Should a respectable owner purchase the team, 2007 could be the return of a good team in Ottawa. And I'm talent/personnel-wise. With an expansion draft, the CFL will be sure to give Ottawa a decent chance at succeeding as an expansion team. They WILL NOT allow an Ottawa team havee to rebuild and such for 4-5 years like the renegades.
In the expansion draft, I'd assume it would be something like protecting one qb, and 5 or so players(anyone know what it was last time?). With all of the talent in the CFL this season, I will fail to see how an Ottawa team will not be competitive next season, given the idea that the CFL changes the expansion draft rules to favour the expansion team.
That's why there has to be a decent cop made available. Teams benefitted from dispersal draft so there's no reason for them to whine about losing players.
With bigger rosters and developmental squad tho, that also makes more players available and lessens the impact.
Of course, key is how many quality Cdn players are made available.
Last time, Gades went with youth to serve as building blocks. Wonder if they'll repeat that philosophy.
But having said all that, getting the players is only one part of a the battle. It takes a long time for a team to gell even in the "overnight success nature" of the CFL.
It will obviously take time for the team to gel. But with the talent they'll get from the draft, it won't be another 4 year wait before you start seeing any hope of success, as it was with the renegades, IMO.
First off I am a die hard Ottawa Fan - but I do not hold out too much hope that IF/WHEN an expansion draft comes about that the owners won't give garbage.
Starters - I like your protecting one qb, and 5 or so players - then maybe being allowed to remove 2 players for every player selected from your team.
Whoever ends up owning Ottawa better fight tooth & nail - for good players to give himself a fighting chance - either way CFL back in Ottawa I will have season tickets.
I think Wright and those owners on expansion committee know importance of fair draft to stock the new team and will make sure that happens. Otherwise, they'd be shooting themselves and the franchise in the foot before its first game.
I agree.
I’m sure the Renegades dispersal draft is a contributing factor, but it seems like all 8 teams are stockpiling more depth this year.
If you take a look at other years, most teams didn’t keep many more players around than was necessary, due to budget concerns.
Especially prior to the NFL cuts, all teams tended to have pretty lean rosters at this time of the season.
I believe the parameters for a competitive draft have already been discussed, and the entire CFL seems openly committed to an Ottawa return next year.
All along, I understood that it was probable the CFL could have had an owner in place before the '06 season, but there was no time left to effectively prepare the franchise from top-to-bottom for a decent campaign.
As well, any quality owner would have wanted all the monkeys associated with the Glieberman circus (Forrest Gregg, John Jenkins, etc.) replaced with their own football administration.
As painful as it was to shut team down and not have football here this year, it was right decision to attract new ownership. They get a team free and clear of debt and can start afresh.
The other big decision if the team comes back is coaches - not just players. John Jenkins is the biggest clown I've seen in the CFL and better not be kept on if they want to succeed. But it will also be difficult to attract an established guy like Kent Austin or Greg Marshall (WPG) to a new market. If SSK flops this year and Danny Barrett is available he could be a good possibility OR (this one could shock you...) Matt Dunnigan. I think he did well with what he had in CGY, and brought in some good stuff. He left the team a LOT better than it was when he started.
I don’t agree that Dunigan left the Stamps better than when he got there … it wasn’t he who brought in Burris, Cope, Lewis, DeAngelis, etc. I don’t remember about Grace and Reynolds … anyway.
Hopefully the gades do return, and will be competitive early on. It would be alright to “change” the expansion draft format for Ottawa, to help them out as much as possible, since the team is only suspended and not a true expansion team - and since their team was itself gutted.
I just hope they’re back for '07, with solid ownership.
Please, not Danny Barret. It would be like getting Joe Poapoa again. We need a PROVEN winning coach. I would add someone intelligent like Marv Levy and /or Russ Jackson as consultants or V.P.s to get the franchise started on the right foot. Even though they are old, they are and were winners. Mark Kosmos is another guy.
I su[ppose the owner would pick a GM/Director of Football Ops first --- be it Tillman, Jim Popp or whoever and let him choose the coach. Any quality GM would know importance of hiring best available coach.
It won't be Buono or Matthews because of age and other factors.
But I wouldn't rule out an experienced ass't like Wpg's Greg Marshall getting gig. Many here thought he'd be in line to replace Paopao had Gliebs not entered scene.
They're not having gold in the unis. Deal with it. Only time they had gold was in Horn Chen regime.
R on helmet --- wouldn't rule that out, depending on name they use.
As for the 2005 roster coming back, if you looked at that w/o emotion, I'm sure you'd rather have dispersal draft. Some great players, some serviceable players --- but players on a team that had not made the playoffs.
Who knows, maybe some of them will be snatched back.
Yes. Gold is not an Ottawa football colour. The only reason we have gold on the Senators and had gold in the Rough Riders uniforms in 1994, is because Bruce Firestone owned both these teams at one time or another and incorporated the gold in both teams. Prior to him, and presently, Ottawa's sports colours have always been Red, white and black. So KK, stop demanding that gold be a part of Ottawa football's uniform. Firestone had the gall to add blue in 1994, idiot. The fans HATED THOSE UNIFORMS. He had no respect for tradition, which has been part of the problem with those running teams in Ottawa, except for Eric Tillman. Tillman has always been respectful of Ottawa's football tradition. :cowboy:
If you mean the one from Winnipeg - good idea
If you mean the one that was fired from Hamilton - bad idea
Also, depending on final outcomes, there could be some current head coaches in jeapordy - ie Buono and Barrett.
If those two don’t pull out a respectable finish this year there could be change either in coaches or some major personnel overhaul
Barrett is incompetent. Give us Buono. I bet you we will end up with Barrett though because he's a loser and some other team will make sure they get Buono before Ottawa gets a chance at him.