Ed Hervey leaves Lions for "personal reasons"

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Dusty
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Nice to see you posting, Blitz. I am ambivalent about Hervey's departure from the Lions. It will be interesting to see the team roster in a month from now and compare it to last years roster... a bit of a guide to how well the new kids on the the GM block have done.
Blitz
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Great to read your thoughts on my post Sir Percival, TheLionKing, David, Murdock, Hambone, DanoT, and Dusty. Thanks for the kind comments. Happy New Year.

Good to see that we survived 2020 and are hopefull of the same result for 2021 and to watching some good 'ol CFL football.

Well, you 'know, you know' life' is not just all about 'execution', making 'big plays', and 'sticking your head in there' on third and one, as the old Wallymeister used to mentor. Life is also supposed to be fun, as much as possible, so whether this is a 'drop in' or longer will depend on 'camradarie' rather than 'conflict' (Lowenbrua moments are much better than banging heads (unless you gotta make that first down when a Wally style coach is trying to block 10 defenders with 5 offensive linemen) :cr:

The Gods of Football Past, Present, and Future did pay me a visit on Xmas Eve and showed me how much I missed my Lionbacker colleagues and how my spirit would continue to dissolve without Lionbacker's Forum. So here is to hoping for good times.

Sir Percival, your comment rings powerfully.
"We may never know the complete story but I don't feel too sad about his departure whatever the facts"
Hambone's comment strongly reinforces your point.
It gets me wondering though if that was a one-off or if it turned out to open up a pandora's box of other instances. The denizens at RF have long talked about Ed's "desk drawer" contracts which I always dismissed as typical Rider fan whining. In light of the circumstances that led to Hervey's old sidekick Kavis Reed's dismissal in Montreal and now Reilly-gate I can't help but wonder if there wasn't a lot more to the story in BC than just the Reilly sidedeal blowing up in Ed's face.
I read your comments with interest Murdock.
In defence of Devone Claybrooks and Rich Stubler the 2019 defense played very well for the most part and Hervey did a good job bringing in key players like Brandon Dozier. I thought Nik Lewis was recognized for doing a good job as well.The current staff is just as questionable and having Rick Campbell as defensive co-ordinator, head coach, and assistant GM leaves plenty on his plate.
I was always a big Stubler fan so agree with your comments on him. B.C.s defense ranked 5th of 9 teams under Claybrooks. They had some big games and some bad ones. Offensively, we ranked 7th, as neither Lulay nor Jennings, except for the occasional miracle performance, could lead us our of the mire of a second season of RPO under Jarious.

Like you Murdock, I am not excited about having Campbell as Head Coach, Defensive Coordinator, and Co-GM. In fact, I was not overly excited about our decision to hire Campbell. I was really hoping for LaPolice to become our next HC. I'm more positive and hopeful regarding our offensive coaching staff with Maxymick, Bates, and Jason Tucker.
Publically of course it was called a resignation to spare him the shame and indignity.
No question David, this seems like the truth rather than the leave of absence script that logically sounds like b.s.
It will be interesting to see the team roster in a month from now and compare it to last years roster..
How much change are you anticipating Dusty?

So Wally is retired and Hervey is gone. I am not unhappy.
Dano T - we could become football soul mates wiith a comment like that!! :wink: :wink:

Sometimes life is not just about execution, you know, you know or just making big plays. Sometimes its about preserving the past and at other times, its about new beginnings. Our Leos need a new beginning. Hopefully 2021 is the start.

Go Leos. :rockin: :towel:
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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David
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Really glad you're back posting, Blitz. Now, if we can get WestCoastJoe out of Lionbacker retirement, we can get the band back together. :wink:

I miss Wallyball on the admin side as he ran a tight ship, generally hired good scouts and coaches, but not on the head coaching side as I believe he was too involved (re: stubborn) and not progressive enough. I vividly recall sitting at McGill Stadium to watch our Leos vs the Als. We were right down on the goalline late in the 4th quarter with a chance to win the ball game. We had something like 5 cracks at it from the 1 (I recall an encroachment penalty) and tried to run it up the gut each time. Stuffed. Game over. Jacques was apparently over-ruled.

THAT was Wallyball. :bang:


DH :cool:
Roar, You Lions, Roar
Blitz
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Really glad you're back posting, Blitz. Now, if we can get WestCoastJoe out of Lionbacker retirement, we can get the band back together. :wink:

I miss Wallyball on the admin side as he ran a tight ship, generally hired good scouts and coaches, but not on the head coaching side as I believe he was too involved (re: stubborn) and not progressive enough. I vividly recall sitting at McGill Stadium to watch our Leos vs the Als. We were right down on the goalline late in the 4th quarter with a chance to win the ball game. We had something like 5 cracks at it from the 1 (I recall an encroachment penalty) and tried to run it up the gut each time. Stuffed. Game over. Jacques was apparently over-ruled.

THAT was Wallyball. :bang:

DH :cool:

Joe was a heck of a drummer and he could play bass guitar too!! I wasn't as fond of his backup vocals as he was but I never told him that. He;s a sensitive guy. :rotf:

Not sure what WCJ is up to....last I heard was that WCJ, after the split up of the Lionbackers rock band (he hated wearing those orange band outfits) was that he was looking for his own Yoko Ono and not only looking forward to eating chocolate cake in the bath but also riding his electric bike into a West Coast sunset.

'Eeeeeeegads David' and 'Holy' execution' too Batman, I just got over having regular nightmares of Wally yelling "Jumbo" on every short yardage situation, the eternal 'runner right up the gut play call, and watching another running back end up 2 inches shorter in height as he ran into another massive wall of defenders intent on giving him a concussion while trying to rip off his legs.

The scariest times of Wally's coaching career were not his press conferences (a close second) or punting from the opposition 35 yard line (a very close second) but rather the times he decided he wanted to be in charge of coaching a unit. A few had their turns - he coached the short yardage offensive team for years, he would often take over the return unit so that our punt returner could also end up three inches shorter running straight up the gut too.

But worse than even those times, was when Wally decided the defensive line needed his coaching expertise, which usually meant that oversized tackles were turned into pass rushing ends and quick, fast defensive ends were turned into run stopping defensive tackles (except they couldn;t stop the run).

But in some ways I'm gonna miss 'ol Pascale cause he was able to take a heck of a lot of players, assistant coaches, press, media, and fans down his 'rabbit hole', offer them a drink of Kool Aid (then he could make you big or small) and if you annoyed him if was 'off with their head" or at the very least, a lower contract renegotiated immediately. :wink:

There was always lots to post about while experiencing Wally World but I am not nostalgic. I remember Wally's final season vividly - being down 25 -0 at half time on Wally Buono night and his last game - the humiliating playoff loss to Hamilton.

In terms of Campbell, there is a lot to like about him as a character person.

Here is an excerpt of comments as he stepped down after his 3-15 season.
Campbell spoke about being on a different page than GM Marcel Desjardins— both had one year remaining on their contracts — and about how tough it was to see players come and go, some of them guys he wanted to see remain as Redblacks.

“Not to get into all the specifics, but I really didn’t like it when there were people who left here with a bad taste in their mouth — the list was getting a little long,” said Campbell. “You have to treat people well, you have to treat them right, empower them, value them. If you do that, people will go through the wall for you. If you don’t, it can make it tougher.

“I just want to make sure all the people who have left this place feel appreciated and feel valued. It wasn’t a power play or anything like that. It was about everybody pulling in the same direction and making it a fun place to work — for me, that was slipping, but that’s on me.

“I do not dislike Marcel, it’s not about that. Marcel’s got a lot of knowledge, there’s a reason why we won around here. Maybe it’s me that’s changed. If you know Marcel, he’s pretty consistent in how he acts. I would guess as it’s more me changing than him. Sometimes relationships have to jive to be able to communicate. It’s nothing against Marcel, I’ll put it on me too, I have to be a better communicator.”

In a radio interview with TSN 1200 a bit later, Campbell talked about some things that had bothered him, including last week’s words (on TSN 1200 and in a Postmedia interview) from former Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris, who suggested players weren’t being treated right and it was hurting the team when so many of them were released or allowed to leave as free agents.

“That was just another thing,” said Campbell. “The head coach and GM, it has to be two guys that can communicate really well. And Marcel and I are wired kind of differently. I’m not knocking him, that’s just kind of a fact. If anything, Marcel is fair, I don’t have complaints on that front.”

Campbell, who turns 49 on Dec. 20, led the Redblacks to the Grey Cup game (a loss to Edmonton) in just their second season. The following year, in 2016, the Redblacks won the Grey Cup, beating the Calgary Stampeders 39-33 in overtime, the first CFL championship for an Ottawa team since 1976.

“I’ve been thinking about (leaving),” said Campbell. “It was hard to even come to the idea of thinking about it because I’m so ingrained in the community. To give all that up, there had to be some pretty solid reasons. I know I’m being a little vague, but that’s what I would say.”

The Redblacks expected Monday’s scheduled news conference to be himself and Campbell reflecting on 2019 and talking about plans for 2020.

“My full expectation was both Marcel and Rick would be back next year and we’d be able to turn the page on what’s been a difficult 2019 and get back to where we should be at this time of year — preparing for a home playoff game,” said OSEG CEO/president Mark Goudie.

“I found out from Mark before I found out from Rick,” said Desjardins. “The conversation after the fact was that he didn’t think our relationship was good enough for him to want to continue in this arrangement. Obviously, the stress of this season must have played a factor in that.


“I’m as surprised as everybody else by this outcome. My expectation was Rick would be back and we’d work together to try and get this thing straightened out. Today is kind of a strange day, an unexpected day. Rick’s a good guy, he takes everything to heart — he and I are similar in a lot of ways.

“I take complete responsibility for everything, but I also know all of the success we’ve had in the past, it was a group effort. As much as I’m the person to answer for this, there are a lot of things that happened, some of those were under my control. But there are a lot of things that didn’t work out — whether it be on the coaching side or injuries — that’s unfortunate, but at the end of the day, it’s my fault, it’s my responsibility.”

Responding to Burris’ comments that he had rubbed some ex-Redblacks the wrong way, Desjardins told TSN 1200: “When you cut a player, he’s not going to like you. I’m the one that does it, I’m the one that verbalizes it, though the coaches are the ones that make that decision.

“When players leave, I’m the one informing them, I’m the bad guy. People are not going to like that either we don’t want them or we can’t afford to pay them. I get it why (some players) are upset, they’re not getting what they want. I know I’m not Mr. Personality. But I’m consistent, I can live with myself. I promise you we’ll have players and coaches from other teams coming in and they’re going to love Ottawa.”

Campbell began his coaching career in 1996 at the University of Oregon where he served as a graduate assistant with the Ducks’ coaching staff, helping with the defensive secondary and special teams.

He made his CFL debut in 1999 with the Edmonton Eskimos as defensive secondary and special-teams coordinator, spending the next six seasons in that role before being promoted to defensive coordinator from 2005-2008. He moved to Winnipeg in 2009 as defensive backs and special-teams coordinator with the Blue Bombers before returning to Alberta to coach the running backs with the Stampeders in 2010.

In 2011, Campbell became assistant head coach and special-teams coordinator with the Eskimos before taking on the defensive coordinator title back in Calgary in 2012, where he spent two seasons before moving to Ottawa.
Now, how long do you think Campbell and Hervey could have danced together? :wink:
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
Dusty
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I think my disappointment about the Claybroks season was that there was no adjustments made to things that were not working. The offence did not work and Claybrooks did not (or was not allowed by Hervey) make changes.

I agree that with the changes in place at the GM position and especially the OC position there is potential for "new beginnings" as Blitz said...... come to think of it, maybe that's the 2021 marketing slogan!
Blitz
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I think my disappointment about the Claybroks season was that there was no adjustments made to things that were not working. The offence did not work and Claybrooks did not (or was not allowed by Hervey) make changes.

I agree that with the changes in place at the GM position and especially the OC position there is potential for "new beginnings" as Blitz said...... come to think of it, maybe that's the 2021 marketing slogan!.
Jeez, Dusty, there was no need to make adjustments to the most innovative and greatest CFL offensive system of all time - the Jarious Jackson RPO offence. Heck, all the quarterback needed to do was to make the right, simple post-snap read. :hypno: :bang:

Its difficult to believe that an offence could be even worse than Wallys version of the Spread Offence, which was as stale as 10 day old bread. The mould was everywhere. Yet Jarious offence was even worse. :thdn: :thdn:

Going from Wally's version ot the Spread to Jarious RPO was kinda like your geeky younger sister asking you to dance with her at the school dance cause no one else would and you were stuck saying yes. But the entire time you were dancing, you were thinking this is not cool and hoping to have the next dance with Sally, who was really hot. However, your dreams were dashed when your mother, who was a dance supervisor, started dancing with you instead. :wink:

But there was no need for adjustments because Hervey could just blame Jennings (well er, he had to be quiet when Lulay could not make it work nor Reilly either.

Wally took the impressive Hufnagel spread offence of the 90's, removed every imaginative play call out of the playbook, eliminated all the running plays to one inside zone read play, and ensured that there were vey few and very predictable pass plays and all from the pocket and then added the runner up the gut play on second and shorter and third and short . Its hard to believe but Khari Jones commented last football season that Wally would quietly remove a bunch of offensive plays from his game plan board on game day.

Jarious took an offence that was hot in U.S. college and was being introduced to few NFL offences that had quarterbacks who had played their college footballl with RPO. But to thrust that offence on two quarterbacks as Lulay and Jennings and Reilly, of which none of who had any experiene with RPO EVER, nor did the offensive line or backs or receivers.

For the offensive players it It was kinda like transitioning from life on Earth to life on Mars based on a two week training camp. It was insanity.

It will be interesting to see what offensive system we implement this year.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
TheLionKing
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David wrote:
Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:27 pm


I vividly recall sitting at McGill Stadium to watch our Leos vs the Als. We were right down on the goalline late in the 4th quarter with a chance to win the ball game. We had something like 5 cracks at it from the 1 (I recall an encroachment penalty) and tried to run it up the gut each time. Stuffed. Game over. Jacques was apparently over-ruled.

THAT was Wallyball. :bang:


DH :cool:
Thanks for reminding me of that fiasco. Montreal kept trying to give the game away by going offside. Worst coaching decision EVER
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Sir Purrcival
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Dusty wrote:
Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:19 pm
I think my disappointment about the Claybroks season was that there was no adjustments made to things that were not working. The offence did not work and Claybrooks did not (or was not allowed by Hervey) make changes.

I agree that with the changes in place at the GM position and especially the OC position there is potential for "new beginnings" as Blitz said...... come to think of it, maybe that's the 2021 marketing slogan!
Ain't that the truth. I remember it being about 5 weeks too late before any real talk about about making changes occurred. By the point they did, the point of no return was far away in the rear view mirror.

I do worry about the all in one position that seems to OC, HC and GM. Those jobs seems to be enough for even 1 person each, 2 maybe under extreme circumstances, all 3 at once. Something is going to have to give. Either there is going to be a lot of delegating going on or a lot of putting out of spot fires.
Neither of which is especially desirable in my mind.
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Reg18
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I never had any confidence in his GM skills. I thought he gave out too much to players that didnt help us in the long term. The Reilly deal will haunt this team for a !ong time.
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DanoT
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I'm ok with Campbell being HC, DC, co-GM. He will probably let McEvoy handle most of the GM stuff but with Campbell getting the final say on which players go or stay.

Lions could use some veteran leadership on D; someone like, I don't know, Solomon Elimimian....Hervey's biggest mistake was getting rid of Solly. Well, that and the Reilly fiasco.
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DanoT wrote:
Tue Feb 09, 2021 1:08 pm
I'm ok with Campbell being HC, DC, co-GM. He will probably let McEvoy handle most of the GM stuff but with Campbell getting the final say on which players go or stay.

Lions could use some veteran leadership on D; someone like, I don't know, Solomon Elimimian....Hervey's biggest mistake was getting rid of Solly. Well, that and the Reilly fiasco.
While I typically am not fussy about too many hats I don't see that as being an issue for Campbell given he has a partner in crime in co-GM McEvoy. Most of the heavy GM lifting happens at this time of year when coaching demands are minimal. GM duties will diminish as coaching demands increase the closer they get to training camp. Neil along with Rigmaiden, Simon and Ralph provide plenty of experienced support to free up Campbell to concentrate almost fully on his coaching functions nearing training camp. As for having final say I think that's a bit backwards. As HC Campbell should have first or primary say on who goes and stays while providing the others with info on what his immediate needs are.

And as I indicated in the FA thread SolE has just retired so don't need to worry about that.
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Reg18
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Good riddance for Ed a no thanks for a Buono return.
Murdoch
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Seeing Ed Hervey's name mentioned relate to a scouting position with the CFL and good to know the reported health issues that caused him to leave the Lions were apparently not as serious as was rumoured at the time of his departure.
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