Cauz: The top 8 redemption stories for 2018

Matthew Cauz

CFL.ca

@mcauz56

As I was watching the GMs Up Front video series on this site I was struck by the opening line by the BC Lions’ new general manager Ed Hervey, when he said he was excited for the opportunity to be working with Wally Buono. Hervey used the word “opportunity” twice in the first nine seconds of this video.

I was reminded that Hervey is in fact back in the league and also came away thinking about the enormity of this new job for Hervey. You don’t get many chances to run a CFL team and for Hervey, this second chance represents a shot of redemption after his unexpected release in Edmonton.

Now, I’m not going to play revisionist historian, nor am I going to engage in a he said/she said breakdown of what happened that led to his termination with the Eskimos just a couple months before the start of training camp. However, I can fully understand why Hervey must be champing at the bit to change any negatives perceptions about him. Under his watch, the Eskimos’ record was 40-32, they won a Grey Cup and he was the man in charge when they brought in Mike Reilly, who just won the MOP award.

Yes, he made mistakes, but that is the sort of resume that most aspiring GMs would dream to have. The theme of redemption is everywhere in our society from popular novels (The Kite Runner) to iconic movies (Shawshank Redemption and Groundhog Day) to the world of sports. I mean, the reason people are holding out hope for Tiger Woods is to be witness to what would be a pretty remarkable redemption story.

So with free agency soon approaching and then training camp not far behind, I wanted to rank my top eight redemption stories for the 2018 season.

1. Ed Hervey

See above. Hey Ed, you have to find a way to help breathe life back into Jonathon Jennings, the most exciting young player of the 2016 season, rebuild the offensive line and figure out your head coach succession plan after Wally Buono retires at the conclusion of the season.

Oh, and you have to find a way to reinvent your own personal feelings about media interaction. Hey, no pressure at all.

Lions new GM Ed Hervey hopes to lead his team from worst to first in the West (BCLions.com)

2. Jonathon Jennings

No quarterback’s stock fell further in 2017 than Jennings’, who threw for 5,200 yards and accounted for 31 touchdowns in 2016 and then followed that up in 2017 by leading the league in interceptions with 19 and battling through injuries all season long. What needs to be worked out is how much was his lack of success the result of his own mistakes, other teams figuring Jennings out and the difficulty of playing behind an offensive line that was last in pass protection giving up 49 sacks?

With Jeremiah Johnson, Chris Rainey, Chris Williams and Bryan Burnham all back, a return to his past glory could be in the cards for Jennings.

3. A three-way tie between Terrence Toliver, JC Sherritt and John White

I’m calling this the “we hardly knew ye” redemption injured players. The luckiest of this unfortunate trio was John White, who at least experienced success in Week 1 (Over 100 yards rushing against the Lions) before tearing his ACL the following week against the Alouettes in Week 2. That will be the last time I use the word “luck” when discussing White, who missed all of 2015 with an Achilles injury during training camp.

White is also dealing with the double whammy of not having a contract and the success that C.J. Gable had with the Eskimos, which probably means his time is done in Alberta. At the age of 26 he still is young enough for a redemption story with another squad.

Toliver’s 2017 was finished before it even got started as he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 1 against Toronto. Hamilton’s leading receiver a year ago finished with five yards and now faces an uphill battle ahead of him as Jalen Saunders and Brandon Banks flourished under June Jones.

At least Toliver statistically made a contribution for his team before succumbing to injury. Edmonton’s JC Sherritt was not afforded such a luxury as he never even got a chance to record a tackle against the BC Lions in Week 1 before rupturing his Achilles. All three of these players are household names, all with past moments of glory and all deserving of a better final chapter to their careers.

John White is on the comeback trail again after a season-ending knee injury in 2017 (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca)

4. The entire Calgary Stampeders

This one is self-explanatory. In fact, I’m fairly sure I probably wrote something similar about Calgary during last year’s off-season. Here I’ll keep it simple. Over the past two years, including the playoffs, Calgary has gone 30-8-2 and has zero Grey Cups to show for such utter dominance. Meanwhile, over that same time span, Ottawa has gone 18-19-2 while Toronto has a two-year record of 16-22, and both those teams have ended the year being the final team celebrating.

As I wrote earlier, I demand that Calgary brings everyone back for one last chance for Grey Cup glory.

5. Kent Austin

In the same GMs Up Front video series, there was Kent Austin doing something you rarely hear football management types do: admitting they had made mistakes (Jason Maas, it’s okay, we get it — you messed up on that field goal call. I had two-day-old Sushi for breakfast before writing this column, we all make mistakes).

The 2017 season was not kind for Kent Austin, who resigned as head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after starting the year 0-8, handing the controls over to June Jones. Austin’s reputation certainly took a hit, going from genius coach/team builder to reports of locker room discord directed at Austin.

It wasn’t long ago that Kent was taking Hamilton to back-to-back Grey Cup and was leading the league’s best team until that Zach Collaros injury in 2015. Of course, Austin has not suddenly lost his football acumen — you don’t have his list of accomplishments without being great at your job — but even the best in football go through some bad years.

The next year will represent some serious challenges for the team’s VP of football operations. The entire CFL world is going to be watching how Kent deals with the Johnny Manziel contract situation and how that will affect not only the team but the entire city. You find me another story that has captured the attention of CFL fans and media as much as this one.

Beyond Manziel, Austin will have to address a shaky defence that was historically poor to start the year, and he needs to bring stability to an offensive line that certainly contributed to Collaros’ downfall in Hamilton.

From a defence that struggled in 2017 to Johnny Manziel, Kent Austin has his challenges this off-season (David Chidley/CFL.ca)

6. Maurice Leggett

Yes, there are many players who missed more game due to injury than Leggett, who was lost for the season late in a Week 17 game against the Lions, but that doesn’t change the fact that his torn Achilles tendon was a killer both for Leggett and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Leggett was having an all-star year before his season came to an end and had to endure watching his team lose to an Edmonton team that rolled up 473 yards of offence and, more critically the Eskimos, didn’t commit a single interception or lost fumble in their 39-32 Western Semi-Final playoff win. For Leggett, his road to redemption is a more treacherous one as he is 31 years old and currently without a contract.

7. Richie Hall

Richie Hall, who is entering his third year as Winnipeg’s defensive coordinator, is going to need a redemption season from his defence to ensure there is a fourth year in his future. This is not meant to be an attack on Hall but a reminder of the reality of coaching in professional sports.

On one side, Winnipeg has generated so many turnovers and defensive touchdowns with Hall in charge, but that comes at the price of big plays being allowed to opposing offences. Last season the Bombers’ defence gave up more points and offensive touchdowns than any team in the West. In addition they joined the lowly Montreal Alouettes as the only teams to give up more than 7,000 total yards of offence.

With the team letting go of its defensive line and linebackers coach, all eyes will be on Hall.

8. Trevor Harris

Wait a minute, how can a quarterback who threw for more than 4,700 yards, made the playoffs and was given a $450,000 contract deserve to be on this list? I’m glad you (well really, me) asked that question.

Even with the departure of receivers Chris Williams and Ernest Jackson, Harris still put up big numbers, yet that wasn’t enough for many of his critics who point to Harris’ poor performance as being the key reason the REDBLACKS lost in the Eastern Semi-Final to Saskatchewan. Even his own general manager Marcel Desjardins was not exactly Harris’ biggest fan after the season, saying of the quarterbacking on the team: “I think it was good, it wasn’t great.” Ouch.

Of course the $450,000 contract heals those wounds, but for a guy who was tied for the league lead in TD passes and played behind an offensive line that gave up the most sacks over the first 12 games, I would say the problems with Ottawa are less on the quarterback and more on pass protection and on a secondary that gave up 316 yards per game and 29 touchdowns while recording just 11 interceptions.

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