Richie Hall to Hamilton After the Season?

The Hamilton Spectator's football beat reporter, Drew Edwards, suggests that Greg Marshall might move on from the 'Cats after the season and that Richie Hall is already the lock on becoming the next Hamilton defensive coordinator.

Somebody help us 'Cats fans. What kind of "D" might we expect from Hall? I'm presuming that he might be better at this than as Head Coach..... I hope.

you know, that's a pretty good idea! I would love to see that. Hamilton needs a Defensive guru that could turn them from a 7-7 team to a 9-5 or better team!

Hall is currently the Eskies defensive coordinator in addition to his head coaching duties.
Their defence has actually not been the problem most of the season.
It will be interesting to see what happens with richie. I'm not sold he won't be the esks D-coordinator next year.

I can't see him going from HC to DC... I'd have to question if the man has any pride. Hell, I'm sure the defensive players would do the same. :lol:

That’s true. It’s not unheard of in sport for that to happen, but maybe he decides to get a fresh start.
In anycase, I think he’ll make some team happy. Great guy.

The riders have two former head coaches on thier staff. So it's not unheard of for hc to go to other positions.

Etcheverry, Daley, and Berry have all been head coaches at one point or another. Etcheverry didnt make a great head coach in Toronto, but is a good defensive coordinator. Berry didnt have much luck in Winnipeg, but did a good job in Montreal as offensive coordinator, and appears to be doing the same in Saskatchewan. Daley, well Daley is Daley. Our special teams has notn been the greatest this year by any means. Hall made an excellent defensive coordinator during his time in Saskatchewan. Unfortunately things arent working out for him as head coach in Edmonton. You cannot fault the guy for trying, and I am sure if rumours are true in Hamilton he will transform that defense into a machine.

Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying a HC has never later become a position coach. I'm just saying I can't see Richie going from being the HC in Edmonton for two years to being the DC next season.

You look at Doug Berry. He was fired as HC in Winnipeg, took a year off, then became the Sask OC. That situation is completely different from Richie going from HC to DC in Edmonton.

What year was the big E head coach in Toronto? I can't seem to recall. Somewhere before mathews?

2002 I believe. Somewhere in there. He only lasted about half a season before being replaced by pinball Clemons.

You’re right, it’s far from unheard of. But you’re also right in that guys tend to take time off. Rich Stubler comes to mind.

I do know that Bellefeuille and Hall are very close. So when Hall is looking for a job, it wouldn’t surprise me if he surfaced in Hamilton. Of course, this is all predicated on Greg Marshall moving on, and how often do we hear he’s the next in line for a HC position only to see him get passed over again?

Doug Berry didn’t take a year off. He couldn’t take another job because he was still under contract to the Bombers. He was offered a job with the Eskimos last season but Berry and the Bombers couldn’t agree on how much Berry should be paid to get out of the remaining year of his contract so he wasn’t able to the Eskimo job.

Does anyone know how long Richie Hall’s contract is? If he originally signed a 3 year deal then if he’s fired he’s unlikely to coach anywhere next season.

Edmonton was looking at Berry? I don't remember that... :? Regardless, that was just one example. Stubler would be another.

Berry and Maciocia are good friends. This was from Rod Pedersen’s blog in January 2009:

Plan B for the offensive co-ordinator job, says a source close to the action, is to turn to former Winnipeg head coach Doug Berry for that position, if he works out a buyout on his remaining terms with the Blue Bombers.

Berry and Maciocia are very close friends, with Berry long rumoured to eventually land in Edmonton. That move would eventually force Rick Worman into the position of quarterbacks coach, if he elects to stay.

According to the source, Berry – fired by the Blue Bombers after, ironically, losing the East semifinal to Edmonton – would take on the Esks’ O-line coaching as well as the offensive co-ordinator’s job.


I think Berry wanted his full contract paid but the Bombers didn’t want to pay him anything if he took that job and they couldn’t meet in the middle.

This is a scenario i've thought of many a time.Marshall was almost sure to be a HC this past off-season but it didn't happen.If it does this off-season and Hall's fired, where else is Hall going to go?Who else will be looking to make a HC change besides EDM and perhaps BC?Even if by some revelation Buono isn't HC going into next season, i'm sure Hall would be one of their last options.It doesn't seem that far out to me that Hall becomes DC in Hamilton.Maybe even Winnipeg if they're unsatisfied with Kavis Reed.Personally, i'd love to have Hall's brilliant defensive mind in Hamilton.Nothing against Marshall but I think he's to the point where he'd serve better as a HC than a coordinator sort of like Marcel Bellefeuille.

Yeah, Stubler. I felt bad for him. He was totally screwed over as the HC in Toronto by management.

It happens all the time after a head coach is fired. A step back down to a lower position. Stubler went from being head coach of the Argos to being a position coach for the Lions, for God’s sake. :slight_smile:

If Hall gets turfed in the offseason and Marshall moves on from Hamilton, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Richie resurface with the Cats.

Read my other post! I never said a HC has never become a position coach later on. I'm talking about Richie being the HC in Edmonton for two years, and then the Edmonton brass saying, sorry, we don't want you as HC anymore, but would you mind being our DC? That would be a huge slap in the face, and I can't see how the players would be able to respect him. If he were fired and hired with another team, that would be a different story.

My apologies. Yes, I agree that retaining Hall as DC only wouldn’t happen in Edmonton. Either you keep him around in both capacities, you hire a replacement DC to let him concentrate on HC duties, or you turf him.

I think Tillman will turf him. He didn't give him the HC job in Sask, so... In which case, I could see him going to Hamilton if the Cats lose their current DC.