Corey Chamblin: fired but not forgotten

As much as Corey Chamblin prefers to live in the present, he couldn't resist a quick drive down memory lane past the old stadium on Friday afternoon.

"Yeah we drove past it," Chamblin said after arriving in Regina. "They're memories, they're gone, I think, just like everything here. Things move forward, that's what I've done. I've moved forward on a new team now. I'm happy to play in this stadium."

If Chamblin is bitter towards his former team it didn't show, but  you couldn't really blame him if he is. 

Twenty-seven games after winning the Grey Cup in 2013 he was fired as the Riders' head coach.

Regardless of how he went out, Chamblin holds down a special place in Roughrider history.

He will not be remembered for losing his last nine games as head coach of the club, but rather for being one of a precious few who have led the Roughriders to a championship.

The few Riders who are still around after playing for Chamblin in Saskatchewan will be forever grateful.

"Coach Chambs is a big reason why I have one Grey Cup championship," said Rob Bagg, who is preparing to face a Chamblin defence for the first time since the former Riders' head coach joined the Argos as their defensive co-ordinator.

"He's a tremendous coach, even a better perso," Bagg said. "I enjoyed playing for him fully. Obviously, I hope we tear his defence apart this week, but I know he will be very well prepared."

Bagg sees some similarities between Chamblin's defence in Toronto and the one he practised against everyday from 2011 to 2015.

"I think what makes coach Chambs a very good co-ordinator is that he's very efficient and effective at adapting his schemes to the strength of his players, and making sure his players are doing things they are good at and trying to limit the things they may not do as well."

Unlike Bagg's current head coach who prefers his players to play under his system.

Players such as John Chick and Shawn lemon didn't fit into Chris Jones way of doing things last year and they were shown the door.

Chick and Lemon both went on to finish in the CFL's top three in sacks in 2016 with their new clubs.

After getting the axe in Saskatchewan, Chamblin spent the 2016 season coaching little league and getting to know his family again.

"The biggest part was just relaxing, stepping away from coaching and finding myself again and being Cory, not just coach."

You know I've been a defensive backs coach in this league, a defensive co-ordinator and also a head coach, so whatever tomorrow brings, it brings, but it will come from all the hard work of today.- Corey Chamblin on the possibility of becoming a head coach again

But for men like Chamblin, coaching is in their blood and it wasn't long until he got the itch again and found the perfect fit under Mark Trestman in Toronto.

"He's just proven to be a tremendous leader, he's a great communicator he's a fun guy to be around and to work with on a daily basis." said Trestman, who is also back in the CFL himself after four years in the NFL, incoluding two seasons as head coach of the Chicago Bears.

"He's emotionally intelligent and I think he's signficantly impacting our team in a lot of different ways," Trestman said of Chamblin.

The Argos (3-2) sit in top spot in the east division heading into Saturday's game at Mosaic Stadium.

Chamblin says being a head coach is a stressful gig but he wouldn't rule out going through it again should the opportunity arise.

"Right now it's just about being faitfhul to where I am today. To me it's all about a role and whatever that role that I'm given I try to be faithful in it," he said.

"You know I've been a defensive backs coach in this league, a defensive co-ordinator and also a head coach so whatever tomorrow brings, it brings, but it will come from all the hard work of today."

CFL parity

It's way too early in the season to talk about must-wins, but this one against Toronto is still pretty big for the Roughriders, who are are 1-3 after their terrible showing in Calgary last week.

After their game with the Argos Saturday, they have back-to-back dates with the BC Lions, followed by the Edmonton Eskimos and then two against the Bombers.

Chris Jones says parity in the league has made every game tough.

Jones remembers when he first came in the league, he could count the number of victories as soon as the schedule came out.

"You knew when you were going against Ottawa, that it was two wins, you knew when you got Hamilton it was two wins." said Jones, who admitted to even including the Riders for guaranteed win night promotions.

"Now it ain't like that. Every game is contested and you have to go out and take the game."

Of course today, Jones runs the Roughriders and yes, every game will be difficult until they figure it out.

Playing in the heat

It will be a warm one for the Roughriders and Argonauts on Saturday.

With the temperature expected to be over the 30 C mark, playing on field turf in the afternoon will feel more like 40 C for the players.

"It makes it a bit of a challenge to play in this heat." said 305-pound offensive lineman Brendon LaBatte, who figures he will be closer to 295 by the time the game is over.

"It won't be the first time we've had to do it," he said. "All the big boys know what we've got to do to give ourselves a good chance to make it through the game and not be catching any cramps."

But the big boys won't be chowing down on pizza and burgers when the game is over, the key will be re-hydrating and getting fluids back in the body.

"Just Gatorade and water, just trying to get it back in and then I will be up all night running to the washroom every half hour," laughed Labatte. "Then the next day you can start to replace the food."

A victory will make it easier to digest.