The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ rebuild is hoping to steal a page out of the Toronto Argonauts’ playbook.
Or is it the Calgary Stampeders’ playbook?
Picture a coaches meeting in 2018 as the Stampeders were preparing to win their franchise’s eighth Grey Cup.
There were a total of 10 coaches on that staff. Half of them will be going head-to-head on Thursday when the Roughriders host the Argonauts at Mosaic Stadium.
That doesn’t include J.C. Sherritt, who would join the Stampeders’ staff in 2019 and meet a contingent of coaches that include current Roughriders’ head coach Corey Mace, Argonauts’ head coach Ryan Dinwiddie, Riders’ offensive coordinator Marc Mueller, Argonauts’ pass game coordinator and receivers coach Pete Costanza as well as Riders’ defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach Josh Bell.
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Yes, it’s long been the talk of the CFL: ‘The Calgary model’; John Hufnagel’s continuous cycle of double-digit wins, home playoff games and Grey Cup appearances.
I remember when current Riders president Craig Reynolds cited the Stampeders’ sustained success as something he was hoping to mimic.
He wasn’t the only one.
The Stampeders’ run from 2008 to 2022 of double-digit victories (12 years straight and 13 out of 14) would be envied no matter the league.
So. If you can’t beat ‘em. Hire ‘em.
The Argonauts of course pillaged Dave Dickenson’s staff when they brought on a young, fairly inexperienced coach in Ryan Dinwiddie.
Oh, the connections to Hufnagel aren’t done.
Mace, Bell and Costanza all joined Dinwiddie and together helped win a Grey Cup in 2022.
Then the Riders needed a culture change. As they looked across the CFL, with interviews with some prominent veterans like Scott Milanovich and Buck Pierce, they landed on Mace.
What was interesting was Mace and general manager Jeremy O’Day didn’t have a previous connection.
Who helped facilitate that?
O’Day’s assistant Kyle Carson.
Guess where he worked before joining the Riders a few seasons ago.
Yep, Carson worked his way up from an intern in Calgary and was also a member of the 2018 Grey Cup Stampeders, but upstairs with Hufnagel.
The Calgary influence on Thursday’s game runs deeper with Riders’ offensive line coach Edwin Harrison (former Stamp player and Argos assistant the last two seasons), players Micah Johnson, Jameer Thurman, Ryan Sceviour and I’m sure I’m missing a few.
Now, the Riders and Argonauts tangle this coming week a battle of two teams who likely know far too much about each other.
The previous statement doesn’t have anything to do with the Xs and Os of game planning. They obviously know exactly what they’re up against in that front.
But this is a family going head to head. A group of people who have won multiple championships together becomes more and more like a brotherhood than some coaching buddies.
They all want each other to succeed, except on Thursday.
The Argonauts have already reaped the benefits of taking from the Stampeders’ coaching tree. The Riders are already seeing some benefits of hiring Mace, whom the Stamps gave his first coaching opportunity to almost a decade ago after helping them win a Grey Cup as a player.
A 3-0 start for the Riders couldn’t have gone much better.
The Argos are an impressive 2-1 with a starting quarterback who was supposed to be the backup less than two months ago.
Their starts are an indication of great coaching.
And a pretty good indication of why Hufnagel, Dickenson and the Stampeders have been in the playoffs the last 18 years running.