Saskatchewan signs Chris Jones

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.cfl.ca/2015/12/15/brackenrid ... ders-cuts/

Jones wasting no time in changing the roster ...

House Cleaning: Brackenridge, Allen among surprising Riders cuts

CFL.ca Staff

REGINA — It hasn’t taken Chris Jones long to make his mark on the Saskatchewan Roughriders. One week after being hired as the team’s VP of Football Operations, GM and head coach, Jones and the Riders parted ways with mainstays S Tyron Brackenridge, RB Anthony Allen, DB Macho Harris and DB Terrell Maze. Brackenridge, Allen and Maze were scheduled to become free agents in February.

The team also announced the release of:

• International defensive back Weldon Brown
• International defensive back Marshay Green
• National linebacker Nathan Kanya
• National defensive back Hugo Lopez
• National fullback Scott McHenry
• International defensive back Junior Mertile
• National linebacker Kyle Norris
• International receiver Jamel Richardson
• International defensive lineman Cameron Sheffield
• International quarterback Blake Sims
• International receiver Taj Smith
• International running back Chad Spann
• International defensive back Alex Suber
• International defensive lineman Derek Walker
• National linebacker Ryan Wellman

Brackenridge was perhaps the most surprising of all after the former Division and League All-Star spent four seasons with the Green and White. The starting safety accumulated 167 defensive tackles, forced 9 fumbles and picked off 7 passes while helping the Riders capture a Grey Cup in 2013.

Allen has split time with a cast of tailbacks since joining the team in 2014. In two seasons, Allen carried the ball 261 times for 1,504 yards and 8 touchdowns. He also added 314 yards and 3 majors out of the backfield.

[TheLionKing]

The release of Tyron Brackenridge is a surprise.

[pennw]

Wow , and people take issue with Wally letting guys go . Seems Wally has nothing on Jones in that regard. That's almost half the team .

[Qman]

19 guys ... holy crap thats almost half the team

... wasting no time!

[BC 1988]

Jones must make it a condition that he's given total control. I don't recall that degree of roster change in his time at EDM. (Of course, he wasn't calling the shots as GM there). It tells you something about his analysis of what's wrong with SSK.

2 years from now, it will be interesting to see the results of this radical surgery.

[cromartie]

On the plus side, that's 19 people who no longer have to live and work in Regina.

[B.C.FAN]

Eight DBs axed. If there was any doubt, that clarifies what was wrong with the Riders last year. They couldn't cover.

[TheLionKing]

On the plus side, that's 19 people who no longer have to live and work in Regina.

[WestCoastJoe]

Jones rounds out Riders’ 2016 coaching staff

CFL.ca Staff

REGINA — Chris Jones won’t need much time getting comfortable with his new surroundings in Regina.

The Riders’ new head coach and GM revealed his 2016 coaching staff on Wednesday, all eight coaches following him over from the Grey Cup-winning Edmonton Eskimos.

Joining Jones on the Riders staff will be:

Stephen McAdoo – Offensive coordinator & assistant head coach
Craig Dickenson – Special teams coordinator
Jarious Jackson – Quarterbacks coach & passing game coordinator
Mike Scheper – Offensive line coach
Phillip Lolley – Linebackers coach
Jason Shivers – Defensive backs coach
Ed Philion – Defensive line coach
Craig Davoren – Running backs coach & special teams assistant


Brackenridge_Allen_2015_1
RELATED
BRACKENRIDGE, ALLEN AMONG SURPRISE CUTS

McAdoo first coached with Jones on the Argos coaching staff as the offensive line coach before following Jones to Edmonton to become the offensive coordinator in 2014. After spending 2012 and 2013 under the offensive tutelage of Scott Milanovich, McAdoo helped the Eskimos bounce back from a 4-14 season in 2013 with the CFL’s second highest-scoring offence and most productive in total yards.

In what was just Mike Reilly’s second season as a starting CFL quarterback he quickly emerged as one of the league’s best, completing 64.6 per cent of his passes and throwing 16 touchdowns to 11 interceptions with 3,327 passing yards.

What followed in 2015 was no less impressive. The Eskimos ranked third in scoring and second in total offence despite being without Reilly for most of the season, while ever since Reilly’s return Edmonton went a purrfect 10-0 in capturing the 103rd Grey Cup presented by Shaw.

Jackson (quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator) and Scheper (offensive line coach) also played a key role in Edmonton’s offensive resurgence and will join McAdoo as a familiar face on the Riders’ offence.

Equally important for Jones will be the help he gets on the defensive line, where Lolley, Shivers and Philion will assist Jones in running the Riders’ defence. Jones quickly restructured an Eskimo defence into an elite one in 2014, finishing number one in the CFL in net yards that year — a feat he’ll look to replicate in Regina.


NEW LOOK
JONES, RIDERS REVEAL 2016 FRONT OFFICE

Edmonton’s defence played a key role in the team’s run to a Grey Cup last year, meanwhile, allowing the fewest points in the league, the third-fewest total yards and the second-lowest time of possession while recording the third-most sacks and the second-most takeaways.

Also joining Jones’ staff will be Special Teams Coordinator Craig Dickenson and Running Backs Coach and Special Teams Assistant Craig Davoren.

Noel Thorpe coming next?

Jones makes aggressive moves. Just like his philosophy on defence.

[Hambone]

Noel Thorpe coming next?

Jones makes aggressive moves. Just like his philosophy on defence.

TSN was just saying Orridge is placing a moratorium on coaching moves pending some investigation on the Thorpe situation. Haven't seen anything to verify that and assume it would only relate to situations where a coach is already for all intents under contract or for parallel moves.

[TheLionKing]

Wouldn't surprise me if Thorpe winds up in Edmonton as DC

[TheLionKing]

How would you like to an Eskimo fan right now ? Your team just won the Grey Cup. In a week you lose your Head Coach, and Assistant Coaches.

[TheLionKing]

Paul McCallum released by Riders

http://www.cfl.ca/2015/12/21/riders-ext ... -mccallum/

[WestCoastJoe]

http://3downnation.com/2015/12/15/just- ... ris-jones/

Just try to keep up to Chris Jones

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Darrell Davis in Along the Green Mile, FEATURED // 0 Comments

Have you seen the list of CFL players who become free agents when their contracts expire Feb. 9?

All-stars. Offensive game-breakers. Defensive stalwarts. Ratio changers. First-rate Canadian starters.

In eight weeks they can join the Saskatchewan Roughriders, whose new boss has cleared roster space and cap space by waiving 19 players. Minutes after revealing his new football operations department, Chris Jones, Saskatchewan’s vice-president of football operations (and general manager, head coach and defensive co-ordinator) announced that 12 of his new team’s potential free agents and seven other under-contract players were being released so they could pursue other opportunities.

How’s that for an invitation to the CFL’s pending free agents? Free agents from Jones’ former team, the Grey Cup-winning Edmonton Eskimos, may soon be following him to Saskatchewan, who no longer have salary-cap issues.

Jones said the released players didn’t fit into his team’s new philosophy and, admittedly, under the Roughriders’ Salary Management System. Translation: He had already decided they were old, ineffective, overpaid, not committed to the Riders or a combination of those four things.

It’s a ruthless business. The players evidently weren’t told they had been released.

While some fans and players were bemoaning the departure of well-known veterans like Tryon Brackenridge, Terrell Maze, Weldon Brown, Anthony Allen and Macho Harris, the Roughriders were already poised to bolster a roster that posted a 3-15 record last season.

Jones has planned free-agent camps throughout the U.S. Along with his assistant vice-presidents John Murphy (football operations and player personnel) and Jeremy O’Day (football operations and administration), they will be seeking bigger, faster, younger defensive players who excel at man-to-man coverage and younger offensive players with size and breakaway speed.

Jones and Murphy are well-respected in CFL circles for their abilities to assess and recruit players. O’Day, one of the few holdovers from last year’s football operations department, is going to help and evidently make sure the team adheres to next season’s $5.1-million salary cap. Heck, Murphy and O’Day interviewed for the Riders’ GM position, didn’t get the job and were hired by the guy who did.

Jones joined the 4-14 Eskimos after their dismal 2013 season. Two years later the Eskimos won the Grey Cup, with Jones serving solely as the head coach. The Roughriders hired him eight days after he hoisted the 2015 Grey Cup. Jones is bringing along almost his entire coaching staff from Edmonton. They must be caught in his jet-stream.