Tiger-Cats’ “problems” can be cured by one thing: winning

When CFL player agent Darren Gill suggested on a Montreal radio station this week that there was infighting within the Hamilton Tiger-Cats locker room, it reminded me that one must always qualify the source and certainly look to the context in which those potentially inflammatory statements were made.

Although Gill was privy to some second-hand stories (most likely revealed by some of the Tiger Cat players he represents), that may not be the best source in gauging the team's mood, the relationship dynamic that exists between player and coach, or the level of dissension (if any).

The inside of a locker room is sacred ground. Very rarely are outsiders invited into those hallowed quarters and the reason for that privacy is quite simple; outside distractions and negativity brought about by interlopers and intruders will always take the focus off of winning and ultimately tear a team apart.

Broken down into its simplest components, Gill's comments on the radio come with a relatively simple explanation.

Gill says head coach George Cortez and defensive coordinator Casey Creehan have clashed. Clashed may be a subjective term, but given the Ticats are last in several defensive categories two weeks into the season, can anyone really blame the head coach if he gets in the defensive coordinator's ear?

"There's been some pretty well-known confrontations in that team's locker room between George Cortez and defensive coordinator Casey Creehan,'' Gill said. "They're not on the same page".

And the shocking revelation reported by the media is just what? That "the page they are not on" is nowhere to be found in ANY book for winning football games. Unless, of course, the strategy has always been "the hell with the amount of points the other team scores, just score one more than they do", can anyone really blame a head coach if he is demanding more from his players and coordinators? I'm sure Cortez will hold himself accountable to the same standard and if he can't, the Tiger-Cats front office will. They've proven that in the past with the firing of Greg Marshall, Charlie Taaffe and Marcel Bellefeuille. And if his offensive struggles continue, Cortez has been around long enough to know he'll be the first to fall on his sword for the good of the organization.

The Tiger Cats have given up a league-worst 82 points and a whopping 883 yards in only their first two games. Any head coach, any leader on that team should be very upset at those telling statistics. More of a concern than Gill's comments would be if NO ONE was expressing their disgust and disappointment in the team's performance to date. That an "outside" source is the conduit of that discontent should be the focus of the next Tiger-Cats' "Players Only" meeting. Veteran leadership is critical to winning and never more than under these circumstances do the Tiger Cats need that leadership to rise up, ask for accountability and demand team resolve in order to overcome its current challenges. Going to a third party, venting to others who haven't spilled an ounce of blood or sweat on the field of battle, is tantamount to treason in football circles.

Gill also said: "George Cortez is not known as a player's coach and that's been known from day one. He's not brought the veterans on his side and it's made it very difficult for him to try and get that team on the right page." Having been coached by George Cortez (he was my first position coach when I was first drafted into the league) he isn't the most "sensitive" of coaches I've had the pleasure to be around. His no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach will be interpreted as abrasive in some quarters.

One thing is for sure, the man knows the CFL and given the resources, will strike fear in opposing defenses. What he lacks in persona and warmth, he more than makes up in his knowledge of the game. Not everybody has the good fortune of being coached by Michael (Pinball) Clemons. Having been coached by both men, it is loud and clear that it's possible to co-exist and win with completely different coaching styles.

So. . . . let's all take a collective breath and try to understand that growing pains are a part of any organization that goes through off-season personnel and coaching changes. And first-year head coaches are not immune.

As the old saying goes, winning cures everything. If the Tiger-Cats can change their fortunes, beginning with Saturday's game at home against archrival Toronto, then all of a sudden the "revealing" comments from an outsider trying desperately to peek inside the locker room will fade into a distant memory.