May
Dickenson born to coach
Courtesy Calgary Herald:
If there was a DNA test for it, Dave Dickenson’s would show he is a coaching natural.
He isn’t the most celebrated quarterback in the history of the University of Montana or a veteran of 13 professional seasons based on his size — generously listed as five-foot-11 and 185 pounds in media guides — or his athletic ability. Lots and lots of bigger guys who could throw better and run faster couldn’t play like this guy.
Dickenson not only played, he starred in his
11-season CFL career and two more kicking around the NFL. He helped win a couple of Grey Cup games and kept both the Calgary Stampeders (1997-2000) and B.C. Lions (2003-07) in first place most of the time because of his intelligence and football savvy. He could throw and run well enough.
And he was tougher than a cowboy’s boot, but it was his brain that was his best asset.
He actually began preparing for his latest incarnation at least five years ago during the 2005 season, when Casey Printers played more than he did for the Lions because the veteran starter was injured more than he was healthy.
That was when Jarious Jackson and Buck Pierce both made the Lions, as if head coach and general manager Wally Buono had a premonition the Lions were going to need more than three quarterbacks.
Even though he won a Grey Cup game (’06) since that injury-plagued season, as much has been written and said about Dickenson’s injuries as his accomplishments. A series of concussions kept him on the sidelines most of 2007, his last as a Lion.
And last year as a backup to Henry Burris in his return to the Stampeders, his only game action resulted in his latest head trauma that turned out to be his last.
Consequently, he’s had plenty of time preparing for his career as an assistant coach. Unofficially, he was coaching Pierce and Jackson as far back as ’05 and Burris last year, before and after he got hurt.
If there was ever a quarterback designed to be a coach, he’s it. Few have had a better understanding of how best to exploit a CFL defence and been able to combine it with the patience to explain it to his receivers or the media. That combination of talents is not only rare, but invaluable for someone who is more likely than not to become a head coach. Sooner rather than later, too.
However, in a recent interview at the Stampeders offices in McMahon Stadium, Dickenson admitted he was choosy about what to do as a retired player.
If he hadn’t been offered a position in Calgary, the only other staff he would have been interested in joining was the Lions. Before he accepted his position with the Stamps, he spoke with Buono.
“I’m not saying this is for sure (his future career),” Dickenson said. “I told my wife (Tammy) that she gets to pick where we live once I quit playing.”
It was as important that he not only respected the head coach, but was comfortable with him. John Hufnagel and Buono were the ones who fit the prerequisites.
“Really, they (Stamps) created a spot for me,” admitted Dickenson. “I think it will be interesting when the season starts. Even last year, I heard the occasional, ‘Watch what you say, Dicky’s a coach now’.
“As a coach, you’re looking for production on the field if you’re buddies or not . . . a guy like (Ryan) Thelwell, we’re the same age and been together here and in B.C.
“As far as discipline and time management, that’s set up by the head guy. I’m not one of those in-your-face guys, anyway. With Henry, I offer tiny reminders, ‘If you see this, don’t forget about that.’ ’’
So far, Dickenson has only been exposed to the fun stuff about coaching. He hasn’t done any of the drudge work like breaking down films and making cards which contribute to getting a game plan ready. But he knows he likes the constant changes of the business, the new players, the new systems . . . “I know I love game day and I love being around the players.”
And he and his brother Craig, the Stamps’ special-teams coach, receivers coach Pete Costanza and Thelwell ran a Dickenson Passing Academy for quarterbacks and receivers during the winter in a golf dome and Dave did all the planning and a lot of the prep work. They had 30 kids between the ages of 14 and 18. And while it was intended to give the kids a leg up on a possible U.S. college scholarship, it turned out that it reinforced Dickenson’s belief he was headed in the right direction.
“I foresee myself being a head coach,” he said, “but I don’t know at what level. It might be high school because I really like helping kids to understand and get better.”
Until Kent Austin with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2007 and Hufnagel last year with the Stamps, quarterbacks turned coaches hadn’t exactly overwhelmed the coaching fraternity with their superior football intellect.
The trouble with coaching is that if you are really good at it, you have to move because better offers inevitably come your way. If you aren’t so successful, you get fired and have to move on someplace else, too.
“I think everyone aspires to become a head coach because we all think we’re a little smarter than the next guy.”
And being a competitor, Dickenson views the NFL as the very top, so a logical direction for him to head. The fact he is committed to being a family man first might inhibit that aspiration while his children Avery and Cooper are still dependent.
But being the thorough guy he is, he knows he doesn’t know it all yet and is willing to put in the time to learn the whys of the blocking schemes of running backs he will be helping coach this year.
“When I was a player, I called the plays, but I didn’t necessarily understand why they (offensive co-ordinator) wanted the back to be lined up in a particular place.”One thing is for sure. He’ll be a quick study.
