Friday Round-Up

The Riders officially announced its coaching staff yesterday (with the exception of an O-Line coach). As expected, Doug Berry was named Offensive Coordinator, Bob Dyce was named Receivers Coach and Jim Daley was named Special Teams Coordinator. While I have concerns over Berry’s temper and ability to lose the locker room, I think he’s smart enough to do well in his position (just keep him away from the Head Coach spot). Dyce I know relatively little about but am willing to give a chance. However, the hiring of Jim Daley makes me have serious doubts about the intelligence of our decision makers.

Seriously what on his resume jumped off the page and screamed “this guy is a good hire’?!?!?! He was a failure as our Head Coach. He was a failure as Winnipeg’s Head Coach. And most recently was a failure as Defensive Coordinator in Edmonton. C’mon Man! I never thought I’d live to see the day where Alex Smith would be a significant upgrade on Special Teams.

It seems Stephen Jyles has finally made up his mind and will be headed for Winnipeg. This should have been a no-brainer for Jyles as Winnipeg offered him a legitimate chance to start while we did not. However, much like when he was on the field, Jyles was hesitant to look away from his first option, took a long time to make a decision and probably ended up accidentally faxing his signed Bomber contract to Ken Miller.

Unlike many, I didn’t actually mind Jyles (other than the fact that he was abysmal at the one yard plunge). I think given a chance he could develop into a legitimate starter. Don’t get me wrong I’m happier with Durant (who is way smarter than Jyles), I’m just saying I don’t hate the guy. I think this is a good move for both sides. Jyles gets a chance to compete for a starting spot (and quite frankly if he can’t manage to best Michael Bishop he should probably just retire) and we give our young QB prospects (Harrell, Bell and Bergquist) a chance to shine. While some are concerned that we have zero experience now should (god forbid) Durant get hurt, I’m not so worried. Let’s not forget that Durant was a nobody when he got called into action in 2008 and that turned out alright (save for the part where the Argos crack his ribs and Bishop ends up ruining our season). I’m confident that one of our guys will step up in camp and establish himself as a viable back-up.

A bit more light has been shed on the decision to bring in Dominique Dorsey. I, like many, was wondering about Jason Armstead in all of this. Well it seems Armstead is pushing for a new contract (presumably including a pay raise) which isn’t the best way to endear yourself to the new GM (particularly since the new GM already cut him once in his previous job). My guess is that Armstead probably just heard that we offered 100K to Jyles and reasoned that since he was more proficient passer (he did complete 100% of his pass attempts in 2009 and scored a TD on 100% of his regular season passes), he should be making at least that much.

The Toronto Argonauts have fired Assistant General Manager/Director, Player Personnel Gregory Mohns as well as Coordinator of Canadian Scouting Miles Gorrell. What shocked me about this was the fact that the Argos have a designated position for Canadian scouting. Given that they haven’t actually scouted a Canadian in many years I wonder what the hell Mr. Gorrell has been doing all this time. I would also like to know how I go about applying for this position because it would be one of the easiest jobs ever.

Jesse Lumsden will soon compete in the Olympics as part of our Bobsledding team. This could be a big moment for Lumsden because if he manages to complete one run he will have surpassed his accomplishments as an Edmonton Eskimo.

That’s it for now. Have a good weekend.