Mitchell Blair
Jacques Chapdelaine insists he was happy right where he was coaching his alma mater at Simon Fraser until he received a call from Corey Chamblin.
That call has resulted in Chapdelaine returning to the CFL as he has become the Saskatchewan Roughriders new offensive co-ordinator replacing George Cortez.
“I had a great gig at Simon Fraser and I wasn’t looking to leave as it was a solid situation, but the Roughriders came knocking at the door asking to speak and some good discussions were had. “ Chapdelaine told 620 CKRM’s Sportscage Friday afternoon mere hours after the announcement has been made. “ One thing led to another and a decision was made. I’m very happy to be a Rider.”
Chapdelaine has bounced around the CFL as a player and a coach. He spent seven years in the league with B.C, Hamilton, Montreal and Calgary before joining Calgary in 2001 as the team’s receivers coach and special teams co-ordinator. He then became Calgary’s offensive co-ordinator in 2002. After one year in that position, he went to BC where he spent 11 years with that organization spending six years as offensive co-ordinator. He also spent one year in Edmonton as an offensive co-ordinator and in his time in that position has been to four division finals and two Grey Cups.
While Chamblin has worked with Cortez for two years, he admits Chapdelaine is a guy he has always wanted to work with so when the position came open, he knew who to call.
“Jacques has been on my radar for a long time,” Chamblin said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Jacques. I like his offence and I like the way he approaches the game. I have looked at a lot of film as to what he is doing and I see he has the ability to adapt and do what has to be done to get a victory. I’m very excited to have him in the fold and I am excited to see how he will work with Darian.”
Chamblin adds Durant was key in helping secure Chapdelaine’s presence in Riderville.
“Darian was very excited to have a chance to work with Jacques because he has worked with MVP’s like Casey Printers, Travis Lulay and Dave Dickenson.” Chamblin said. “I hadn’t even thought of that because I was more concerned with the success he had in working with back-up quarterbacks. Once Darian gave me that information, I was even more excited in getting him in here. What I want from this offence is multiple formations with many guys involved, moving around and doing different things. I hated the motion he brought when I coached against him so I will love having him on my side.”
While Durant is excited to have an opportunity to work with Chapdelaine, the 53 year old is just as excited to work with the Riders starting quarterback.
“Not only is he (Darian) a tremendous football player, but he’s a class act, he’s a leader and through the exchange of conversation he had, I could see we were on the same page and felt a strong connection.” Chapdelaine commented. “It’s important to have a solid professional relationship, but you need to intertwine strong personal relationships in there as well and I think Darian and I have already developed a strong bond.”
Chapdelaine says with the holiday season upon him it will take a couple of weeks for him to get into Regina, but he expects to be in Regina soon after the dust settles for the holidays and start getting immersed into what weapons he has at his disposal, what he needs and what’s the best way to find those needs.
As he looks at his inventory now, he is very excited.
“This is a great position for someone to walk into,” Chapdelaine admitted. “There’s a lot of players doing some exciting things. We have some great receivers, we have good Canadian and American running backs which gives us some flexibility and a solid offensive line. I’m not coming here to fight an uphill situation because from a nucleus and a core point of view, we have a strong group of elements in place and I can’t wait to start getting busy and learning just what I have and how to best utilize them.”
