Can Saskatchewan's money get Paul LaPolice to replace George Cortez as offensive coordinator?

Thursday's news that the Saskatchewan Roughriders had officially parted ways with offensive coordinator George Cortez was hardly unexpected, as Sportsnet's Arash Madani reported they were moving on during Grey Cup week. What's going to be interesting to see is where Cortez lands though, as well as who replaces him in Saskatchewan. Some surprising names are already circulating.

One of the most notable ideas that's been floated for Cortez's replacement is TSN analyst Paul LaPolice. At first, that seems rather unreasonable; LaPolice seems to enjoy his TSN work (which tends to come with a lot less stress than coaching) and is well-compensated for it, and if he did leave, it would seem much more likely he'd do so for a head coaching job (he's already been linked with the B.C. Lions' vacancy). However, as Rob Vanstone of The Regina Leader-Post writes, LaPolice has connections and experience in Saskatchewan, and the Riders have the ability to pay assistant coaches compelling salaries:

Vanstone hits on an interesting point there, and something that Saskatchewan should consider more than they have in the past. It's well-established that the Roughriders are the league's richest team, bringing in $43.8 million in non-Grey Cup gross revenues last year. That can't give them a huge advantage in player salaries, as the new ceiling was just $5 million this year (and the floor was $4.4 million, so they could only outspend rivals by $600,000 at maximum without violating the cap). Although Saskatchewan has proven willing to exceed the cap in the past, they've only done so by small amounts, as the penalties start involving draft picks at $100,000 or more. However, the Roughriders could put their financial muscle to use to gain a competitive advantage in other areas, such as hiring more (and more-renowned) assistant coaches, assistant general managers and scouts. (This is why the CFLPA has complained that there's no management cap; teams can, and do, spend as much as they want on non-players.)

Granted, the Riders already do this to some extent. Saskatchewan spent $12.1 million on "football operations" in 2013, well ahead of the $9.9 million spent by Edmonton and the $10.5 million spent by Winnipeg (the only other clubs we have financial records for). This is an edge the Riders could potentially exploit even further, though, and if they are able to land LaPolice, paying more than anyone else would offer an offensive coordinator is likely to be the reason why. That doesn't necessarily mean it will be a clear upgrade; LaPolice has been out of coaching for two and a half seasons now, and hasn't been a pure OC since 2009, while Cortez has proven to be one of the most successful (and versatile; his Hamilton offence was all about the pass, his Saskatchewan offence was all about the run) offensive minds in the league. LaPolice does seem like one of the best possible candidates out there, though, and someone who'd be unlikely to take an OC role anywhere else. If the Riders can leverage their financial resources to bring him in, that's a smart way for them to use their wealth to help boost their on-field product.