Don’t book a Grey Cup parade in July

By Lethbridge Herald on July 6, 2023.

Graham Kelly

Inside the CFL

Last week I wrote that Edmonton head coach Chris Jones was on a four-year contract that would not expire until after the 2025 season, making it extremely expensive to fire him. Local knowledgeable CFL fan Tim Reardon emailed me that Jones is on four one-year contracts, making it cheaper to let him go.

Shortly after, JP McConnell, the retired voice of the B.C. Lions who lives in France, confirmed Tim’s comments. Calgary president John Hufnagel told me that kind of contract mitigates the financial hit to the team. Thanks, Tim, JP and Huff for your input.

Last Thursday in the ‘Basement Bowl’ in Ottawa, the Redblacks ended their 13-game home losing streak by eviscerating the Elks 26-7. It was the Westerners’ eighth straight loss. While the Capital Hill Gang were coming off a bye week, the Elks were playing their second game in five days. Thursday they’re in Saskatchewan, again on five days rest, again facing an opponent coming off a bye week. That will be their fifth contest in 26 days. They don’t get a break until August.

While the schedule maker has made it as difficult as possible for the struggling team, the Elks have generally been gored by their own horns. Chris Jones tells his players to “keep chopping wood.”

The two teams met in the 2015 Grey Cup game. That championship featured Chris Jones in his second year as a head coach and Rick Campbell, his first, a challenging situation considering the Redblacks were in their first year of existence.

Jones won that Grey Cup 26-15, after which he dumped his team and headed to Saskatchewan. He made the playoffs there but after two seasons left for an assistant’s job with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. When that didn’t work out (what ever works out football-wise at the Mistake by the Lake?) he coached a high school team in his hometown before returning for his second stint last year with Edmonton. Jones won that 2015 Grey Cup but it has been downhill ever since. Loser Campbell has been on the ascendency.

The most successful expansion head coach in league history won it all in 2016 over Calgary, then lost to the Stampeders two years later. He parted ways with Ottawa when COVID-19 hit, signing with B.C. last year. He astonished the experts by making it to the Western Final.

The last decade saw a dramatic changing of the coaching guard in the CFL when talented assistants got their call to the top job. Wally Buono finally retired in 2018, Marc Tressman left Toronto, John Hufnagel turned the reins over to Dave Dickenson. Orlondo Steinhauer replaced June Jones in Tiger Town. The most successful of the new Young Turks has been Michael O’Shea in Winnipeg with three straight Grey Cup appearances, two wins. Ryan Dinwiddie sailed the Good Ship Argonaut to victory in the 2022 Grey Cup, in only his second year at the helm.

On Monday, former Calgary assistants Dinwiddie and Campbell met in the battle of the unbeaten division leaders. What should have been a thrilling match played before family and friends at BMO Field was a rout for the defending champions. Aided by six interceptions (the record is seven) thrown by Lion quarterback Vernon Adams, Jr. they declawed the Leos 45-24. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Considering the way they blew up the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 30-6, the loss in Toronto was a shocker. The moral of the story: don’t book your Grey Cup parade in July.

The ever-cool Campbell said, “I told them I wasn’t falling out of love with them because they had a bad day at the office.”

The Argos were led by second-year man Chad Kelly. One of the few in attendance was his uncle and NFL Hall of Fame QB Jim Kelly. Last year, the Lions had the new quarterback sensation in Nathan Rourke. I’m not prepared to label my namesake a sensation just yet but he sure looks good. He was the last player chosen in the NFL draft, which is given the sobriquet Mr. Irrelevant. That was Kelly in 2017. While he made both the Denver and Indianapolis rosters, he was cut for discreditable conduct off the field. He can play. So can the Argonauts, strong in all phases of the game.