Rod Pedersen

With Monday's announcement by the Roughriders that Craig Dickenson will return for a second season as Special Teams Coordinator, it officially completed the staff of new Rider Head Coach Corey Chamblin.   To me, it's a good news/bad news kind of thing.

The good news?  It's a young, vibrant staff on offense splashed with continuity on defense.  The bad news?   The 2012 CFL season is still almost six months away!

Everyone connected to this organization, from the Board, the management staff, the players and even the fans are eager to rid themselves of the 5-13 record in 2011.  Call it "The Season That Wasn't".

And now, there's reason for much optimism.  Let's recap:

Corey Chamblin was hired on December 15 and even though he's one of the youngest coaches in CFL history at age 34, he comes with an impeccable resume and references.

His staff on the offensive side of the ball consists of: Bob Dyce (Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs), Kris Sweet (Run Game Coordinator, Offensive Line), Khari Jones (Quarterbacks Coach), and Jason Tucker (Receivers Coach).

On defense, it's a familiar group including: Richie Hall (Defensive Coordinator), Alex Smith (Assistant to the Head Coach/Linebackers Coach), Mike Walker (Defensive Line Coach) and Barron Miles (Defensive Backs Coach).

Many have asked my thoughts on this group but quite frankly, it's too early to tell.  My stock answer is this; as long as the players like them, that's half the battle.  That's the way it is now -- players won't play for a coach or coaches they don't like or respect.   That won't be a problem with this group.

The attention now turns to the list of free agents and by count, there are about 10 left to be signed.  The two at the top of the list go by the names of Andy Fantuz and Jerrell Freeman.

Fantuz has been offered a lucrative deal, but is hedging his bets.   He said he was waiting to see who the new coaches were before he signed and I can't imagine a more player-friendly bunch than this.  However, we still wait.  Fantuz tried out with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars last week so it appears he's still looking for a chance down there.   OR, he could also be waiting for free agency to see what he can fetch on the open market.   I don't think any of us would do any different.

As for Freeman, he's in much the same situation but has been much more quiet about it.   He said repeatedly near the end of the season "As long as I'm a Roughrider......", which led me to believe that wouldn't be for long.   Again, he's just looking out for himself.

No matter.  When this team takes to the field for Day 1 of training camp in June, it's unlikely they'll have the distasteful memory of 2011 in the back of their minds.   No, they'll be looking ahead to the 100th Grey Cup in Toronto.

There's plenty of time in the months ahead to break down this club position-by-position and we will most certainly do that.   However there will be plenty of changes between now and June.

The vibe I get from this team is enthusiasm and energy.   That's a far cry from what we saw in 2011 and they're definitely off to a great start.


(Rod Pedersen is the voice of the Riders on CKRM radio)