Inside the CFL: Nice guys finish in fourth place

By Lethbridge Herald on October 28, 2022.

Graham Kelly

Inside the CFL

“A lot of people put a lot of effort into making the thing work and it didn’t work. It has been a very emotional, tough season for all of us. When the schedule is over and you’re packing your bags instead of preparing for the playoffs, it is a lonely depressing feeling.”

Saskatchewan coach Craig Dickenson after his team was eliminated from post-season contention last Saturday?

No, Wally Buono after his Stampeders finished last in 2002, a year after winning the Grey Cup and the only time he missed the playoffs in his 13-year head coaching career with Calgary. The winningest coach in CFL history was fired. They won six, lost 12, likely to be Dickenson’s mark this year. It took six seasons for the franchise to fully recover.

It is true that the Rider coach didn’t win the Cup last year but during his four-year tenure, Saskatchewan has made it to the Western Final twice and hosted two playoff games. The club finished on top in 2019, the first time the Green and White led the Western Division standings since 1976. Dickenson’s predecessor, Chris Jones, finished fifth and fourth. The Dickenson regime has produced three years of seldom seen success in Regina as well as this year’s dud.

What happened?

According to Edward A. Murphy, Jr.’s first law, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”.

That pretty much describes Saskatchewan’s 2022 season.

There were injuries to three of the four starting receivers, Shaq Evans, Duke Williams and Kyran Moore. They lost both running backs, Frankie Hickson and Jamal Morrow. Their outstanding centre, Dan Clark, missed most of the season. Quarterback Cody Fajardo played behind an offensive line that has so far surrendered a franchise-record 71 sacks. Wearing a knee brace, he was usually running for his life.

It’s no wonder they were eighth in total offence, last in first downs and second down conversions and had the most turnovers on downs. In passes over 30 yards, only Ottawa quarterback Nick Arbuckle had a poorer efficiency rating. The only Rider receiver in the top 25 is Kian Schaffer-Baker who may finish 10th. The special teams are very good, although punting took a hit with the departure of Jon Ryan.

The defence has been average in most categories. However, the Riders turned the ball over more than 2021 and are the most penalized team in the league. Due to injuries, they slipped in sacks made. Against Calgary at Mosaic, the Stampeders won the battle of the trenches by a country kilometre.

They were struck by COVID and the flu so badly they had to bring in practice roster players on game day. And there were the suspensions to Duke Williams and Garrett Marino.

“… there was a lot of turmoil which was unsettling all around, all the time. I spent a lot of time putting out fires, trying to mend fences, trying to create what really wasn’t there.”

Dickenson’s explanation for what went wrong? No, once again what Wally Buono told me about his 1997 season. That describes Dickenson’s experience.

The late baseball legend Leo “the Lip” Durocher said, “Nice guys finish last.” With the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Craig Dickenson, it’s a case of nice guys finish fourth. Should he be fired? Dickenson did a yeoman job with the players he was given. When previously dealt a decent hand, he produced. So, no, he shouldn’t be fired nor should Cody Fajardo’s career in green be over. However, Jason Maas should walk the plank into Wascana Lake to be replaced with Paul LaPolice, an outstanding offensive co-ordinator.

The most successful teams are those that resist the temptation to fire the coach/GM when things go wrong and stay the course. The latest example is Winnipeg.

In 2014 the Bombers hired Wade Miller as president. He engaged Kyle Walters as GM who in turn made Michael O’Shea his head coach.

The club finished fifth that year with a mark of 7-11. They were worse in 2015-5-13-but were fourth. In 2016 they were third, 2017 second, 2018 third. They appeared to be stuck in neutral and there were cries for changes to be made. Fortunately the Board of Directors didn’t listen.

The Bombers, with the same people in charge as 2014, will likely win their third straight Grey Cup next month.