What do you Rider fans think about the moves Tillman has made so far?
Hiring Austin as head coach: I'd give him a D on this for now; Austin was OC in Toronto the past few years, and Toronto's offence was never anything to write home about; they won on their defence, not their offence.
Releasing Jackie Mitchell.......maybe I'm just too sentimental but I think Mitchell is a great LB; that hit on DD last year was something else. However, giving Tillman the benefit of the doubt on the salary cap and a history of injuries........grade this move a C
Hiring Keith Miller as OC; well, Miller was involved with Austin in the Argos' offence.....enough said. Give this move a D as well.
Re-hiring Richie Hall as defensive coordinator; an A plus here; Riders' defence has been the strength of the squad for the past few years, and Hall has to be given the credit for that. Notwithstanding personnel changes year by year, he keeps that defence firing on all cylinders every year.
Umm I may be wrong but the hiring of the assistant coaches is usually the responsibility of the head coach, so Austin.
Personally I will give his hiring a B.
Jackie Mitchell I would give a C as well
Kieth Miller I don't know anything about. But I agree with you about hiring Toronto coaches, personally Toronto has been one of the teams I have been least scared of the last few years, so I am not a big fan of the hiring of their coaches.
Yeah, honestly, for the last half of the season I didn't want to see toronto games because they were so boring, their offense didn't do anything. 13-9 versus Sask? What kind of a score is that? Scary pass defense though, Byron Parker was pretty amazing.
However, the resigning of most key players has definately impressed me, give that a B+, maybe an A once Davin Bush and Omarr Morgan are resiged.
personally Toronto has been one of the teams I have been least scared of the last few years, so I am not a big fan of the hiring of their coaches.
I assume you were always intimidated and fearful when the Ticats came to town!
Yeah, honestly, for the last half of the season I didn't want to see toronto games because they were so boring, their offense didn't do anything. 13-9 versus Sask? What kind of a score is that?
Hamilton games are not low scoring. We have REAL scores like 51-8!
Boy, tough crowd! We're 4 1/2 months away from training camp and you are all pretty critical already. Free agency hasn't even started yet. If Tillman sits on his hands and stands "pat", then I would be critical of the moves. I'd take a wait and see attitude for a while first before passing judgement.
Im not sure if mine was too critical at all. In fact I think Tillman is doing a good job. there has not been one thing he has done yet that I have been totally against.
I don't think we're being too tough either; the thread is his report card "so far", after all........much can change as we move along.
I'm not TOTALLY against the hires of Austin and Miller, just I question them because the Argos have had such a poor offence the past couple of years, that these hires don't thrill me; but who knows, maybe Austin will turn out to be a better Head Coach than he was an OC; sort of a Paopao in reverse (seems to me Paopao was a better HC than he was an OC in Hamilton last year).
You cant really give Tillman a final grade until the season starts, and how the team does in its first six games. Usually you can tell good or bad a team is in those games, so lets see how the Riders fare before we give him a final grade, but I would give Tillam a B- as of now.
There are only two gauges used to measure the success of a team's management. Firstly, do they acquire quality players that make the franchise competitive at the championship level and secondly, does the franchise make money or at least stay out of the red.
Nice work Tillman, lots of positive action,we have what looks to be a Good coaching staff in place ( thank frickin sakes that waste of payroll Kearse is not returning), there have been some good signings, more to come i’m sure and fighting for a roster spot is what it’s all about. VERY NICE to trim the fat on Josephs contract, that trade seems much more palatable now…The Riders are finally being run like a business and not a frat house…OH yeh!!!IF there’s a Shivers fan left in this province i’m waiting in anticipation for you to crawl back out from under your rock and point and fuss at the first sign of this regimes faulter…BUT untill then please stop the pouting…GO RIDERS
I've never been a Tillman fan so he's been a bit of a surprise to me, but as mentioned hiring Austin was the key move. Good on ya' Riders, here's hoping it translates to the field!
Well, I am a Shivers fan, and always will be.
Why would a Shivers fan hide under any rocks?
Roy did a great job and has set the bar very high for the Tillman regime.
When Roy got here, crawling into the play-offs every other year was the norm, and accepted by many. And the team was nearly bankrupt.
Now, we not only expect to make the play-offs every year, but anything less than a home play-off game/ finishing first will be seen as a failure by ET/Austin. And the team is as financially stable as it has ever been.
Thanks Roy!
As for grading ET thus far, he has been okay, but not special.
None of the signings have been surprising, or any big deal.
Releasing Greene and Davis was predictable, as was renegotiating the Joseph contract.
The Butler trade was a good deal, but I would have preferred we kept Rocky over Crandell.
When ET signs Morgan, Bush and Richardson, then that will be a good job. Of the 14 free agents we had, only about 4 or 5 were noteworthy. And 3 are still unsigned.
And if anyone can do basic math, with the moves we have already made, I doubt we are under much cap pressure anymore, so there is no reason not to sign those guys.
So to sum up, I’m not pouting. Obviously I hope and expect the Riders to perform this year.
Thus far Tillman hasn’t made any real mistakes, but he has done nothing special either.
And making Austin head coach was at best a questionable decision, so I think the grade is only a solid C at this time.
If Austin flops, he’ll get a D-(maybe an F.); if he succeeds, B.
First place is a A-, winning the Grey Cup but missing a home play-off game is a B-.
Would it be redundant to state that an A+ is first place and a Cup win?
Atta boy Arius, I knew rattling the bars of your cage would wake you up, real touching starting off your spiel with...."I am a Shivers fan and always will be"....sounds like a marrige vow to me, your thread is filled with hindsight,drama and excusses on rateing ET's team, so what's your trump card, a financial statement,signing Bush and Morgan, play it safe and say both, are you giving us one year or seven????. Ole Roy must have set the bar high if you're only giving ET a (B-) for bringing home the cup....One final note, have you noticed how the CFL re-cycles it's coaching and management garbage, now if the prior had ANY CREDIBILITY at all wouldn't they still be in the CFL .....nuff said.......GO RIDERS
I considered mentioned the recycled garbage angle in referring to Tillman, but thought it was beneath the debate. Thanks for mentioning it though. Tillman's record as a GM is nothing special, and he has had several "recyclings" so maybe you ought to rethink that tact.
Roy is 65 years old and was going to retire this year anyway, so your comments on his employment status are irrelevant.
He is sitting in Vegas, and gets to travel around watching college football. Must suck to be him!
And speaking of irrelevant comments, stating I am a "Roy" fan sounds like a marriage vow?
I assume that is intended as some kind of jab. It failed, but try again.
Or is it your contention I should not state I am a Lancaster fan, a George Reed fan, an Eagle Keys fan, etc., etc.?
I like Roy, both as a person and a GM. And am not ashamed to say so--unlike your ridiculous statement that such fans are hiding.
Nor am I looking for the cracks in the Tillman facade. So you are wrong again.
I clearly want the team to succeed.
But what I said is, Tillman doesn't get 7 years to win. Because unlike Roy who started with a bankrupt team with 0 talent, ET has all the financial resources available to him, thanks to Roy, and a plethora of talent, again, thanks to Roy.
Another point worth noting is, despite being a Roy/Danny fan, I actually believe it was time to make some changes. It is just a simple fact that good/class organizations do not fire/discard quality people midseason and in the manner that was done to Roy. Hopson is a big fat idiot. He is unqualified for his position and has done nothing in his 3 years to justify his existance.
You want to "rattle my cage" try that debate.
Tillman is a little slimy, and as you point out is last years trash, but he isn't worthless.
But he has done nothing to attract the glowing remarks you made. If the highlight thus far is bringing in DJ Flick, then I might have to rethink the solid C. You are right--too generous. How does a C- sound?
Quickly, on a B- for winning the cup? Definately finishing 9-9 and not hosting a play-off game precludes an A. Check your grading system. If the best season, an A season is finishing first, and winning the Cup, then how can finishing 3rd, even with a Cup win get that mark?
And for me, it will be a more successful season if we finish first, but lose in the play-offs than finishing 3rd, but fluking out a Cup win.
One scenario means we are a solid team that will keep winning, ie., BC Lions the last 3 years, and the other scenario is we actually suck, and will follow winning with losing, ie., the 2005 'Smoes.
I dont think Tillman has made any big splash in signings, but then when you have to lower your salary by at half a million, you arent going to get top quality players and stay within that constraint. Shivers did overspend and look where we ended up, third in the division with a .500 record.
I do agree Arius, that the Shivers firing should have been handled differntly. It should have happened before the start of the 2005 season. While I dont think the Riders are a bad team, dont be suprised if they finish in the basement again. Once again, we are going into a "rebuilding" phase. It seems we have been in that mode ever since 1977.
Bravo Arius or is it DB. You've managed one tangible statement in two posts and that being of Roys age,I must add you hopeing for the Riders success plays nicely with all us Priders, but mentioning Shivers in the same breath as Reed,lancaster and Keys is a little over the top even for me, the latter 3 are CFL icons and have dedicated much of their life promoting this institute of ours in a positive manner, and Shivers.....he managed to turn a feesable 3 year plan into a 7 year debacle milking and robbing his way into a long overdue exile.....Bankruptcy and O talent, PUHLEASE.....I saw Shivers little CBC tirade claiming how he and he alone was responsable for the Riders fortunes, all Roy had was timeing, right place right time. I don't believe for one moment we were or ever have been close to bankruptcy,There are many variables to our financial situation and Shivers played a very small role in that.....done and done..........GO RIDERS
Hey man, Roy Shivers did a great job while he was here… He is mostly responsible for the team’s turnaround for sure. And I am pretty sure there was a time when the Rider’s financial situation wasnt exactly the bright spot on the team… As for the timing, everyone has to have good timing. There is no way you can knock Roy Shivers for being in the right place at the right time…