Johany Jutras
CALGARY — If the Calgary Stampeders are sweating their odds in 2016, they sure do a good job of not showing it.
Big changes in Cowtown have pundits poking holes in the 102nd Grey Cup Champions, and it’s not that the Stamps aren’t paying attention – they just aren’t buying it.
“I don’t know, man,” replied quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, asked by a reporter why some people are doubting the Stamps this season. “I think you look at all-stars we’ve lost and people are going to say what they’ve said the last eight years – that we’re not gonna finish first, we’re not gonna finish second.
“I can’t fathom how the media thinks that, but that’s how it is.”
It’s one of the off-season’s most intriguing headlines: for the first time in a while, the Calgary Stampeders have something to prove.
General Manager John Hufnagel relinquishes his duties eight years after arriving in Calgary and building the Stampeders into a winner. Jeff Fuller, Jon Cornish and league-leading receiver Eric Rogers are gone. The defence will be without Keon Raymond (Toronto), Juwan Simpson (free agent) and just as importantly Defensive Coordinator Rich Stubler (Toronto).
» Related: Stamps’ Mitchell inspired by the greats
Bo Levi Mitchell looks on during Stamps training camp (Stampeders.com)
Dave Dickenson will be the Stamps’ head coach, while the offence will be led by franchise pivot Mitchell and national running back Jerome Messam. Marquay McDaniel will be the go-to receiver, and on the defensive side of the ball the onus will be on DeVone Claybrooks to carry the mail for Stubler.
Strange times indeed, but for a team that’s gone 29-7 in the past two seasons there’s a belief that what the Stampeders have is much bigger than just a few big-name players. It’s what allowed the team to overcome sweeping change in the past, too, like the time Henry Burris, Joffrey Reynolds and Nik Lewis were no longer the face of the franchise.
Once again it’s someone else’s turn.
“That’s what people don’t realize,” said Mitchell. “It’s not a knock on Winnipeg but you see them sign big players every single year and things don’t happen the right way – the culture has to change.
“We just have a winning culture right now, that’s what we believe in.”
The Stampeders lost 45-31 in the Western Final to Edmonton, the eventual Grey Cup Champions. But outside of that there’s little to suggest that winning culture is fading. They persisted through injuries during last year’s 14-4 season, ranking second in the CFL in total offence (343.6 yards per game) and second on defence (302.5 yards per game).
They also allowed the fewest sacks in the league (33) despite a constantly-revolving door on the O-line. Their franchise quarterback, meanwhile, despite some statistical regression in his second season as a starter, finished with a solid 96.8 quarterback rating with 26 touchdowns to 13 interceptions.
Things have changed since then for the Stampeders, but that goes for every team in the league. Four out of five teams in the West have changed coaches in 2015, while the only remaining coach in Mike O’Shea has yet to make the playoffs.
“People are going to say what they’ve said the last eight years – that we’re not gonna finish first, we’re not gonna finish second.”
Bo Levi Mitchell
If the biggest concern is the coaching staff, both Hufnagel and rookie head coach Dickenson say there’s more continuity than people think. For instance, former Stamps defensive lineman Corey Mace is the only new coach on the staff.
“I don’t agree that we’re an inexperienced staff, I think we’re a staff that has grown,” said Hufnagel. “We do like to try to build within our own organization with qualified people, which the head coach and the defensive coordinator positions were filled by highly-skilled people in those areas.”
Dickenson is as ready as he’ll ever be to become a head coach after five seasons as offensive coordinator. Claybrooks, another former Stampeders player, brings his aggressive, attacking defensive style to replace the veteran Stubler’s.
“I think we’ve got to gel a little bit but we’ve all been here basically, our roles have changed a bit,” said Dickenson. “I really feel DeVone is ready to make that move, he probably was ready a year or two ago.
“Just like players, coaches need an opportunity and they show what they’ve got when they get that opportunity.”
Whether it’s Dickenson as the head coach, Claybrooks as the defensive coordinator or young receivers like Kamar Jorden or Lamar Durant, every star is born out of opportunity. It wasn’t long ago that the likes of Rogers, Fuller and even the quarterback Mitchell were all CFL no-names.
They all got opportunities and in Hufnagel’s system emerged to become stars.
In the end, change is what the Stampeders have dealt with since Hufnagel arrived back in 2008. For Hufnagel and Mitchell and Dickenson, it’s going to take more than that to derail what’s become the most consistent organization in the Canadian Football League.
“We know we have our hands full,” Hufnagel acknowledged. “We’ve made changes, and you have to deal with change.
“I’m not afraid of change. If you’re afraid of change then you’re in the wrong sport and the wrong business. You have to deal with it and all the work you do in the off-season, all the personnel work you do in the off-season will get you through and keep you being successful.”
» Making Moves: Tracking final cuts around the CFL
Some big names are looking for new teams this week after teams reduced their rosters (The Canadian Press)
If there’s only been once constant for the Stamps since 2008 it’s been Hufnagel, and he hasn’t gone anywhere. Sure, the configuration will be different – the general manager is going to let his coach run the team his way – but it doesn’t mean the long-time CFL veteran won’t be involved.
“We’re a young staff. I still want Huff very involved in game-planning, almost like pre-scouting – getting opponents,” said Dickenson. “And the other thing is he’s gotta be there if we get stuck on something.
“It’s that extra voice, that guy that’s done it.”
Some, like Hufnagel have done it before, while in 2016, other new faces will get a chance to do it for the first time.
“The only way I see it is you lose a guy like [Eric Rogers], that’s a loss,” said Mitchell. “You’re not going to replace the guy, we don’t expect to.
“We expect to find guys that can become their own guy like that.
“The way we play,” he added, “it doesn’t matter if I get hurt, it doesn’t matter if Messam gets hurt. We know we’ve got a guy right behind him that can play. That’s really the difference out there.”
The Stampeders open their season on June 25 with a visit to Vancouver to take on the BC Lions.
