow him in Regina.