Jun
Daley happy to be bak on the field
Courtesy Edmonton Journal:
As Jim Daley barked out another order, his arms began a recital of their own. Back and forth, up and down, round and round they swung, yet the man in perpetual motion couldn’t have been more content.
After a three-year hiatus, Daley is coaching again and he’s doing it with Richie Hall, whom he hired when he was the head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1996-98.
Hall is now the Edmonton Eskimos rookie head coach; Daley the defensive co-ordinator.
“I like to compete and I like working with people who want to compete, so this is where I’m at home,” said Daley, his voice hoarse, his smile sincere.
“I was going to get back into coaching this year and this is the job I wanted. It didn’t even take me five minutes to give (Hall) an answer. There wasn’t any transition to make for me, either; maybe 30 seconds. I just had to find out where the gate to the field was.”
Daley last patrolled the sidelines in 2005, when he was overseeing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Fired at the end of a 5-13 campaign, he eventually switched directions and spent the last two years working as the Canadian Football League’s senior adviser of football operations and officiating.
“I really enjoyed my experience with the league office, but I did get antsy,” he said. “The last few years, I’ve had a handful of (coaching) opportunities but the timing wasn’t right.
“This one was the perfect fit. It was the perfect time, it was a guy I know very well, and an organization I have great respect for. It was perfect. I’m very happy to be back on the field.”
For Hall, it was an easy decision. After 30 years in the coaching ranks, Daley has become a defensive specialist and a coffee addict, according to those in the know.
“He’s very enthusiastic, he likes his coffee … he’s got that personality that guys really take to,” said defensive back Scott Gordon. “He’s been around the league for so long. He’s just a great fit.”
“He keeps saying he’s going to give up coffee, but he’s been saying that since February,” said Hall.
Daley hasn’t yet decided if he’ll be on the sidelines on game days or in the spotter’s booth, but he is certain he won’t be barking at the officials, even in the heat of the moment.
“Those men make far fewer mistakes than we as coaches and players do,” he said. “But in the heat of the game, that’s when I’m at my calmest. Where I get wired up is here (on the practice field) and after the game.”
“He’s what you call a union guy,” said Hall, “and what I mean by that is he’s loyal. He’s a good football coach (and) he’s happy to be here. There’s a certain amount of jubilance … but he has toned down.
“I tell people that this is a calm Jim Daley.
“But I like that excitement,” Hall continued. “From the time he wakes up until the time he goes to sleep, he has one speed.”
