The Edmonton Eskimos were 4-14 two years ago. Ottawa didn’t have a team two years ago, and last year the Redblacks finished 2-16.
In this edition of the CFL roundtable, our expert panel debates the question:
How were the Eskimos and Redblacks able to turn things around so quickly?
DONNOVAN BENNETT: They hired the right people. Chris Jones is a lifelong coach who has had success in multiple organizations in the league. Rick Campbell is the son of one of the greatest CFL coaches of all time, Hall of Famer Hugh Campbell. Both have won multiple Grey Cups as assistants and coached with multiple programs. Both learned at the feet of John Hufnagel in Calgary. At all levels of football if you find the right leadership the results will come in short order. Both programs are poised for sustained success because they hit a home run in their recent coaching hires.
JUSTIN DUNK: Structured and steady coaches along with calculated personnel moves. GM Ed Hervey made a smart hire in making Chris Jones head coach, which has been the main factor in returning the Eskimos to prominence. Jones’s strong defensive background and ability to find players to fit his scheme helped turn around an Edmonton defence that gave up a CFL West-worst 519 points in 2013.
The Redblacks used the 2013 CFL expansion draft to get off to a running start. GM Marcel Desjardins and his scouting staff have done a great job developing a strong Canadian talent base. Signing free agent Henry Burris and then trading quarterback Kevin Glenn for the fourth-overall pick in the 2014 draft, which turned out to be ratio-breaking Canadian Antoine Pruneau, were impactful moves. Inking a bevy of receivers before the 2015 season—Chris Williams, Greg Ellingson and Ernest Jackson among them—provided Burris with a bunch of weapons.
ARASH MADANI: Personnel. The Eskimos are just such a better football team with the quality of player Chris Jones has gone out and found. Where would this team be without James Franklin, when Mike Reilly went down? Are they in Sunday’s game if not for Derel Walker, who should win rookie of the year? They’re both Jones finds. Those ballhawks on defence? Discovered in mini-camps Jones ran in the south. Ottawa’s upgrade in personnel in free agency coming into this season was significant. Players win ball games. The players on both of these teams have helped each franchise turn it around and reach the 2015 Grey Cup.