April 5, 2017

Desjardins: Chance to host Grey Cup ‘very important’

Matt Smith/CFL.ca

OTTAWA — The clock struck midnight, the Cinderella ending came to fruition. For the Ottawa REDBLACKS and their fans, it all became real: They were Grey Cup Champions.

Yet somewhere in the locker-room beneath BMO Field, in the mist of the champagne in the midst of celebration, away from all the microphones, before the confetti could be cleared, Marcel Desjardins wondered ‘how can we do this again?’

“That quickly,” Desjardins nodded to a small scrum of reporters during CFL Week in Regina nearly four months later. “In our locker-room in Toronto after the game, the expectation was we need to be there for the next one.”

Johany Jutras/CFL.ca

Marcel Desjardins (left) and Rick Campbell (right) following Ottawa’s Grey Cup win (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

Even with unlikely script that saw Ottawa’s football franchise capture a Grey Cup in just its third season, the pressure to play in the 105th Grey Cup — on home turf, in the year of Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations — is on.

“I know there certainly is [pressure] from our ownership,” said Desjardins. “But that’s all good. Our expectation, our goal is to be there every year. Will that happen? Not necessarily but that’s something we’re striving for this year.

“With it being in Ottawa, it’s obviously very important that we have a chance to get to that game.”

The last team to play in three straight Grey Cups was the Montreal Alouettes from 2008 through 2010. Desjardins was there. That same Alouettes club was the last one to win back-to-back, with championships in 2009 and 2010.

Oftentimes, Grey Cup-winning teams become the victim of their own success. While Grey Cup MVP Henry Burris retired, Ernest Jackson, Chris Williams, J’Michael Deane, Abdul Kanneh, Mitchell White and Forrest Hightower left the team via free agency. A large part of a championship core.

Continuity is one of professional sports’ greatest pillars of success. Sometimes it’s just not achievable.

“The fact that we had to move on from a few players was unfortunate because we do want to have as much continuity as we can,” said Desjardins. “That, to me, was the biggest thing: the lack of continuity within your locker-room and for your fans to identify with.”

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THE CANADIAN PRESS

The REDBLACKS will be without some of their most recognizable names in 2017, one being Henry Burris (The Canadian Press)

On the other hand, Desjardins added, players are within their rights to test free agency and seek the best compensation possible.

“That’s their prerogative, right? If the situation somewhere else is better for them — and we expect that — we’re ready for it. We’ve obviously planned for a number of different scenarios.

“Everyone’s dealing with it; maybe to different degrees but again, we feel we’ve done a pretty good job of addressing the losses that we did have.”

Despite the changes, this off-season has been rather fluid for the fourth-year general manager.

Desjardins replaced Williams and Jackson with two younger and also dynamic pass-catchers in Kenny Shaw and Diontae Spencer.

While there will still be competition in the defensive backfield, Antoine Pruneau signed an extension while Jonathan Rose and free agent signing A.J. Jefferson will team up as the starting cornerbacks.

And finally, while the REDBLACKS will miss Henry Burris, the face of Ottawa’s football transformation these last couple of years, the quarterback depth chart has clarity: Trevor Harris is the starter and Drew Tate is the backup.

“We knew we’d have some major voids to fill and we feel we’ve done a pretty good job of replacing some guys we’ve lost,” said Desjardins. “We’ve acquired some quality players . . . and at the same time we’ve signed some unknown players that we have a lot of faith in.

“The cap dictates what we can and can’t do,” he added. “We didn’t know who it would be but we knew there would be casualties along the way from that standpoint.”

Adam Gagnon/CFL.ca

For the first time in his career, Trevor Harris enters the season as the undisputed No. 1 in Ottawa (Adam Gagnon/CFL.ca)

The best starting point for the REDBLACKS might be their coaching staff, which, led by Rick Campbell, Jaime Elizondo and Mark Nelson remains intact.

That, Desjardins points out, is something that shouldn’t be overlooked.

“I’ve said from day one that you have a team on the field – well, we have a team off the field as well,” said Desjardins. “We have all of our coaches back, we have our personnel department back, we have continuity pretty much across the board off the field.

“Obviously some changes on the field. The off-field stuff is important, not only because of who you have but especially when you have success.”