You’ve just moved into a new home that has won a major architectural award. So, is the first thing to do rip out the kitchen to build a new one?
In some ways, that’s the question facing Jason Maas, the Edmonton Eskimos’ new head coach and offensive coordinator. The 40-year-old former Eskimos’ quarterback is not only taking over the defending Grey Cup champions, it’s also a team that ranked in the CFL’s top third in most offensive categories including total points (466), net offence (6,473 yards) and time of possession (31:38).
While he doesn’t plan a major renovation of the Edmonton offence, Maas does want to implement the same up-tempo, no-huddle approach he used last year as offensive coordinator with the Ottawa REDBLACKS.
“The difference will be the tempo,” said Maas. “That will be the change.
“We were successful in Ottawa running a similar system and just making it faster. They (the Eskimos) know the system. Now it’s about making it quicker.”
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Maas’s offence is one reason why the REDBLACKS rebounded from a 2-16 record in their inaugural 2014 season to finish 12-6 last year. They lost 26-20 to Edmonton in the Grey Cup.
Most fast-food outlets are examples that quicker doesn’t always mean better. Maas acknowledges that going to a no-huddle attack, that isn’t operated properly, can result in extra pressure on the defence.
“You basically have to be fully committed to it,” said the Beaver Dam, Wis., native who played his college football at Oregon. “If you are two-and-out a lot, your defence goes out on the field.
“If you can stay on the field, like we did last year, you end up controlling most of the game. Now you are on the field more often than your defence.”
Proving his point, Ottawa led the league with 6,953 yards of total offence, 1,124 plays from scrimmage and 33:10 in time of possession last season. Quarterback Henry Burris also had a career year and was named the league’s most outstanding player.
“You just have to be committed to it,” said Maas. “Your players have to be committed to it. You have to be able to run your entire offence through it.”
Edmonton’s Grey Cup victory was the team’s first since 2005. The confetti had hardly been swept off the city’s streets before head coach Chris Jones announced he was leaving to take over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Having played and lived in Edmonton, Maas understands what the scrutiny he will be under.
“I know what I’m getting into,” he said. “That was the one question, talking to several people . . . ‘are you nervous taking over a Grey Cup champion team?’
“I knew it was the right job for me. I know what kind of organization we are here. There is pressure every year in Edmonton to win. I want to be part of that. When you take over a defending Grey Cup champion, that means you have some quality people here. I look forward to that challenge and building on that culture they have established here and continuing to win.”
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The one person not demanding a repeat in Maas’s first season is the man who hired him.
“The only thing you can do to equal what you did last year is win a championship,” said Ed Hervey, the Eskimos’ vice-president of football operations and general manager. “That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a failure if you don’t.
“How many teams win back-to-back championships? Championships aren’t easy to win.”
What Hervey does expect the Eskimos to do is “play hard, play consistent.”
“I have great confidence in the staff Jason has assembled and Jason as a head coach,” he said.
Maas spent nine years playing for the Eskimos. He helped them win two Grey Cups and was Edmonton’s Most Outstanding Player in 2001 and 2004.
Maas was the running backs and quarterbacks coach in Toronto from 2012 to 2014. The move to offensive coordinator in Ottawa was a learning curve.
“You are dealing with a bigger spectrum of players,” he said. “It was the first time I actually got to install and run an offence.”
Overseeing the offence will be Maas’s priority this season. He will rely heavily on Mike Benevides, the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach, and special teams coordinator Cory McDiarmid.
“I will be spending most of my time with the offence installing plays, in meetings, reviewing the plays with players, then ultimately helping my offensive staff put together a game plan every week,” said Maas.
“I’m going to definitely make my time to listen and be involved with what the defence and special team does. I have full faith in Cory and Mike to game plan and execute what they want with their players.”
Benevides, the former BC head coach who took over from Wally Buono after the Lions won the 2011 Grey Cup, has already proven a wealth of information.
“The only thing you can do to equal what you did last year is win a championship. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a failure if you don’t.”
Ed Hervey, GM, Edmonton Eskimos
“We talk daily, sometimes a couple times a day,” said Maas. “He is a world of knowledge. I rely on him.
“We talk football, we talk strategy. He’s also helped me with every decision we make. He will always have an opinion and I value his opinion.”
While the Eskimo offence returns mostly intact, the defence has lost players like defensive back Aaron Grymes and linebacker Dexter McCoil.
Hervey said that’s the evolution of football.
“Players come and go,” he said. “Nothing remains the same.”
What Hervey is confident about is Maas bringing the same dedication and work ethic to the head coaching job as he did to playing.
“I had the advantage of being a teammate with him and being in the meeting rooms,” said Hervey. “You learn pretty quick when you are in the locker room and the meeting rooms, those who can and those who may struggle.
“It was pretty evident to me Jason was one of those guys that was going to be successful.”
