Saskatchewan Roughriders coach sick of no football, itching to get out of travel-related quarantine

In a normal world, Craig Dickenson would have been busy at this time, putting the finishing touches on a game plan for what would have been Friday's season opener against the Montreal Alouettes.

But this being a COVID-19 world at the moment, the Saskatchewan Roughriders' head coach finds himself in quarantine, locked up until he's sprung so he can at least pretend there's a football game to get ready for.

"I'm on day 11 of 14," said Dickenson in self-isolation in Regina. "I'm not in quarantine because I have COVID, it's just what they make you do when you cross the border."

Come Monday morning, Dickenson will be free to return to his office at the stadium, a quieter place than what he's normally used to, no doubt.

"Now that we're into June, it does feel like something's missing. Now the challenge is how can we stay busy, how can we stay productive?"

Dickenson and the rest of the Canadian Football League are in limbo. Will there be a season or not?

And perhaps the players' association should get off Commissioner Randy Ambrosie's back — the man doesn't know either. No one knows where we're headed. COVID is in the driver's seat.

Ambrosie and the CFL brass are still still trying to figure out how to play a shortened season that keeps everyone safe, and determine whether it's even financially viable to play. 

Meanwhile, coaches play with their rosters, watch video and repeat.

"I'm staying busy, there's a lot of global players we're looking at, there's a lot of things to do that way," Dickenson continued.

One issue in which Dickenson won't cut the commissioner any slack was the decision this week to slash non-player football operations budgets by 20 per cent.

That means pay cuts for coaches and maybe even a lost job or two.

"Next year I think you're going to see some challenges. Anytime you lose a coach, an analytics guy, you're losing potentially the next great coach," Dickenson said. 

"All of us in this league got our start, some how, some way. I came into the league as an assistant receivers coach. I made $30,000 in Calgary. That position wouldn't have been there if they had eliminated coaches."

The budget crunching Dickenson can live with; being told how to spend it is another matter.

"I've always felt that every team has a cap, its called your budget, so I'm not a huge fan of a league mandated cap where the league tells you what you have to spend. I've always felt every team has their budget and they spend what they want to spend."

Dickenson knew where he had to be, even though there are no games to be played. That's why he made the adventurous trek from Montana to Saskatchewan looking for a border crossing that would let him through.

"I'm the head coach for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. I think it's important that I'm here," he said.

"I have a work permit that allows me to come back. I think more coaches would come up but a lot of them are on yearly work permits and if their work permit is expired, the government is not re-issuing because we're not deemed essential yet so they're kind of stuck."

Stuck alone in self-isolation is where Dickenson will be for the next few days, at least looking forward to some resemblance of normality.

"When my two week quarantine is up I will be able to get into the office and I think I can do better work and I can at least start to see some faces at a safe distance so to speak and at least have some presence."