MTL HC, Tillman / HAM, Bellefeuille / OTT

All of the following comments are quotes from rodpedersen.com (Roughriders' play-by-play guy) 15/02/13:

  • Hall of Fame football writer Herb Zurkowsky of the Montreal Gazette reports the Alouettes have hired 52-year old Dan Hawkins as the successor to Marc Trestman as head coach. He's a highly successful NCAA coach with a career record of 121-61-1. Even Hawkins' Wikipedia page has been updated to reflect the fact he's been hired by Montreal.

  • With Thursday's announcement that the Toronto Argonauts have extended the contract of GM Jim Barker, that absurd rumour that Eric Tillman would be named GM of the Argos went out the window. Where did that story come from anyways?

  • A CFL personnel man told me this week "Tillman will be in Hamilton within the next year". That's not surprising giving Eric's close association with Ticats boss Kent Austin however he still has one more year to be paid out by the Edmonton Eskimos.

  • One thing is certain; Eric Tillman doesn't have to worry where his next meal is coming from. You want to win? Hire Eric Tillman.

  • Another popular rumour making the rounds is that Marcel Bellefeuille will be the first head coach of the new Ottawa CFL franchise. That would cue MASS chaos in their front office with a GM named Marcel (Desjardins) and a head coach named Marcel as well. I suspect they would go by "M.D." and "M.B.", should the rumour turn out to be true. Remember Bellefeuille is something of a football hero in Ottawa having led the GeeGee's to a Vanier Cup over a decade ago. He would be a solid choice and his bilingual background would be an added plus.

Tillman has a solid reputation for building winners in this league. Unfortunately, it has been reported that he doesn't play well with others.

At one time, I would have thought that bringing in Tillman would be a recipe for success. After what has taken place elsewhere, I don't what to think anymore!!??

I take everything Rod Pedersen says with a giant grain of salt. His sources on Ti-Cat news has been nothing but terrible. When Drew Edwards or Dave Naylor or Arash Madani says that Tillman is headed to Hamilton, then I'll believe it. As long as the sole voice is Rod Pedersen's, I'll remain skeptical.

Tillman the builder LOL ! More like Tillman the destroyer. He'll wear those Ray and McKnight trades for a long,long time.

What position would Tillman be brought into in Hamilton? Austin already has all the football titles (GM/Vice President of Football Operations/etc.) in addition to coach. I'm not sure that Tillman is the kind of guy you want in Scott Mitchell's seat on the business side of the team when SM leaves next year?!?!?

"Tillman the builder LOL ! More like Tillman the destroyer. He'll wear those Ray and McKnight trades for a long,long time."

Every GM stumbles from time to time. Do I need to go over the Popp miscues over the last couple of seasons, AGAIN?

Yes, Eric likely made a mistake with the Ray trade. But, he did pretty well elsewhere. Of his 10 years in this league, his organizations have only missed the playoffs 3 times. Of the 4 times his teams have played in the Grey Cup, they won 3 of them. And those wins were with 3 different teams, further emphasizing his ability to build.

Doesn't sound destructive to me. But then his name is not Jim Popp, so I guess you wouldn't have seen that.

8) Since we still don't have a Director of Player Personnel, how about Tillman for that job ??
   I'm sure if the Cats paid him enough, he would take the job, if it were offered to him by his friend Austin.

    Tillman certainly has the contacts south of the border, and he is a pretty good judge of good football talent !!

The quotes from Pedersen’s blog state:

  1. that Herb Zurkowsky in MTL has reported Hawkins will be the MTL HC
  2. Pedersen’s opinion that the rumour Eric Tillman would be named GM in TOR was “absurd”
  3. that someone working in Personnel in the CFL has opined, to Pedersen, that Tillman will be in Hamilton within a year
  4. Pedersen’s opinion that he wouldn’t be surprised if that came true, considering Tillman’s close association with Kent Austin
  5. that Tillman will continue to be paid by the Eskimos for one more year
  6. Pedersen’s opinion that Eric Tillman doesn’t have money worries being out of work
  7. there is a rumour going around that Marcel Bellefeuille will be the first HC of the new Ottawa team
8) Pedersen's opinion that Bellefeuille would be a good choice.

If you take “everything Rod Pedersen says with a giant grain of salt,” you’re saying don’t believe much, or most, of what he says is true.
You may not agree with his opinions, but I doubt you think he’s dishing out opinions which aren’t truly what he thinks.
So, your salt could only be applied to points 1, 3, 5, 7.

  1. Zurkowsky’s report was confirmed by the team a week later.
  2. Do you believe Pedersen is lying in saying that such a person expressed that opinon to him?
  3. Do you believe this statement, by Pedersen, is false?
  4. Do you believe there is no such rumour?

I’d be interested in learning what it is that you doubt here and what, in the past, has led you to mistrust this guy, whose blog I consider a great source of CFL news and views.

[b]"{ Since we still don't have a Director of Player Personnel, how about Tillman for that job ??

I'm sure if the Cats paid him enough, he would take the job, if it were offered to him by his friend Austin.

Tillman certainly has the contacts south of the border, and he is a pretty good judge of good football talent !!"[/b]

I think that would be a natural fit for Tillman since, as you pointed out, Tipper, "he is a pretty good judge of good football talent !!"

As long as he doesn't get involved in any QB trades....LOL

Wise precaution. I’d put Perry Lefko and Bruce Arthur in the same category. When floating rumours they are right as frequently as a broken clock.

Who said he stumbled, he got rid of a old expensive QB, that in 2 years will be even older and still expensive. And now they have reilly. Tillman did them a huge favour. He knew what he was doing.

I’ve also shared that caution with the writings of Pedersen and Lefko. I have noticed some factual and writing errors in Lefko’s efforts, which have thrown into question his credibility, for me. Pedersen, has always struck me as a shill for the Riders, and therefore, how objective can his contributions be when it comes to other teams in this league.

Except, that Ray won his new team a Grey Cup the following season, and in the process looked very much like he hadn’t lost a step.

Perhaps, in a couple of years, Ricky Ray may be retired. But, before that time, he will have made his new team a serious contender and the Coaching staff will have the opportunity to develop his replacement.

Not a bad plan, in my books, Pikk.

He would never had done it in edm, good move for both of them.

Pikk wrote:

"He would never had done it in edm, good move for both of them."

We never got to witness the remainder of the Tillman plan. There likely were other parts to it that never got executed. So, we'll never know whether the Ray manoeuvre would have worked for Edmonton in the end.

With Crandell as the OC there, that would have been a stumbling block for Ray.

Funny thing about new quarterbacks, they're often thought of like the backup, always better than the incumbent. Reilly is well regarded, not sure if he can be the starter. He now has to step into the spotlight all by himself.

Jyles is no longer with the Eskimos. Obviously, a good trade for Toronto.

Wow ! :lol: The QB that won his 3rd GC last year and is 8 years younger than Burris ? But yeah it would be great for him to find work so we can get some more draft picks from him. :thup:

Adrian McPherson spent five years sitting on your bench as your quarterback of the future? Signed an extension just prior to last season, and will now be playing in the Arena league. Replaced by Quinton Porter. Your starter, meanwhile is working on borrowed time. Signed Restelli and Hunt as your big free agent shopping trip???

Not so sure he could recognize a good deal anymore.

HfxTC wrote: Wow ! The QB that won his 3rd GC last year and [b]is 8 years younger than Burris ?[/b]
Ray is only 29 years old? He must hold the record as the youngest starting QB in professional football then, (18 years old in 2002) including a Grey Cup berth at 18, and GC win at 19.

an amazing achievement. :roll:

Your right only FIVE years younger :wink:

According to that team’s website, Ricky Ray’s birthdate is 1979-10-22, which would make him 33 years old.