Geez, the land of perpetual Grey Cups is a tad ornery these days, what with their beloved Eskies looking like the old Ottawa Rough Riders (somewhere between Horn Chen and Bernie and Lonnie eras).
Un-accustomed to viewing the CFL West standings from the bottom up, Esk fans have developed a severe case of the gotta do somethings.
And when you have to do something, well you have to do something BIG.
The ink hadn’t even dried on the score sheet of Friday night’s embarrassment at Commonwealth Stadium, when the calls came out that changes must be made.
Never mind dumping Danny Maciocia, nor changing an offensive scheme that seems to have been drafted in Hamilton before their season imploded in August. Nope change at the top is the call of the press, (well Terry Jones anyways) with Hugh Campbell selected as the candidate most likely to receive the gold watch, the firm handshake and the boot out the door.
Campbell, who was elevated to a football position that seems to involve mostly furrowed brows and carefully worded statements to Brian Williams. Live on TSN Friday he just called for the Eskimo faithful to be, uh, faithful to the cause, not to be too demanding this year.
When asked about coaching, Campbell suggested that Danny Maciocia was not only safe for this year, but next year as well. Stating that sometimes teams have these kind of years and that things sometimes just go this way. Comments that have raised eyebrows and blood pressure in the Alberta capital and other Eskie outposts.
We don’t really think that the Eskimo rot can be dropped on Maciocia totally, after all his players seem to be the ones dropping the balls, missing their assignments, watching the other team run by and bungling the simple tasks learned in high school.
But it seems like nobody has an answer to the problems, which is why the multitudes are anxious. And why the knives have been replaced by chain saws.
For Eskimo fans this year must seem like Armageddon, the end times of what seemed like the natural order for Canadian Football. Especially galling for Edmontonians must be the prospect of the bumpkins from Calgary, laying claim to Alberta’s best football product and a pretty good option for Grey Cup success this year.
All of that is sending the panic across Northern Alberta like a storm blowing in from Jasper, the best indication the call for Hugh Campbell to be put out to pasture. Terry Jones probably spoke for many an Eskie fan with his column on Sunday, suggesting that the Eskimo organization has lost their focus and needs new blood as soon as possible to turn around a situation that has deteriorated terribly this year.
As the Eskimos stumble to the end of the season, the calls will no doubt become louder and more intense, but probably nowhere near as scathing in indictment as Jones column today. A blistering view of all that has gone wrong for the Green and Gold and a venting that many an Eskimo fan probably would concur with.
Time for Campbell to retire
By Terry Jones
Sept. 22, 2006 should go down as Hugh Campbell's expiration date. Not Danny Maciocia's.
Forget Maciocia not being fired now or at the end of the season. The focus must now switch to Campbell being retired. And now no punches can be pulled. He's gotta go.
Campbell, after not being around most of the year, just insulted the intelligence of the Edmonton football fan beyond belief.
Most wanted to see the CFL legend leave the Eskimos on top, celebrated for one of the most remarkable careers in the history of sports coaching and management in this country. Campbell should have taken his leave last year with a Grey Cup.
Now, he's going to have to be shown the door. It's time. This can't go on. I didn't ever want to have to write this column, but Hugh Campbell must be put out to pasture.
What we're dealing with here are the late, great Edmonton Eskimos. Not only in the standings, but with an organization which will remain as structurally dysfunctional as it has become as long as Hugh Campbell remains as CEO.
Friday night, after the Eskimos completed their first-to-worst, outhouse-to-penthouse trip and were booed off the field by their disgusted fans, Campbell decided to "announce'' that Maciocia was going to be back as coach next year. He didn't mention this decision was actually made a couple weeks ago with president Rick LeLacheur. Nor did he mention Maciocia would replace himself as offensive co-ordinator.
What Campbell said was that it would be "absurd'' to fire the coach after this season. He said that would make "zero sense.'' And that "somebody would have to explain to me why it makes some sense.''
The very night Campbell decided to tell the town that Maciocia was staying, was the night it became totally obvious to 36,406 fans that he had, in fact, lost his team - for very few reasons of his own making.
Didn't come to compete
Maciocia admitted it when asked if the Eskimos responded in any way to his ultimate challenge to show some pride.
"No,'' he said.
Urgency? "There was none.''
With the season and the team's 34-season record run of making the playoffs on the line, they didn't come to compete.
Campbell talked about "the enthusiasm this team has had.''
Enthusiasm? That's what's missing! And pride and passion and character and ...
Campbell talked about the idea not being able to make the playoffs every year, but to provide competitive and entertaining football. Like that's what they're doing?
The Eskimos are now dead last in the league! They can't beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats! That's competitive?
And entertaining? Anybody who thinks this team has been entertaining this season has their head in the sand at the lake in, oh, I don't know, Idaho.
"Sometimes you have to make a change because you're desperate,'' said Campbell.
"But the Eskimos have no reason to be desperate. We could do this again next year and not be desperate.''
Say what?
Who's running the team?
Here it's almost the end of September, the Eskimos' season is all but mathematically over, and we're back to trying to figure out who is running this football team again.
Campbell? Or LeLacheur?
Campbell shows up back in town and suddenly sounds like his game plan is to stay on as CEO and continue to do next to nothing.
This team needs to go out and improve the Canadian talent which has, other than Adam Braidwood, dropped back to near zilch again. It needs to replace receivers who, other than Jason Tucker, can't get it done anymore. Major reconstruction has to happen in the defensive secondary. And the return team, good gawd ...
The fans Campbell insulted would almost all do the same thing here, even if they had no option but to keep Maciocia as head coach.
* Retire Hugh Campbell.
* Put a working football man between
LeLacheur and Maciocia.
* Hire an offensive co-ordinator to bring Maciocia down to one job instead of three.
* Tell Rick Campbell it's time to go to work for another team.
* Tell Dan Kepley and Ron Lancaster Jr. that Hughie's gone, so there's no reason for them not to be gone, too.
That's just the start of a long list.
Tell the fans that all of that is absurd and that it all makes zero sense too, Hugh.
Listen to 'Terry Jones At Large' weekdays at 8:07 a.m. on 790 CFCW.
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