Esks.com
Ask Adarius Bowman about the Eskimos’ new offensive coordinator and you’ll hear plenty of nice things. Although a smile now and again wouldn’t hurt, the Esks’ receiver might add.
Bowman and most of his teammates already know Carson Walch. A former All-American running back, returner and receiver at Winona State back in the late ’90s, Walch joined Jason Maas’ staff for his second Canadian Football League stint in 2016 as the receivers coach and passing game coordinator.
This off-season, Walch has taken over Maas’ role as the OC. It’s a little bit of a change but returning Eskimos like Bowman know exactly what to expect.
“He’s got more of that serious face — poker face, that’s what I call it,” said Bowman. “Every day he gives me my grade sheet and I’m like ‘I got an A’ but he didn’t smile at me when he handed it to me.
“It’s just like, the way he gives it to you, you think you got an F every time. And when you do get the F, he looks the same as when he gave you the A.”
RELATED
» Optimism swirls over Esks’ off-season changes
» A team by team look at the 2017 CFL Draft
» One Empire: Esks launch new campaign ahead of ’17 season
Adarius Bowman is coming off one of the more dominant seasons for a receiver in CFL history (The Canadian Press)
It was something Bowman had never seen throughout his nine-year career, Walch giving his receivers grade sheets after every game and practice. No. 4 remembers going off for 185 yards on 10 catches in a win over Winnipeg last season, then receiving a 76 — a C+ by the American grading system.
“Yeah, man,” said Bowman. “It ain’t really cool. He does his own little thing. Practice, game . . . he grades everything.
“He’d say, ‘Oh you had a great game AD, but this is the effort you got’,” he continued. “I could have blocked one time for John White and he would have easily scored. In my head I’m like, ‘I’m tired bro, I’m working’.”
So maybe the grading system takes some getting used to. Ask around, though, and it’s consistent with every description of the second-year Eskimo coach.
“He’s disciplined, he’s organized, a great teacher, a communicator,” said Maas, entering his second season as a head coach. “He is fiery and he gets people’s attention when he speaks.”
Maas grabbed the Eskimos’ offence by the horns when he arrived over a year ago, adding his wrinkles to the playbook while calling his own plays during games. Despite the team’s 10-8 record and second-round playoff exit, Maas’ presence made an immediate impact.
Last year, quarterback Mike Reilly threw for a career-high 5,554 passing yards, the most in the CFL. And while the Eskimos’ passing offence ranked second in the league (329 yards per game), Bowman and now-departed Derel Walker were the league’s two leading receivers respectively.
“Carson, he ain’t gonna yell at you. He’s going to hand you the paper and if you ask him a question, he’s going to tell you why.”
Adarius Bowman on Esks’ OC Carson Walch
The Eskimos’ new offensive coordinator will be slated with handling play-calling duties this year (Esks.com)
For Reilly, game planning with Maas and Walch was unique.
“The way we operated last year was different than anything I had been a part of in my career as a quarterback,” said Reilly. “Being able to sit in on the game plan meetings, just being part of the entire process . . . watching Jason and Carson together and how their personalities meld, it’s a great match and I know we were excited when he signed on last year and we’re just going to continue to develop as an offence.”
Maas will still have plenty of say in the Eskimos’ offence this year but Walch will assume play-calling duties. For Maas, a former CFL quarterback who is familiar with climbing the ranks from coaching receivers and quarterbacks to becoming an offensive coordinator, calling plays is critical to the job.
Meanwhile, Maas will be able to focus his attention as a head coach on other aspects of the team.
“I feel very strongly that if you’re ever going to have a coordinator title, you better have the play calling ability with it,” said Maas. “That’s one thing I very much wanted.
“It’s really going to alleviate me from the day to day grind I had as a head coach and coordinator,” he added. “I’ll be able to sit back and go to special teams meetings, go to defensive meetings and have a different focus on the day to day operations of our football club.”
And he can do so comfortably, knowing the offence is in good hands.
For Walch, no detail is too small — a tired cliche but one to be taken at face value.
There’s nothing the Eskimos’ new OC doesn’t see. Like Adarius Bowman in that win over Winnipeg.
“At times, as a player in my status, you might want to get mad,” said Bowman. “I really appreciate it but it threw me off at first because you’re almost taking it personally, like ‘why would you give me an F bro? It’s practice’.
“I like it though. It was a change for me. I didn’t get mad at him, it was just different for me. I like what it makes you do. Knowing that he’s always watching really keeps you on your game.”
Eskimos duo Mike Reilly and Adarius Bowman helped lead their offence to new heights in 2016 (CFL.ca)
Last year, Bowman’s 1,761 receiving yards eclipsed his career-high (set in 2014) by 305 yards. It was the highest single-season total in the CFL since Jamel Richardson in 2011 (1,777) and the 11th-highest for a receiver all-time.
Bowman says coaches like Walch are what lead teams to championships.
“Carson, he ain’t gonna yell at you. He’s going to hand you the paper and if you ask him a question, he’s going to tell you why. But I like him a lot. Having coaches like that is how you make it to the championship.
“I still stand on it — I had 185 yards,” Bowman joked, refusing to let it go. “But put myself in his shoes, that’s definitely the way you got to be. I praise that.”
