Released Simpson 'might just be a forgotten player now'

CFL.ca Staff

Juwan Simpson will be back on a football field, just maybe not wearing pads.

The veteran linebacker was released back at the beginning of January, ending an eight-year tenure in Calgary Red and White. Now a free agent, Simpson is waiting for what’s next and keeping his options open.

So far the Decatur, Ala. native doesn’t know whether his next game will be between the white sideline stripes or wearing a headset.

“Everything’s pretty quiet right now,” said Simpson, at home with his family in North Alabama. “I’m just out here training and keeping in my normal routine but also trying to prepare myself for life after.”

It’s a balancing act that comes naturally for Simpson, a two-time Grey Cup Champion and two-time West Division All-Star. He was not only the face of that Stampeders defence, he was the heart and soul. The vocal one.

The coach on the field.

“It’s easy,” said Simpson, training to stay in game shape and on standby for the first coaching opportunity that comes his way, caught halfway between being a coach and being a player.

“Even if I was still playing I’d still have six months to train. That training is second nature to me, just something I do.

“I’m in the process of exploring coaching opportunities as well just in case nothing works out up there.”

Adam Gagnon/CFL.ca

Simpson had been an elite CFL linebacker for the most of a decade when the Stampeders decided to move on back in January. A cap casualty, a victim of his age, his future was suddenly uncertain.

Three teams showed interest in the 31-year-old while two made contract offers, but in the end they couldn’t work out the dollars. In the end, neither side would budge.

“There were some ballpark figures, but teams have a set mindset on what they want and what they’re going to spend and I understand that,” said Simpson. “I have a set mindset the same way.

“Nothing came of it and I’m not going to say it’s behind me – I’ve still got it, I’m still training – but if a coaching opportunity opens up, I can’t say that I won’t take it because ultimately that’s what I want to do when football is done.”

And Simpson has every right to be picky.

Last year was the worst of his career, a broken clavicle forcing him to miss seven games. His 27 tackles in 11 games (2.5 per game) marked his lowest total since 2009, when he played in only four games. After returning from injury for the Western Semi-Final and eventual Western Final loss to Edmonton, Simpson was held to just three tackles in two playoff games.

The numbers, however, don’t tell the whole story. The veteran says teams get too caught up in the numbers game, whether that’s age or the number of tackles. In the end he played a key role as the starting middle linebacker on the league’s second-ranked defence.

“I think I’m as good as I’ve always been,” he asserted. “So many people get caught up in numbers . . . but defensively I think we were a lot better than we’ve been in our schemes, where I wasn’t making a lot of plays but a lot of guys in front of me were making plays.

“You see a guy make 150 tackles, he’s the best thing ever,” he continued. “When you play the game for a while you realize it’s all scheme. You’ve got a guy that’s in a terrible scheme and he goes in a different scheme and he’s the player of the year – totally different.

“I really think I’ve still got it.”

Whatever happens, soon a decision will have to come to him. It’s a complicated pathway from player to coach, especially for one who believes he’s as good as he’s ever been. And it’s not like teams haven’t shown any interest.

At the same time, crossing into coaching means there’s no turning back. If Simpson thinks he has two or three good years left, becoming a coach means he burns them — not knowing what they could’ve been.

“You see a guy make 150 tackles,
he’s the best thing ever. When
you play the game for a while
you realize it’s all scheme.”

Arthur Ward/CFL.ca

“I’m OK with that,” said Simpson. “For me, I still feel like I have a couple of years left. But I know I do have a family to provide for, and whether that’s playing football or coaching it’s something I have to do.

“You really can’t just wait around, I’m beyond that stage and that age, per say, to just wait around and depend on football.

“I have to keep moving forward.”

So for Simpson, the door on his playing career remains open, if only just a crack. And where that door closes another one slowly creaks open.

MOVING FORWARD…

Juwan Simpson knew he wanted to coach football as early as high school, where he suited up for Austin High in hometown Decatur. From there to the Alabama Crimson Tide to the Calgary Stampeders, the 6-foot-3, 233-pound linebacker, almost always a captain, defined leadership.

Coaching isn’t for everyone, standing on the sideline and hoping everything goes your way — that helpless feeling that no matter how much work and preparation you put in, whatever happens on the field is out of your hands.

“College, high school – I’ve always had a thrill for teaching and coaching and seeing people go out and perform,” said Simpson. “A lot of people see it as a scapegoat position, but it’s truly been one of the things I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid.

“It’s just something that’s in me, I love it actually.”

While he hasn’t ruled out a return to the field, Simpson keeps a close eye on coaching opportunities. He says if one comes up, he’ll take it without hesitation.

So far it’s not being handed to him.

“Getting a job, especially right after you play ball, a little bit of luck has to go into it,” said Simpson. “It’s all about networking and just letting your resume speak for itself.

“This coaching thing, everyone’s trying to do it.”

He knows he can do it because he’s watched countless others.

Johany Jutras/CFL.ca

Some coaches, like recently-hired Eskimos head coach Jason Maas, have made a smooth transition, going from player to coordinator to head coach within the span of a few years. After a career as an NFL defensive back, Corey Chamblin was 36 when he won a Grey Cup as the head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The best example might even be Dave Dickenson, a prolific CFL quarterback promoted from offensive assistant to offensive coordinator and now, all before Simpson’s eyes, to head coach.

“My first year, I can remember sitting in the cold tubs and hot tubs and him talking and just dropping knowledge about his experiences,” recalled Simpson. “The thing is, he had a chance to slowly, slowly get out of the league as opposed to just being released or something of that nature.”

Dickenson is taking over as head coach in 2016 as John Hufnagel focuses on the GM role, while another former player in DeVone Claybrooks has been elevated from defensive line coach to defensive coordinator following the departure of Rich Stubler.

Both are success stories Simpson can look up to.

“It was a good transition for [Dickenson] and I’ve seen the way he did it and the way Claybrooks did it, and it definitely made me feel like I can do the same thing if given the opportunity.”

Those are only the recent examples. Other influences on a future coaching career are Rich Stubler, Hufnagel and current CFL head coaches Chris Jones and Rick Campbell. All different personalities, all playing a founding role in Simpson, the coach.
CFL.ca

“It definitely made
me feel like I can do
the same thing if given
the opportunity.”

Asked who he’d be like as a coach – the laid-back Rick Campbell, the intense Chris Jones – the answer was a byproduct of everyone.

“I’ve taken a little bit from everybody,” said Simpson. “Rick Campbell – real laid back, he comes across in a way different way but at the end of the day he wants to win. Coach [Stubler], same thing – he comes across completely different than the other guys, but he wants to win. Coach Huff, I admire how he coaches and how he reacts to his players and treats his players.

“Every coach I’ve played under has given me something, whether they know it or not,” he added. “Something I can use in my future career.”

There is one word might separate Simpson from the rest, however. It’s a word that describes his career as a player and possibly his future as a coach.

“Intense,” Simpson offered, asked what kind of coach he’d be. “Everything you see on the field, I’m going to translate that into coaching. Your players feed off you – they see you get excited about the small things and every little thing matters, I think it translates.

“I would be intense, I think that’s the main word. I always want to win and that’s my thing, just to win.”

And that, the determination to win, is the common denominator among Simpson and every successful coach he’s ever played for.

“Being outspoken and all that, it just comes with my personality,” said Simpson. “I want to win. I’ve always wanted to win and I’ve always known it’s going to take everyone else to help you win — it’s not just you.”

Johany Jutras/CFL.ca

So we know what type of coach Simpson would be, but is he really ready to walk away from a prolific playing career? The answer is yes . . . maybe. For now, it’s a waiting game, and whatever happens next — that’s fine by him.

Simpson’s hunch is his next role will be in a headset, but he’s not leaning in any direction in particular. In the CFL, nothing can surprise him.

“Who knows if somebody gets hurt and I get a call, but at the end of the day I feel like if playing was in my near future then teams would have more interest,” said Simpson. “Those guys are doing all their counts now and seeing all these new bodies, and Mr. Simpson might just be a forgotten player now.”

If he is a forgotten player and it comes time to stand on the sideline, one thing’s certain: there won’t be any regrets or questions about ‘what if’.

“No, not at all,” said Simpson. “The thing is, I had an opportunity to be on a team at this moment. I have a number, and it’s not a crazy number but I just have a number. If I can’t get that number, I’m perfectly fine with the way the chips fall.”

“I’ve been fortunate,” he continued. “Looking back, I’ve had a great career. I think it’d be different if my phone didn’t even ring from the day I was released – I think it’d be a different feeling. But the fact that there was some interest and we couldn’t reach an agreement, I feel better about what happens from this point out.”

The Stampeders may have let Simpson go a year or two early. They cut him for salary cap purposes and he says they didn’t even offer him the chance to take a paycut. Yet if given the opportunity to coach? Simpson said he’d go anywhere, including the team that released him.

“If the right offer came along anywhere to coach, I’m sure I’d open that door.”

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