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CFL Obituaries: Organizational structure leads to Riders’ demise

We're bringing back the CFL Obituaries from last season. As each team's season ends, we'll write an obituary explaining how and why they met their demise. First up, the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Three weeks after its terminal diagnosis of no postseason, the Saskatchewan Roughriders' 2011 season passed away Friday following a 23-20 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos. That was a fitting final moment for the season, as it summarized the 2011 Riders nicely; plenty of promise, moments of triumph and a frequent willingness to keep battling, but ultimately unsuccessful results. There were multiple causes of death suspected, but the most prominent were issues with an unwieldy and unnecessarily complicated internal structure that left the Riders with several men attempting to lead the team and build it according to their vision, with none particularly succeeding. There were promising moments, especially late in the year, but it was a case of too little, too late. They finished with a 5-13 record, well short of the playoffs.

The 2011 season will not be survived by head coach/vice-president of football operations Ken Miller (seen above), who recently announced his intention to retire. It's predeceased by Greg Marshall, who came in bringing plenty of hope but left under difficult circumstances and took plenty of shots on his way out. However, it may yet be survived by general manager Brendan Taman, whose job remains in critical condition, and it will almost certainly be survived by team president Jim Hopson. Beyond that, it's a bit of an open question who will carry on from the 2011 Riders.

There's still hope for the 2012 season, but it's not in great shape right now either. Quarterback Darian Durant will be back, but he doesn't seem as enthused about the organization as he was at one point, and that might have to do with Miller's decision to keep playing him on a broken foot even after Saskatchewan's terminal diagnosis. Hiring an experienced quarterback coach or a former quarterback as offensive coordinator might help boost his condition. Much of that probably depends on who's picked as the next Saskatchewan head coach, though.

There are several promising candidates out there for a coaching transplant. Internally, there's defensive coordinator Richie Hall, who's been a head coach before in Edmonton, and special-teams coordinator Craig Dickenson, who has plenty of up-and-coming buzz around him. Hamilton defensive coordinator Corey Chamblin, who favourably impressed many in Saskatchewan in last winter's interviews, has indicated he'd likely be interested if the Riders want to talk to him again, and there are other promising candidates in coordinators' roles around the league; Edmonton offensive coordinator Marcus Crandell (a former Riders' quarterback and QB coach), B.C. defensive coordinator Mike Benevides, Montreal offensive coordinator Scott Milanovich, Calgary defensive coordinator Chris Jones, Calgary offensive coordinator Dave Dickenson and Winnipeg defensive coordinator Tim Burke, just to name a few. The Riders might even make a play to bring Kent Austin back, but it seems unlikely from here that he'd give up a good gig at Cornell to come back to Canada, especially when he's also getting buzz around other, bigger opportunities like Ole Miss. Still, even without Austin, there's no shortage of coaching transplant candidates.

Rebuilding the Saskatchewan team that went to two straight Grey Cups won't be simple, though, and the prospects for the 2012 season aren't ideal. The Roughriders went veteran-heavy this year, and that didn't work at all, leaving them in bad shape both for the present and the future. They have some promising young players, but many of them aren't proven at the CFL level yet, and they could use more talent in many positions and more depth across the board. Worst-to-first can be done in the CFL (just ask Edmonton and Winnipeg), so it's not like the 2012 season has already received a fatal prognosis, but it won't have an easy time even with a successful coaching transplant. We'll have to keep it under observation over the winter to see how its prospects are looking heading into the year.