Aug
Esks coaching staff bursting at seams
Courtesy Edmonton Journal:
They know how it looks.
Which is to say, best case, it looks like Rick Worman should not invest in Edmonton real estate. Worst case, he ought to think twice about green bananas.
Because from the outside it looks like Kevin Strasser was hired to take over Worman’s job as the Eskimos offensive co-ordinator. Not today or next week. But eventually.
“I don’t disagree that from the outside looking in it could look that way,” said Worman.
“I do understand the perception,” added Strasser. “A lot of times people don’t understand the full story.”
In this case there is the Eskimos story of Strasser’s oddly timed, mid-season hiring as senior offensive consultant, the fuller story and the untold story. The Eskimos story goes that Strasser was hired because he brings a wealth of experience to a relatively young offensive staff and another set of eyes to the process of game-planning Edmonton’s attack.
Newly retired slotback Jason Tucker’s inexperience as receivers coach seems a factor, since Strasser’s specialty is the passing game and he has worked mostly with Eskimos receivers on their pre-snap stances, motion and releases since he arrived. They also need an eye in the sky during games, to identify coverage, and Strasser is more than capable. And they were already the Canadian Football League’s biggest coaching staff before Strasser arrived, so the more the merrier.
The fuller story is that Strasser was approached last off-season by the Eskimos to interview for the position of offensive co-ordinator, turned down that chance because of family concerns and his expected move up the coaching ranks at Portland State, and Worman eventually got the Edmonton job.
Then Portland threw a curve at Strasser by splitting the co-ordinator’s job into two pieces and he got the passing game, not quite what he had been promised, which made him amenable to another offer from the Eskimos.
And the untold story, naturally the juiciest of the three, is how this unfolds. How can Worman possibly keep his job, given Strasser’s presence, his CFL experience, success and career aspirations and the Eskimos’ obvious desire to have him on staff?In other words, isn’t it likely that Strasser will be the co-ordinator in two seasons?
“I don’t even know where I’m going to be in two years,” said GM Danny Maciocia. “You know the life we live. We’re week to week. It’s extremely hard to answer. Everything we do we do for now. We thought it would make us a better football team right now. If we wanted to make a move we would have made a move. We wouldn’t have kept somebody we didn’t want to keep. Maybe Kevin will be happy here or maybe he’ll want to go back down south. Maybe Rick will be a head coach somewhere in two years.
“These are two quality individuals. Whether they are Eskimos past this year or not, they’re going to land on their feet. We’re just fortunate to have them both with us right now.”
Both are professional enough to make this rather unusual situation work. Worman didn’t sense an ulterior motive so he didn’t balk at the idea of another set of experienced eyes and Strasser didn’t come in like he owned the joint.
“When it did happen we had won two games,” said Maciocia. “Kevin didn’t come in and start flexing his muscles. He sat down and said, ‘I’m another set of eyes, this is what I see and you need to determine if you use it or not.’ ”
A winning room is a happy room, so a bigger test of this new dynamic might come if they fall on hard times. But if their combined offensive savvy helps them get on a roll, then it could be smooth sailing through November and there is no telling what happens in any given off-season. Nobody wanted to look that far down the road. There is a game to play tonight, then 11 more.
“I have experience with four different teams and I have been in the league for eight or nine years as a player and a coach and scout, so you see things from one perspective,” said Worman.
“He comes in with a different perspective and it leads to greater depth of discussion. So far we have put a lot of ideas together and that will continue to evolve.”
Both men are working under the terms of similar two-year contracts.
“As far as dollar figures are concerned, they’re very close,” said Maciocia.
But their duties and authority are indeed different and that’s important to note and maintain.
“The first day he took me aside and said he considers this a positive situation,” said Strasser. “I assured him I’m not here to take his job. I’m here to be another set of eyes. He’s the offensive co-ordinator here. He has the final say and I respect that. I’m here to advise and consult.”
He’s a bright guy who rose offensive co-ordinator in Montreal, then spent 2007 and 2008 at Portland State working under head coach Jerry Glanville and offensive co-ordinator Mouse Davis. That’s where he was when the Eskimos called the first time.
“It was the toughest decision I ever had as a professional coach to turn down that opportunity. My wife and I talked about it but we had bought a house and were trying to have a baby and I was promised the coordinator’s job at Portland State.”
When Davis left, Strasser got half that job and it wasn’t enough to keep him there. So now he’s in Edmonton, consulting, we are told.
But what if this is exactly what it looks like? That Strasser is biding his time as senior offensive consultant while Worman’s runs out as offensive co-ordinator?
“If he is, that’s out of my control,” said Worman. “But that’s not how the relationship was put forth to me. To me, it was portrayed as a positive. I’m taking it as a positive.”
