Claybrooks

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Murdoch
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Nice to see a Claybrooks update on 3DN and to clear a little air surrounding his dismissal. Bearing no grudges will find him work again soon.

I said at the time it didn't come from Ed Hervey and was somewhat coincidentally timed with Neil McEvoy taking his name out of consideration for the Montreal GM role.

Still say it is yet to be seen if Campbell who went 3 - 15 last year is an upgrade and remain convinced Rhymes and or Holley will not be an upgrade on Duron Carter. I like them both but I like DC as well.

Always tough to do a job when three people are calling the shots and the guy that gets sent on his way is not always the real trouble.
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B.C.FAN
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Murdoch wrote:
Mon Jun 29, 2020 11:23 am
Nice to see a Claybrooks update on 3DN and to clear a little air surrounding his dismissal. Bearing no grudges will find him work again soon.

I said at the time it didn't come from Ed Hervey and was somewhat coincidentally timed with Neil McEvoy taking his name out of consideration for the Montreal GM role.

Still say it is yet to be seen if Campbell who went 3 - 15 last year is an upgrade and remain convinced Rhymes and or Holley will not be an upgrade on Duron Carter. I like them both but I like DC as well.

Always tough to do a job when three people are calling the shots and the guy that gets sent on his way is not always the real trouble.
I found it interesting that Claybrooks said Ed Hervey fought to retain him but David Braley insisted on firing him and paying out the final two years of his contract.
“I was told by my boss, Ed, that he did everything he can to fight to get us another year but at the end of the day the owner (David Braley) decided on a different direction. Like I’ve said a number of times, when your name is on the front of the cheque, you can dictate what happens to the guy who signs the back of the cheque.
Here's a link to the original article by Dan Barnes of Postmedia:

Life after the Lions has been incredibly busy for DeVone Claybrooks
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David
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I am not convinced that the record alone influenced Braley's decision. There were signs that the team was improving (until Reilly went down). Further, Claybrooks was very popular with the players and his assistants could have easily walked the plank in the off-season for change's sake, while retaining him.

Being old school (and I don't mean old school as in "old skool." I mean old school as in ink wells for writing and horse-drawn buggies for school busses) and hearing/reading fan displeasure over Claybrook's cocked hats and relaxed sideline demeanour likely played a part. I believe there was a perception that the club didn't look professional, although I don't share that opinion.


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The team was unwatchable. There were little if any mitigating factors for claybrooks to stay. The fan base is low and they were losing badly. Short leash seemed appropriate.
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Sir Purrcival
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Ultimately I wouldn't care if Claybrooks was wearing a Cherry-esque suit if the team was playing well. It wasn't. He showed many signs of a rookie head coach. There were times when decisive action was required such as in the bye week. He chose to do nothing and by the time he did, it was pretty much too late to matter. He might have been making some progress but for a team dogged by ho-hum, lack luster seasons for a number of years, we needed a coach that was ready to hit the ground running.
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SammyGreene
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Ironically Rick Campbell will be in the exact position I hoped Claybrooks was willing to do — head coach and defensive coordinator. He was mainly hired on his reputation as being the league's top DC and I was miffed he brought in a veteran guy like Stubler for the job. That's the equivalent of Dickenson bringing LaPolice as his OC.

I get he didn't want to be overloaded with responsibility as a rookie head coach but you see so many young coaches oversea the offence or defence that landed them the job in the first place. Like Dickenson, Mass or down south with Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan. Maybe that's something Hervey should have insisted. I'm sure Ryan Dinwiddie is now a head coach thanks to learning from Dickenson during his time as Calgary's QB coach.

They showed some signs during a very soft stretch in their schedule (Toronto, Ottawa x2 and Montreal without Vernon Adams) but I think the loss in Edmonton sealed his fate. Reilly got hurt that game but they still lost to a back-up QB (Kilgore) in a must win game.
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Hambone
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I'm on the fence on that Sammy. Seems to me while some rookie HCs have enjoyed success when doubling as a coordinator there's also been a history of struggles for others. This will be the first time Campbell has held the dual role. Throughout his Ottawa tenure he always had a DC working under him; Mark Nelson for the first 4 years followed by Noel Thorpe.

The situation with Claybrooks was night and day different than Dave Dickenson. Claybrooks was parachuted into a new organization with new players and had to assemble a new staff under himself. Dickenson's entry into the HC job was a cakewalk in comparison. It was like carrying on business as usual. He already had been taking on some of Hufnagel's responsibilities prior to being HC so just added the parts he wasn't already doing. The only newcomer to his offensive coaching staff was Ryan Dinwiddie at QBC. There also was little change to offensive personnel. Only notable changes were Messam who had joined the Stamps late the season before taking over from retired Jon Cornish and DaVaris Daniels joining the team.

While Shanahan and Payton may call plays they aren't doubling as their own OCs. Shanahan of course is a career coach. He been immersed in coaching since he was in the womb. By the time Kyle was going into the 1st grade his dad Mike had 10 years of NCAA experience and was just hired as Denver Broncos' OC. Kyle started his coaching career at UCLA at age 24. While he held the HC/OC job initially in SF he seems to have changed that model splitting the OC job into 2 coordinator positions; Passing Game Coordinator and Running Game Coordinator. Ah the luxury of unlimited money and spots for coaches. Payton has always had an OC working under him since joining the Saints. Doug Marrone held the position for the first 3 years. Pete Carmichael who was the QBC under Marrone took over the OC position in 2009 and has held the job ever since.
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Murdoch
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Mike Reilly wears some goofy hats at times as well. Kind of weird when you think about it.

Seems to me big Mike came through last year smelling like a rose while others took the fall. Offense was the problem. Maybe it was Reilly that didn't like the way Claybrooks wore his hat and put the bug in Braley's ear. It's a bit of a long shot or is it.

Jorden Maksymic will run an offense tailored to Reilly. Danny O'Brien same boat. Essentially Reilly is the coordinator.

Hervey made no secret he would throw big bucks at Reilly so it is on Ed in the end. The veteran leadership he had to let go to get it done was too big of a price imo. When you think Cody Fajardo was already on the roster.

Anyway... just a Monday morning conspiracy theory to bat around. Nothing too serious.....Or is it?
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Hambone
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Sir Purrcival wrote:
Sat Jul 04, 2020 6:53 pm
Ultimately I wouldn't care if Claybrooks was wearing a Cherry-esque suit if the team was playing well. It wasn't. He showed many signs of a rookie head coach. There were times when decisive action was required such as in the bye week. He chose to do nothing and by the time he did, it was pretty much too late to matter. He might have been making some progress but for a team dogged by ho-hum, lack luster seasons for a number of years, we needed a coach that was ready to hit the ground running.
The curious part of me wanted to see Claybrooks back for a second year. As a person he was very approachable and easy to like from the interactions we as fans had with him at training camp. It's hard not to like the man and wish him nothing but success. I was curious to see how he would adjust for year 2 with a full season under his lightning rod hat (which I had zero issues with) and an offseason to reflect on his rookie struggles.
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B.C.FAN
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Hambone wrote:
Mon Jul 06, 2020 2:39 pm
Sir Purrcival wrote:
Sat Jul 04, 2020 6:53 pm
Ultimately I wouldn't care if Claybrooks was wearing a Cherry-esque suit if the team was playing well. It wasn't. He showed many signs of a rookie head coach. There were times when decisive action was required such as in the bye week. He chose to do nothing and by the time he did, it was pretty much too late to matter. He might have been making some progress but for a team dogged by ho-hum, lack luster seasons for a number of years, we needed a coach that was ready to hit the ground running.
The curious part of me wanted to see Claybrooks back for a second year. As a person he was very approachable and easy to like from the interactions we as fans had with him at training camp. It's hard not to like the man and wish him nothing but success. I was curious to see how he would adjust for year 2 with a full season under his lightning rod hat (which I had zero issues with) and an offseason to reflect on his rookie struggles.
Agreed. I had some great interactions with Claybrooks before and during training camp. He made many mistakes, beginning with the selection of an inexperienced coaching staff, but he and his team improved in the second half of the season until Mike Reilly was injured.
Murdoch
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Mon Jul 06, 2020 3:12 pm
Agreed. I had some great interactions with Claybrooks before and during training camp. He made many mistakes, beginning with the selection of an inexperienced coaching staff, but he and his team improved in the second half of the season until Mike Reilly was injured.
I recognize the names of a few from their playing days but it looks like another inexperienced coaching staff again. Rick Campbell will need to be at his best.

Good players help make good coaches though and strong moves to bring in Micah Johnson and Ryker Matthews will help.
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Sir Purrcival
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Ultimately, this is the biggest beef I have with the WB era. He was basically responsible for all aspects of the franchise and IMO, he wasn't that good at looking ahead to the future. He didn't choose his surrounding cast all that well and in contrast to the Calgary experience where Huff recognized who were the good personnel to bring on board and groom for future leadership roles, WB stuck with his rather narrow vision of what worked and what didn't, a vision that often produced mediocre results. His attempt to groom a coaching successor was a big failure, he let others go on terms that weren't all that conducive to maybe coming back some day as a coach. He was kind of the godfather of the Lions and no one dare challenge someone who did as much as he had done. It was really incumbent on him have that future vision of a Lion's team without his presence and rather than create a solid foundation for future stability, his legacy is more one of someone who had a ton of knowledge about the game but who perhaps didn't see the bigger, long term picture as well as one would hope.
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Murdoch
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Good points Sir Purrcival.

No doubt the scope of Wally's role left big shoes to fill and even in his reduced role as coach in his final season he still carried significant power beyond that of a head coach in his role as president. It could be that not everyone was as excited about the new look Lions management team and it took until Wally had left the building to have the true colors show through.

Anyway you look at it, it doesn't seem right the GM doesn't get to pick the coach. Was Campbell Hervey's next choice or was he told about that as well. Not good imo. The time to get the ownership / leadership situation straightened away is now. Again imo.

Some good points were raised recently about the Lions as an economic driver for the city. Seems like a purrfect fit for the Chamber of Commerce or possibly Pavco to step up and ensure the future of the CFL in Vancouver. They could pay Braley 10 mil easily and come out far ahead within a short time. Manage it prudently and enjoy the game and it's benefits.
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