Lions name Jarious Jackson offensive coordinator and QB coach, round out coaching staff

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louharris74
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I must have missed it, but I see that RP21 is now a regional scout for the team. A good move keeping Ryan involved with the team in some capacity. Another class guy.
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Jarious Jackson says Jonathan Jennings 'has all the tools". He believes the Lions have a 'lot of pieces' and is not far off" at all.

He mentioned Manny, Rainey and Burnham in particular when discussing the offence.
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WestCoastJoe
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Jarious Jackson and Kelly Bates back in the day.

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David
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Very happy with this move. I was kind of concerned when Jarious turned us down last time that he was going to be a Chris Jones lifer. One thing I didn't realize is that his wife and kids live here too, so this is coming home in more ways than one for Jarious.

The pieces are coming together. :thup:


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dodger wrote:
Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:33 pm
I like this hiring. Hopefully a more aggressive and interesting offense.
I too think this is as solid a hiring as could be done given the circumstances. Now the question is how much rope Wally gives him, that is the real issue with any assistant coach for this season.

Since the expectations for 2018 are more about correcting the direction, this is the start of the coaching ranks that need change.

Familiarity is a CFL mainstay. The real interesting factor is JJ's willingness to sign knowing what he is coming into. One thing for sure is he brings in perspective of two divisional rivals, and that is an area the Lions have lacked in recent years.
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louharris74 wrote:
Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:49 pm
I must have missed it, but I see that RP21 is now a regional scout for the team. A good move keeping Ryan involved with the team in some capacity. Another class guy.
They hired him back in mid-September.

https://www.cfl.ca/2017/09/11/phillips- ... -new-role/
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squishy35 wrote:
Thu Dec 14, 2017 2:02 pm
This is very good news for the Lions. Over the season we saw a lot of dynamic looks with Saskatchewan' offence despite them being largely limited to a pocket passer such as Glen. I really hope we see more inventive formations and that we see Jarious utilize Jennings' athleticism to work on roll out patterns with more play options.
Lots of Rider fans were hoping Jackson would take their OC with him.

Edit: I need to qualify that. Jackson they like. They would be quite OK if he stayed. McAdoo they would love to see disappear.
Last edited by Hambone on Fri Dec 15, 2017 2:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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David
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If Jarious helped resurrect Kevin Glenn last year, then he deserves a place in the HOF under the builder's category. :wink: Irrespective of the West Final and maybe a couple of games down the stretch, I thought he was, for the most part, excellent.

Moreover, the Riders had two disparate quarterbacks in Glenn and Bridge, but I never got the sense it was the "plug and play" offense we've had here. There were nuances to play to each quarterback's strengths.


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Sir Purrcival
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I'm in the camp that thinks this is a solid move. Like Rammer says, under the circumstances, this is likely about as good as it is going to get. I am a bit reserved about what qualities he is likely to bring to the position. He has always been a loyal soldier and that is something that this team has suffered from when the General is WB. I hope that he has the strength to be his own man and not another Wally disciple.
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I don't know if loyalty is the correct term all the time. Ultimately the HC and his coordinators have to share the same football philosophies. If they do and results are positive then they will support, believe and be loyal to each other. If they have big differences in how they want to run an offense or defense then the relationship and any loyalty will evaporate.
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Toppy Vann
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It's pretty clear that Jackson's link to Chris Jones was pretty solid or he'd have tried to escape post GC in Edmonton to get his own OC gig. I was never sure why Jones who is tight with his assistants hadn't elevated Jackson to OC (I'm not sure there was a vacancy).

Jackson looked pretty involved with the play calling and overall offence unlike say, Anthony Cavillo looks in MTL.

Jury is out on whether this will prove to be a good move for BC and a lot depends on which QB turns up next season in the form of Jonathan Jennings. Even Hervey and Jackson sound cautious with their versions of 'has all the tools' comments.

There were times when the Riders play calling and lack of mid quarter changes failed to account for the pressure Kevin Glenn was under but things would change when Brandon Bridge came in - as his skills were different and of course - he could run. As Corey Chamblin of the Argos said - Glenn has never lost a step in his years in the CFL (as he never had it to lose). He's a quick toss passer. While Chris Jones said he'd take out KG as he was 38 and couldn't run - part of me felt it was to accommodate for the play calling.

Jackson as an offensive assistant not the OC is no different with fans than the back up QB when a team is losing. He becomes the guy they want.

It was confusing when some announcers (Cuthbert?) said Jackson was calling the plays. I'm not sure.

It depends on what philosophy he brings.
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I'm happy with the decision to hire Jarious Jackson. Jarious definitely had leadership qualities as a Lion. He was highly regarded by his teammates.

Jarious has looked after the passing game and quarterbacks while being an assistant under Chris Jones. Jackson said, in an interview, that Wally is 'old school' but you know what he is thinking.

I believe we will run the football more with Jarious as OC. Jarious, as our third string quarterback, won 9 of 11 games in 2007, when we featured a powerful running attack. I believe that season is still in the mind of Jarious.

However, we've had numerous offensive coordinators under Buono and as I posted a few days ago....each one has only been allowed to use their brand of lipstick to place on the same pig. That pig is Buono's version of the spread offence that we have used throughout Buono's 'reign' here in B.C.

That offensive system, designed by Hufnagel in the early 90's in Calgary served Buono well but its an outdated offensive system well past its expiry date. The Lions offensive playbook needs to either be tossed or seriously revamped.

The question is "Will Buono allow Jarious to make many changes to it? Buono is an old dog who hasn't learned any new tricks (other than hiring Ed Hervey). But its also Buono's last season as HC and he is desperate to go out a winner. That could mean that Buono will be willing to go in a different direction. The hiring of Ed Hervey shows how badly Buono wants to win this season.

I'm hoping that is not the only change that Buono is able to make in his thinking, which has been notoriously rigid.

Jarious is a good man. I'm pulling for him. He will have a presence much more powerful than Khari Jones.
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David
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Blitz wrote:
Sun Dec 17, 2017 4:22 am
Jarious has looked after the passing game and quarterbacks while being an assistant under Chris Jones. Jackson said, in an interview, that Wally is 'old school' but you know what he is thinking.
I love listening to euphemisms in pro sports interviews, Blitz. There are two emerging that I've heard from our new hires.

Wally is "old school" (translation? He's as stubborn as sh*t!)

Jonathon has "all the tools" (translation? Hasn't lived up to his potential. Too inconsistent).



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Toppy Vann
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While the new GM can't displace the HC now, the question is can he successfully push the HC to accept new ideas from the OC based on his take on the state of the team and how it plays.

It's indisputable that Hervey has an eye for superior talent and in my view, that's the ONLY reason Wally is making him GM so that suggests he'll not listen to views that square with what he thinks and wants. Jackson is coming from a team with trick plays - even to the point where a few situations were questionable calls by the team. Most think they were Chris Jones calls and I believe that was true - as I saw those games.

I can't imagine a worse position for a GM where the HC is your boss. It's a bit like Kent Austin and his GM Eric Tillman when Kent was HC and also VP of Football Operations. However, it's different in the sense that Austin and Tillman are friends and also share similar philosophies although when it was clear that Austin needed to change QBs - but wouldn't - clearly Tillman and others weren't able to convince Austin it was leading to his ship sinking.

Blitz is right about the 2007 season and Jackson and the Lions running game and that was the year where Dorazio-Kruck were joint OCs with Kruck calling the plays. That seemed to end with the trade of Joe Smith for Charles Roberts where both players careers failed from there.

The ADVANTAGES that Jarious Jackson brings to BC includes:

1. The GM knows him well from two years in Edmonton.
2. Jackson knows Wally better than any OC including Khari Jones.
3. Jackson has been in two pretty situations in Edmtn and Regina (the latter including a tough year and this year a major breakthrough so he 's coming in with some decent experience and work with good QBs (Reilly, Franklin, Glenn, Bridge).
4. Jackson believes in a balanced offense and knows first hand from the Lions days of getting their QB beaten up that you can't be a predictable, pass only team.
5. He'll bring in a protect the QB philosophy as it all starts there.
6. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of Dorazio and he's now had experience with other O line coaches.
7. He can work with Wally. He also knows Wally doesn't muzzle people and while he'll publicly disagree he won't directly punish someone for their public views. Jackson himself spoke out as a BC player and Wally didn't do anything but say he didn't see it that way.

Right now I suspect the GM is working as he said to improve protection for the QB - that will be a new push in BC as Wally hasn't always worried about that as he should have.

I won't be surprised if they get out and try and get a top QB to challenge for starter BUT who that could be now that the Argos have Franklin.

Jackson might well be the guy to bring new life to the Lions and he'll no doubt have awilling listeners in the QBs - especially the more thoughtful Lulay. Not sure how analytical Jennings is yet as he seems post season to be surprised that the things he did the year won't working.
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Sir Purrcival
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Hambone wrote:
Sat Dec 16, 2017 9:45 am
I don't know if loyalty is the correct term all the time. Ultimately the HC and his coordinators have to share the same football philosophies. If they do and results are positive then they will support, believe and be loyal to each other. If they have big differences in how they want to run an offense or defense then the relationship and any loyalty will evaporate.
I sure hope you are right. What I was trying to say albeit awkwardly is that Various Jarious as I used to call him in his QB days is a team guy. He didn't really strike as an on field General, more a high ranking Colonel. He was competent but basically did as he was told. That was then and this is now so to be fair, he will have a chance to prove his abilities as an OC (maybe). Again it depends a great deal on how Wally lets the team run. I have little doubt that even in his last year, Wally isn't going to change his style now. I also find it interesting how little I hear of teams clamouring for former Wally assistants. Sure there are interviews, occasional elevations but really how many former Wally assistants have gone on to success in the CFL? Higgins maybe and Hufnagel both of whom stopped being Wally products many years ago. The only one now still active in the league is Hufnagel. Does that not seem odd for a HC who has been in the league as long as Wally.
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