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Steinberg’s MMQB: Patience should pay off for Claybrooks

CFL

We found out late last week Stampeders’ defensive coordinator DeVone Claybrooks has taken his name out of the running for Montreal’s vacant head coaching position.

At first blush, Claybrooks’s decision might come as a surprise, but when you think about it a little more, his reasoning becomes easy to understand.

Patience is key

Claybrooks was in an enviable position this off-season. Thanks to his success in just six years in the coaching ranks, Claybrooks was definitely a sought after commodity for any open head coaching job that might pop up. As such, he had, and continues to have, the ability to pick and choose, which has to be a nice spot to be in.

More than anything else, Claybrooks has earned his spot near the top of the unofficial “next head coach” power rankings. After finishing a successful playing career, Claybrooks made a seamless transition to coaching for the 2012 season.

His four years as defensive line coach saw Calgary terrorize opposing offences before taking over as defensive coordinator to star the 2016 campaign. I won’t lie, I had some questions about how successful Claybrooks might be in taking a coordinator job so early in his coaching career. In hindsight, I feel rather dumb for ever having those questions.

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DeVone Claybrooks (middle) was considered the leading candidate for the Alouettes’ coaching job (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

In two years under ‘Biscuit’, the Stamps have been the league’s number one defence with a bullet. 2016 saw Calgary allow the CFL’s fewest points by a large margin and then improve on that in 2017. Both years also saw the Stampeders tie for the league lead in sacks, while the team also finished second in interceptions this past season.

Claybrooks’s credentials speak for themselves and Montreal coveting him as their new head coach came as no surprise. But we have to remind ourselves of something: a coaching hire isn’t a one sided thing. Claybrooks had a lot to weigh when sizing up a potential offer from the Alouettes.

I would imagine one of the toughest dilemmas was debating winning and success against opportunity. Since transitioning to coaching, all Claybrooks has known is winning. Going back to 2012, Calgary hasn’t won fewer than 12 games in the regular season, has been to six straight Western Finals, and four Grey Cup games. When you’re wired to win, leaving an atmosphere like the one cultivated by the Stampeders can’t be easy.

Just ask Dave Dickenson! The team’s current head coach had numerous offers to go elsewhere for three straight off-seasons but decided to remain Calgary’s offensive coordinator. Yes, eventually a succession plan became a reality for Dickenson to take over from John Hufnagel, but he elected to stay prior to that being confirmed. And, on numerous occasions, he pointed to the allure of winning in red and white as the biggest reason why.

When you combine his resume and current situation, Claybrooks isn’t in a spot where he has to pounce on the first head coaching job available. While not a slight on Montreal, there is a decent argument to be made there might be more attractive jobs down the road.

Alouettes general manager Kavis Reed hopes to round out his coaching search soon (Montreal Alouettes)

The Als are very much in transition coming off a nightmare first year under new general manager Kavis Reed. They have some solid pieces to build around, but if I put myself in Claybrooks’ shoes, I can see the wisdom waiting for an opportunity with more stability.

Maybe that opportunity is in BC next winter with Wally Buono walking away from the sidelines. Or perhaps a succession plan in Calgary is in the cards similar to the one we saw play out a couple years ago.

Regardless, Claybrooks was in a win-win situation this off-season.

National security

For the second time in four months, Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Brandon Bridge is going to sit down with CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie to discuss a very important topic. Bridge continues to push for change when it comes to the league’s rules concerning quarterbacks and the Canadian ratio.

It’s a fascinating debate that has two sides. As it stands right now, Canadian quarterbacks do not count as national players on team rosters and do not affect the ratio. Bridge is hoping to change that, and I tend to side with his school of thought here. That doesn’t mean there aren’t two valid sides to the argument, though.

Bridge is pushing for Canadian quarterbacks to start counting towards the ratio. This would give an advantage to teams like Saskatchewan and Calgary, who have Canadian pivots on their roster right now in Bridge and Andrew Buckley respectively. But I’m less concerned about who it affects positively now and more interested in what it might do down the road.

Pending free agent quarterback Brandon Bridge is pushing for a change in the ratio rules (David Chidley/CFL.ca)

Right now there is no incentive to having a Canadian quarterback on a CFL roster. Changing that would likely mean every team would start employing a home grown pivot, which I think would really start opening doors that guys like Bridge and Buckley have started knocking on.

It’s my belief Canadian quarterbacks haven’t always gotten a fair shake in professional football. It’s a stigma that shouldn’t exist but unfortunately does. Seeing Bridge and Buckley crack rosters on merit is a good first step, but more need to be taken. Having a reason to have a Canadian playcaller on every team is a more meaningful one, though.

With a true opportunity for these guys to succeed, maybe we won’t go more than a decade between starts for a Canadian quarterback in the future. This is the Canadian Football League, after all. That’s not a xenophobic comment by any stretch. Instead, I just think it’s good business; this league is marketed to Canadians and seeing homegrown talent excelling on a national stage is a great way to build a connection with fans.

The other side of the argument is based on talent being watered down at the position, which I can understand while still disagreeing. If there is an incentive to have Canadian quarterbacks on the roster, it could potentially cost talented International pivots as a result. In turn that would take away from the product on the field.

And that might be true in some instances, but I feel like there’s just as large a chance it works the other way. By having a reason to truly give Canadian quarterbacks an opportunity, there’s a realistic possibility we start seeing stars born that perhaps wouldn’t have gotten a shot otherwise.

Along with Bridge, Andrew Buckley has emerged as a legitimate Canadian QB prospect in the CFL (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

The conversation about the national ratio has been a hot one on social media of late, with players like Nik Lewis, Ricky Foley, and Rob Bagg weighing in. For me, developing Canadian players and giving them a chance to truly shine is a hallmark of this league and that should never change.

What we’ve seen recently with players like Bridge and Buckley leads me to believe it’s time for that to extend to quarterbacks, too.

The next challenge

June Jones did a really solid job guiding the Hamilton Tiger-Cats upon taking over as head coach in late August. With last week’s expected announcement that Jones will return in that same position for 2018, it puts a different challenge on the table.

While I don’t think either scenario is easy, I do believe it’s different taking over a struggling team midway through the season compared with being the guy right from the start. Jones really helped kick start Hamilton and led them to a 6-4 record from week 11 on. While not spectacular, it was a fairly dramatic turnaround from the team’s 0-8 start.

The Tiger-Cats were in dire need of a shot in the arm in August. The installation of Jones as head coach and his subsequent decision to hand the starting quarterback reins to Jeremiah Masoli provided just that. Hamilton was never as bad as its start suggested, but for whatever reason the Ticats just couldn’t put it all together.

With Jones now the man right from the start of training camp, the situation is different. The Ticats aren’t looking for a spark or a kick in the pants. Instead, this team needs to be sharp to start the season, something it just wasn’t when you look back to the beginning of the year.

Jones has been coaching at the highest levels for more than 30 years, so I don’t question whether he has the capability by any stretch. I’m more interested in seeing if and how his approach might change.

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