Riders name Chapdelaine new Offensive Coordinator

[Rammer]

At the risk of praising Jacques Chapdelaine ... LOL

As noted by Blitz above, Chamblin refers to a number of quarterbacks that worked with Jacques Chapdelaine.

JC deserves some credit for the development and the performance of all those quarterbacks (and receivers) that have come through B.C. since 2003.

Dickenson

Printers (not sure about the working relationship between these two)

Pierce

Jackson

Lulay

Reilly

DeMarco (not everyone's favourite, but our staff liked him, and he showed enough to have Ottawa take him in the draft)
............

Good to see JC back in the CFL. I hope Regina works out well for him. It certainly seems like he has found a kindred spirit in Corey Chamblin. We will see about those fans. As noted it sure did not work out with Ricky Ray. Durant seems to be very supportive of JC's hiring.

"I'm excited, first and foremost,'' Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant said Friday after the hiring of Chapdelaine was confirmed. "He has coached a lot of great quarterbacks in the past. He has led some guys to some MVP-type seasons and he has won multiple Grey Cups. I'm excited about the system, the way he opens it up for us, and it should be good.''

The Riders have had very good O Lines seemingly forever. That should help.

Just IMO on a quiet day after all the excitement surrounding the hiring of Jeff Tedford ...

I think that the Riders OL was very average this past season, so they will need to improve that area if they expect Chapdelaine to run his schemes with success. Of course the Riders will have to execute at a high level as well to see the O take hold.

[WestCoastJoe]

At the risk of praising Jacques Chapdelaine ... LOL

As noted by Blitz above, Chamblin refers to a number of quarterbacks that worked with Jacques Chapdelaine.

JC deserves some credit for the development and the performance of all those quarterbacks (and receivers) that have come through B.C. since 2003.

Dickenson

Printers (not sure about the working relationship between these two)

Pierce

Jackson

Lulay

Reilly

DeMarco (not everyone's favourite, but our staff liked him, and he showed enough to have Ottawa take him in the draft)
............

Good to see JC back in the CFL. I hope Regina works out well for him. It certainly seems like he has found a kindred spirit in Corey Chamblin. We will see about those fans. As noted it sure did not work out with Ricky Ray. Durant seems to be very supportive of JC's hiring.

"I'm excited, first and foremost,'' Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant said Friday after the hiring of Chapdelaine was confirmed. "He has coached a lot of great quarterbacks in the past. He has led some guys to some MVP-type seasons and he has won multiple Grey Cups. I'm excited about the system, the way he opens it up for us, and it should be good.''

The Riders have had very good O Lines seemingly forever. That should help.

Just IMO on a quiet day after all the excitement surrounding the hiring of Jeff Tedford ...

I think that the Riders OL was very average this past season, so they will need to improve that area if they expect Chapdelaine to run his schemes with success. Of course the Riders will have to execute at a high level as well to see the O take hold.

It seems the Riders have some pretty good hogs. And they have had good running games. We will see how Jacques does with them. As I have said numerous times, I wish him well. He was always very gracious with the fans, IMO.

[Blitz]

Well, I find this interesting. It would appear that Chaps is highly-regarded in Saskabush, anyway, which is saying something given the Riders' very competitive tradition. That the Riders regard him as an upgrade over Cortez should, perhaps, be taken into account as we (or at least some) contemplate a Cortez landing as OC in Lotusland.

The Riders may regard him as an upgrade which of course they are going to say. Their fanbase on the other hand consider him to be a big step backwards from Cortez or LaPolice.

I have no idea why the Riders fans would want LaPolice. I have no idea why Leo fans would have wanted LaPolice here as offensive coordinator or as HC. Somehow he has more stature than his record shows.

His offence was 6th in the CFL in his first season as the Riders offensive coordinator (our Leos offence was better in 2008 season and in his second season LaPolice’s offence was once again 6th in average yards per game and once again performed at a lower level than our offence in B.C.

LaPo sounds good when talking offence on TSN but his stats as an offensive coordinator in Regina don’t reflect that he was a successful offensive coordinator at all.

Quite frankly, head to head, Chap not only had better results in the two seasons they were both offensive coordinators, Chap has more experience and has also won a championship as a college Head Coach, and he's won Grey Cups as an offensive coordinator.

I have no idea why some fans wanted LaPo as our offensive coordinator in the past or even why they wanted him as a HC before we hired Tedford. His body of work did not justify it. He is not an innovator. His record as an OC and HC do not justify the interest or the confidence in him.

The Riders organization chose Chap over LaPolice because they used facts over emotion or likeability is the way I see it.

[Dusty]

I am hopeful that we will see misdirection and "disguised" plays in whatever the offensive schemes that we use. Watching the Toronto-BC game (where Chad Owens came back from injury) almost every play was disguised.... fake a handoff, pump fake a throw, screen pass... and our defence was flat-footed and at least half a step behind in reacting. Of course, it helps to have a QB with the skills to do this such as Ray. With a savvy QB in Durant, who also has the potential to fake and hold onto the ball and run (more than Ray), I can see how Chamblin could get excited by Chaps potential. We shall have to wait and see what our QB skill level is going to be so our level of excitement will be tempered somewhat.

Rider games in BC Place are always fun to watch..... this coming year will be no exception...

[Sir Purrcival]

Chapdelaine has had all the same tools with us at one point or another and yet it seemed like the the opposition was more in the know about what play was going to be run than we did sometimes. Maybe, just maybe a lot of us have the book on Chapdelaine wrong but there is an whole lot of us. If the Rider's fans are any indication, many there are already concerned about his hiring and he hasn't even drawn up a play yet. We have heard about blocking issues and talent issues etc. but JC should have known about those issues and yet on more than one occasion he appeared to have real difficulty in making adjustments to compensate for these apparently obvious weaknesses that every team has to cope with.

I wouldn't use last season as proof that the Lions were better off with him than without him because frankly Glenn < Lulay. I think Glenn tried hard but he has had limited success in the league for a lot of years and it has not just been a matter of bad luck. I remember Calgary fans saying even before the start of last season that interceptions were going to happen a lot with Glenn at the most inopportune times and that is exactly what we got.

I'm happy JC has found work elsewhere but have no regrets that he is gone. We have seen all that he has to offer and so has most of the rest of the league. In truth I feel somewhat sorry for him; he is not going to have an easy ride in the Riders Cauldron. If he thought he got criticized here, we all know that Rider fans can be absolutely merciless beyond all reason. We got a good picture of what the Riders are without Durant so JC had better hope that he stays healthy.

[Hambone]

I have no idea why the Riders fans would want LaPolice. I have no idea why Leo fans would have wanted LaPolice here as offensive coordinator or as HC. Somehow he has more stature than his record shows.

Totally agree with you Blitz. I've also not been able to understand the fascination. He does a nice job on TV but there's not enough to his CFL OC and HC body of work to put him on the pedestal some have. As HC the Bombers did make the Grey Cup game but when one digs into Winnipeg's record under him it was not very good. In fact other than a hot 7-1 start in 2011 it was quite poor. Overall Winnipeg went 16-28. They were 4-14 in 2010. They started 7-1 in 2011 then would stumble along to a 3-7 finish and follow it up going 2-6 before he was fired in 2012. That's a 7-1 streak bookended by a combined 9-27.

[Belize City Lion]

It's the TV analyst phenomenon. Quickest way to rehab your image is to sit on on a panel with a bunch of jocks talking about the game. TSN has to big Lapo up like he is a genius because they want people to watch.

[pennw]

I fully agree with Blitz on this one too . Lapo was good on TV , but that's hardly the same as being a good coach of a CFL team . It's easy to sound good on TV speaking to average lay people or sound smart on the internet for that matter . But a different thing to put out a good offense for a pro team .
Many who are critical of Chap point out that he never got the Offense rolling until he was ordered to . But if that's true , then it only reinforces the fact that he could do so . How many other pro coaches could be told " Improve the offense or else !" and then have capability to actually do so ? Could Mark Trestman do that with the Bears if he was ordered to do so ? If he could , why don't they just tell him to do it then ? Or any other floundering team for that matter . Just improve it at will . Sure okay , I'll do that , why didn't I think of that before? Why don't they all just do that?

As for Benny maybe going to the Bombers , I wonder if he put his name in for the Rider DC postiton too . I bet Chap probably would have talked Chamblin out of it or maybe had a condition of no Benny as a team mate for him to sign on with the riders . I think maybe he would like to see Benny over on the Bomber staff so he can go against him to prove a point or show him up because of the way things went down in BC . I have no proof of this , just wondering aloud . Would be interesting to see though , a Chap offense vs a Benny defense . Bet Wally would be watching it too .

[Toppy Vann]

We may never know if lapo is a good coach or not as he like Greg Marshall as HCs who all felt deserved their shots were dumped too soon. Lapo didn't impress in how he hung on to play calling with the Bombers only to have his GM force the OC on him. He'd have been smarter to work with the GM on this rather than blindly hang on to play call and have an OC not of his choosing.

[cromartie]

Paul LaPolice took a underachieving Winnipeg team and won an Eastern Division title in his second year while making a Grey Cup under an ownership that could charitably be described as in a state of flux and a front office that didn't know it's a** from a hole in the ground. Joe Mack was determined to push him out the door in place of Gary Crowton, who is an actual bad OC, by the way, with a track record of being a bad OC at multiple stops, and then found a reason to fire him anyway. And despite being surrounded by an office full of idiots, his players still played, and played hard for him, right up to the end.

Seriously. Would any of you hire Joe Mack to manage a food truck, let alone a CFL team?

His early OC stints beg to differ with some of the characterizations on here of him not being particularly good at his job.

Does that make him a great HC? Probably not, but that's not exactly a solid enough body of work to throw dirt on his grave, frankly.

There is a zero percent chance I'd rather have LaPolice than Tedford, but LaPolice is more than qualified for another shot as an HC as compared to some of the other candidates out there. Jeez, did some of you guys get history rewrite machines as early Christmas presents or something?

[sj-roc]

Speaking of LaPolice, I thought the days of wikipedia vandalism were behind us, but looking at his bio I can see this is not the case. I'm probably not the first here to notice it but this has been in his bio since at least Oct 28, nearly eight weeks now.

[KnowItAll]

never been a fan of lapo myself. not even sure why.

could it be because he coached wpg...naah, I am a mike riley fan.

could it be because he is bald....naah, I am a bruce willis fan.

could it be because of his name....naah, I am a fan of law enforcement.

??? beats me.

I am glad we are trying tedford. I am sure lapo will be around if it doesn't work out.

[TheLionKing]

Many who are critical of Chap point out that he never got the Offense rolling until he was ordered to . But if that's true , then it only reinforces the fact that he could do so . How many other pro coaches could be told " Improve the offense or else !" and then have capability to actually do so ? Could Mark Trestman do that with the Bears if he was ordered to do so ? If he could , why don't they just tell him to do it then ? Or any other floundering team for that matter . Just improve it at will . Sure okay , I'll do that , why didn't I think of that before? Why don't they all just do that?

An offensive coordinator don't need to be ordered to improve the offense or else. It's in his job description. That's his job.

[MexicoLionFan]

Paul LaPolice took a underachieving Winnipeg team and won an Eastern Division title in his second year while making a Grey Cup under an ownership that could charitably be described as in a state of flux and a front office that didn't know it's a** from a hole in the ground. Joe Mack was determined to push him out the door in place of Gary Crowton, who is an actual bad OC, by the way, with a track record of being a bad OC at multiple stops, and then found a reason to fire him anyway. And despite being surrounded by an office full of idiots, his players still played, and played hard for him, right up to the end.

Seriously. Would any of you hire Joe Mack to manage a food truck, let alone a CFL team?

His early OC stints beg to differ with some of the characterizations on here of him not being particularly good at his job.

Does that make him a great HC? Probably not, but that's not exactly a solid enough body of work to throw dirt on his grave, frankly.

There is a zero percent chance I'd rather have LaPolice than Tedford, but LaPolice is more than qualified for another shot as an HC as compared to some of the other candidates out there. Jeez, did some of you guys get history rewrite machines as early Christmas presents or something?

Cro, I agree with you...LaPo did a very good job in WPG, and they let go of him way too soon, and we all know why...Joe Mack was a terrible GM and a "small" person...LaPo will make a good CFL coach again, he simply will need to do a great job in hiring his assistants! That will be the key to Lapo's success in the future...Merry Christmas my friend!!!

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.cfl.ca/article/nye-chapdelai ... er-offence

Nye: Chapdelaine should transform Rider offence

Posted: December 20, 2014 09:00 AM

Updated: December 21, 2014 02:44 PM

Jamie Nye

Corey Chamblin has found his man.

The Riders officially announced Jacques Chapdelaine will be their third offensive coordinator in Chamblin’s tenure.

And Chapdelaine has everything that Chamblin laid out in his needs to replace George Cortez.

Chamblin wanted a man who has experience and also to match a little bit more of an aggressive team going forward.

The Riders were too safe on offence last year. Even with Darian Durant at quarterback, you never thought the Riders were going to go out each and every week and put 30-plus points on the board, like they often did in 2013.

The Riders ended speculation about one vacant coaching position on Friday, announcing the hiring of Jacques Chapdelaine as offensive coordinator.

Yes, they lost some playmakers, but Saskatchewan never appeared to give its new faces the chance to be game breakers.

With Chapdelaine, there is no denying the passing game will become a key ingredient for the Roughriders' success, and it will allow Durant to get back to a little bit more of a gunslinger attitude that he’s had in the past.

In Chapdelaine’s eight years as an offensive coordinator, his offences have consistently been among the top in the league in passing yards, while just as consistently near the bottom in the run game.

The former CFL receiver is a pass-first type of coach, who needs some big play receivers to make his offense work. He’s seen Geroy Simon, Ryan Thelwell, Jason Clermont, Travis Moore, Emanuel Arcenaux and many others have tremendous seasons under his leadership in BC and Calgary.

It will be an adjustment for the Riders offence after George Cortez ran a unit that led the league in balance. The run plays equalled the pass plays in terms of play calls.

With Kory Sheets, it worked in 2013. With Anthony Allen, Will Ford, Hugh Charles, Jerome Messam and Keith Toston the Riders failed to have success with the run setting up the pass.

Their numbers dropped and they were the worst passing team in the league.

Yes, Darian Durant missed the final eight games of the regular season but in Jacques Chapdelaine’s tenure as an offensive coordinator he’s seen his share of quarterback injuries. But guess what, he’ll keep calling pass plays.

It’s not rocket science to figure out why Chapdelaine is the winner of the job over other candidates like TSN analyst Paul LaPolice and Pete Costanza, who has spent the last several years running the Stampeders receiving corps.

Chamblin wants to see the ball in the air and press the ball down field to counter a very down year in 2014.

Rider offence far from complete

The next pressing issue will be who Chapdelaine brings in to help him run the offence in Saskatchewan.

There are some well established coaches in Saskatchewan, including offensive line coach Doug Malone and receivers coach Jason Tucker.

Avon Cobourne also is waiting to hear his future after his first year as a coach, working with the Riders running backs.

With under 200 passing yards per game in 2014, the Riders owned the CFL's worst passing offence. Would Chapdelaine help the Riders' offence?

Whether or not these coaches stay or go, there is one job that will have many in Saskatchewan speculating who will land on the staff: the quarterbacks coach.

When the team held court with the media on garbage bag day, Darian Durant didn’t hide his desire to have a quarterbacks coach, one who is separate from being the offensive coordinator.

In Durant’s two worst seasons as a starter, his quarterbacks coach was also his offensive coordinator (2011 - Doug Berry, 2014 - George Cortez). The intriguing thing is Durant’s best years were also under those two coordinators but he had quarterbacks coach working with him in 2010 and 2013.

Who is out there?

Jarious Jackson worked with Chapdelaine in BC as a player and a coach, though the team would have to get permission from the Eskimos.

Buck Pierce is also a quarterback who worked as a player with BC, but is currently employed by the Bombers as a running backs coach.

Kerry Joseph will be a popular name, based on his close relationship with Darian Durant and his close ties to Saskatchewan.

Khari Jones may be interested in re-joining the Riders if Jeff Tedford overhauls the coaches in BC. Jones and Durant built a very good relationship in the 2013 Grey Cup year.

The other step for Chapdelaine to have success in Saskatchewan will be the roster.

The Riders receivers lacked the big play last year. Weston Dressler is a free agent and is the must re-sign category, but the talent needs to improve.

Corey Chamblin said rebuild and retool when it comes to the Riders going into 2015 and it appears the offence is being torn down to the foundation.