Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
The numb disbelief, that dull ache, the senses-sapping jolt of electric-current-like shock, has passed.
Or at least lessened.
Only a thin, almost imperceptible scar remains from the 39-33 overtime heart-shredder at BMO Field in what will surely go down as of the greatest Grey Cup skirmishes ever witnessed.
Compete hard enough, long enough, be good enough to put yourself in position often enough, and those scars collect.
“You gotta move on,’’ says Dave Dickenson of the Nov. 27 loss to the Ottawa REDBLACKS. “It’s hard sometimes but you have no choice. We have a season to get ready for now.
“I have games I played over the course of my career that didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to and I’m not going to forget them. Ever.
“I’m just not.
“I’m not going to forget this one, either. Ever.
“I’m just not.
“But I also won’t let one game define whether we had a successful season or not. We did some awfully good things. I really enjoyed the team, the effort and the success level we had I thought was outstanding.
“There’s a lot of stuff to be learned from the Grey Cup on all three sides of the ball.
“So I’m over that.
“Ready to move on.”
Through 2020.
RELATED
» CFL.ca’s top 30 pending free agents
» The Long Read: Dave Dickenson and the long path taken
» Stamps extend Dickenson through 2020
Dave Dickenson had a memorable first season as a CFL head coach (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
“With one season remaining on his existing contract, Dickenson and the Calgary Stampeders solidified their relationship moving forward, agreeing to what amounts to a three-year extension.
“I preach loyalty and trust from my players and my coaches,’’ says Dickenson, the CFL’s reigning AGF Coach of the Year. “I can only do that if the organization gives that to me.
“I was anxious to see if they would approach me. I figured they probably would but I was already under contract, so you never know.
“I’m glad they did.
“When the top of management is on the same page as our staff, we can give a consistent message to the players.
“We’re actually committed for longer than I thought it’d go down, which is good on both parts.
“It was important for me to get this ironed out.”
“I’m basically a Calgarian. I love it here. Probably not the best for my negotiation …
“But it really didn’t come down to that. It came down to feeling comfortable with everybody here.”
With the Stamps’ entire coaching staff back for 2017, the continuity is there for players.
“I’ve been trying, with my staff and our players, to make sure they’re all committed for more than a year-to-year basis,’’ says Dickenson.
“That’s how you build.
“So I’m happy to get something finalized.
“We’re in this together.
“It’s hard to exist in a one-year (contractual) life cycle.
“Yeah, you’ve got to live in the moment, take it one year at a time – you hear those things all the time – but I wanted the guys to enjoy working for me and I think the organization takes care of its people.
“The success we had, it was important to make sure the coaches knew they were a big part of that; that it was appreciated.
“The same goes for recruiting players, trying to sign them. If you’re not going to commit to the club, if there’s doubt about the vision moving forward, that’s bad business.
“If I’m asking these guys to commit to us, I want them knowing I’m committed as well.”
“Last year the transition was very seamless. Dave continued the model of coaching with trust and integrity and the players wanted to play for Dave. He captured the locker room very quickly.”
– Stampeders GM John Hufnagel
Dickenson holds up his AGF Coach of the Year honour back in November (The Canadian Press)
In assuming coaching control from the hugely-successful John Hufnagel, Dickenson’s Stampeders pieced together what must surely be among the finest regular-seasons ever.
Discussions on an extension began shortly following the Grey Cup game.
“A very good day for Stampeder football,’’ is how Hufnagel described the move. “Well deserved. Well earned.
“We did have consistency in the eight years I was the head coach. Dave was part of that and that’s why a couple years ago when I suggested the move (for Dickenson to be elevated to head coach), the long-range vision was that we’d have consistency year in and year out.
“Dave proved to everybody he’s an excellent head coach. We as an organization were very pleased to have Dave Dickenson for several more years.
“Last year the transition was very seamless. Dave continued the model of coaching with trust and integrity and the players wanted to play for Dave.
“He captured the locker room very quickly.”
In piloting the Red and White to a chart-topping 15-2-1 record in 2016, Dickenson became the most successful first-year head coach in league annals.
“That,’’ he reflects, “was an interesting year. We had great success but we had some different situations a first-year coach may never experience again. The tragedy with Mylan (Hicks). Or trying to manage the longest winning streak this club’s ever had. Being the team everyone was gunning for.
“Those were things I could never have envisioned going into the year. But you learn as you go along. That’s what they call ‘experience.’
“All I knew going in was that I was going to do it my way: Very honest.
“I wanted to be approachable for the players. I wanted to be as cohesive as possible, treat everyone the same way, whether they were starters or on the practice roster.
“You always strive to be better and I’m going to work at any areas I think I need to improve at.”
Dickenson (left) stands with Rick Campbell (right) and the Grey Cup in November (CFL.ca)
Replicating such a staggeringly incredible regular season is no small task. But that, says the boss, isn’t the point.
“It’s like I always say about quarterbacks – they may not have better numbers but if they’re working hard, putting in the time, they’re better players.
“Maybe other extenuating circumstances didn’t allow for the same numbers. Hey, sometimes it just comes down to luck.
“I don’t now what our record will be but the goal is to be a better team. I think I’ll be a better coach.
“Our goal is not to win 15 regular-season games, or 16 or 17.
“We want to win the last game.”
So while that thin, almost imperceptible scar does remain as a reminder, the dull ache, that numb disbelief, has passed.
“I understand not everyone’s on my schedule,’’ says Dickenson, contract extension tucked securely in a back pocket, “and I want to make sure that our coaches come back re-charged.
“But me, I’m ready to get working again.”
There is, after all, unfinished business in need of addressing.
